Soul Searching no longer, What I've done with my '74 2.0 Options

[flipb]

I bought my '74 2.0 about four years ago, and I've had a great time with it. It's mostly very original, except:

• Monza/Manta Exhaust
• No FI - had Progressive Carb when I bought it, now dual EMPI 40s
• Still original color, but had a mediocre overspray paint job by a PO

It's still the original ride height, and even the seatbelt-ignition interlock is still functional. I'm pretty certain that it's an original, numbers-matching engine. The PO had some decent quality metal rehab done in the longs & hellhole. A few of you have seen it in person. It's a fairly solid, fairly original driver. Odometer is frozen, but I'm guessing it's gone 130K+ miles.

For the past couple years, there's been a bad sound from the bottom end. Not loud, but noticeable to anyone who knows what they're listening for. (I was not among that group until I had a couple people point it out to me.)

Lately, it's been losing more oil -- and it seems to be losing more than what I see dripping on the ground. I'm getting compression/leakdown tested next week, even though I'm pretty sure I know what it'll say.

So I'm stuck with a tough decision:

• Park it -- I do *not* want to do this.
• Drive it til it grenades -- also, not my idea of fun.
• Rebuild the engine -- this leads to a bunch of other choices... carbs/EFI/heads/etc.
• Buy a motor -- also a lot of options here
• Sell it -- seems like a most inopportune time to do so...

I am perfectly happy driving it in stock form. It's just a fun driver. No ambitions about A/X, Concours, DEs, etc. I like the notion of keeping it very stock, but then again, the FI was gone before I bought it anyway. If I'm going to keep it carbed, is it time for a fatter cam? Resale value is a consideration, but not the only consideration.

OTOH, it might be cheaper in the short term to find another engine. Do I split up the numbers-matching engine from the car? Or try to keep it and buy a spare? I'd love to do some driving this summer/fall, but...

...I haven't budgeted for any of this. I can afford to put some money into it (although I'll be dipping deep into the spousal goodwill intangible fund).

I've got a week to decide what to do. Appreciate your input.

Am I overblowing the originality factor?
Is $5K better spent on a rebuild, or a replacement/upgrade?
Is $5K even the right ballpark for either of those options?

Help me get from (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad2.gif) back to (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif) without breaking the bank...

[flipb]

Really appreciate all the varied perspectives - part of what makes this such a great community.

I have a mechanic that I trust... a local father/son shop, the son drives a 914 of his own. I'm bringing it to them next week for the diagnosis. Expecting them to give me some options - having them rebuild it in-house or who they'd recommend (which, of course, I'll balance with what y'all recommend). Or maybe they'll tell me there's a 2.7 sitting in the back of their shop... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

I'm feeling a lot better now. I now need to really figure out my budget before next week and then see what options that will leave on the table.