914 engine replacement options - Advice and Opinions please, What are my best and easiest options? Options

[UberElectricEagle]

Greetings,
I'm new to the 914's so please forgive my ignorance.
I have a 1972 1.7 with dual carbs (weber 34) that is slowly giving up the ghost. I'm going to keep driving it until it quits or I find a replacement motor. I'm trying to figure out what my best and cheapest option is to put a good and solid running engine in my 914. Yes, more power would be awesome, but just a working motor would be great too.
What I was thinking I would like to find is a decent and solid running engine that someone has removed from their car for whatever reason.
-What are my plain stock options? 1.7 1.8 2.0 ?
--Can all my 1.7 components switch over into a 1.8 or 2.0 or would I have to get some different items like bigger carbs or a different distributor?
-What kind of fair price can I expect to pay for a fairly complete and running motor?
-What could I expect to pay for a rebuild if I went with that option?
-Can I just use any type 4 engine (say from a VW whatever) and switch all my tins and components over, or are they set up differently for the 914?

I'm looking for all opinions or what you would think you would do so I can look at every angle here. Any guidance in the right direction or ideas would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Sam

[ME733]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif) Well I have been reading your various posts and all the various suggestions others have given you (every day) for awhile now...IF you think you can balance your carbs with a piece of garden hose up to your ear...well ...you are deluding yourself. I recommended that you check your spark plugs. one was oil covered and fouled, pretty old I think. I recommended that you REPLACE the spark plug wires..(and gave reasons). YOU chose to "fix" the end that came loose., I suggested that you NOT DRIVE THE CAR..until the fouled plug was firing...YOU drove the car...making a POSSABLE.....easy and cost effective ,repair solution...slightly more complicated. There was a missing bolt of some sort in the Carburator linkage somewhere(stripped). That is still not fixed. So your not going to spend any money or a little time toward solving your present engine problem. So now your solution is to replace it ...for under 1000.00.?..The reality is that Porsches are just not the right car..for some car guys. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

[UberElectricEagle]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif) Well I have been reading your various posts and all the various suggestions others have given you (every day) for awhile now...IF you think you can balance your carbs with a piece of garden hose up to your ear...well ...you are deluding yourself. I recommended that you check your spark plugs. one was oil covered and fouled, pretty old I think. I recommended that you REPLACE the spark plug wires..(and gave reasons). YOU chose to "fix" the end that came loose., I suggested that you NOT DRIVE THE CAR..until the fouled plug was firing...YOU drove the car...making a POSSABLE.....easy and cost effective ,repair solution...slightly more complicated. There was a missing bolt of some sort in the Carburator linkage somewhere(stripped). That is still not fixed. So your not going to spend any money or a little time toward solving your present engine problem. So now your solution is to replace it ...for under 1000.00.?..The reality is that Porsches are just not the right car..for some car guys. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

Hey, Thanks so much for the kind words!
If you read and see, I wrote that I checked the plugs and I bought new plugs and set the gap and replaced them. I checked to make sure the wires were making the spark. This was all done. I checked and made sure I had spark. I then checked it all again. The wire was my fault for pulling the end off of it. It was a simple fix.
I got the carbs as close as I could with the tools I have at the time. I actually have them running better than they were. The carbs should be rebuilt and repaired. I know this.
I've been trying to do all of the suggestions people have made. I also have other things going on in my life besides a 914.
I drove it after getting it running better because I can and it's my car. I don't really give a flying camel poop if my engine blows up, because I know I can get another motor and replace it. (Well, I care a little bit.)
I've come to the conclusion A couple little tune up items isn't going to fix this problem. If you were here with the car driving it and listening to it you would probably realize this too. I'm trying to be rational with the amount of money and time I spend working on a broken motor. If I thought a little time and money would fix this issue, I would not have a problem spending said time and money.
I could sit here and throw $50 dollar bills at my couple hundred dollar motor and just keep replacing working tune up parts hoping it would one day make the horrible noises inside go away and it would just decide to stop hemorrhaging oil everywhere and burning it too.
OR I could cut my losses right now and put that money into a better motor and realize this isn't going to be a simple little fix. And I could take this motor apart and learn a little more about it. Sometimes, it doesn't make sense to put more money into a car than that car is worth. I'm still going to come out fine because I didn't pay a lot for the car.

I'm so sorry to have offended you. Sorry to have bothered you. I will go sell my Porsche right now because I don't rate with you.
I'm not actually sorry, I was just saying that.

GO EAT SOME MORE POPCORN.