Hhhhmmm....spun crank bearing....don't know where I've heard of that before. Yes, that's one thing that's can be an issue, but it's not all that common. But the HG is another story. I've been there and done both of them with 2 different MKIII's.
But all in all, they're great cars and I love them. You can put down alot of power with them as long as it's done right, and not done cheap. My suggestion is get an 87-89 turbo and put the 90-92 tail lights on it. Then when you want to start modding, go with a K&N, 3" DP and a 3" exhaust, then get about 6 washers and shim the wastegate to run around 12psi of boost. Any more mods than that and you're going to need a Lexus AFM, S-AFC, 550cc injectors and a turbo upgrade.