If you aren’t racing, track safety requirements are quite lax.
Building on top of an existing shell means that you are limited by the shell’s stiffness, and the préexistant hard points to mount the engine, suspension and steering. That then puts a limit on your unsprung mass (thus, your brakes, and wheel hubs). And most importantly, your weight distribution is never going to be ideal unless you spend a significant amount of time.
Building Formula student and SAE mini-Baja competition cars usually take between four and eight weeks with another ten to twelve weeks of engineering time with at least twenty students.
If you can get out of doing the engineering yourself (á la track day kit cars like the Caterham 7), it could be a fun little project that won’t take you more than a month of weekends if you are reasonably mechanically inclined (as you seem to be).
If you are intent on rebuilding from a preexisting shell, and you are prepared to spend the time and energy (and money) in…
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