What to look for in a '74 1.8 Options

[era vulgaris]

I've come across what appears to be a very nice '74 1.8 for sale not too far from me. I'm currently trying to make arrangements with the seller to view the car. He claims it has no rust (we'll see!), excellent paint, excellent running condition, and he has records going back to the original owner. If all is true, it'll be a great deal for what he's asking, and I'll be able to replace the nightmare Scotty Boy sold me.

Aside from the obvious stuff (rust, etc...which I've learned via the school of hard knocks with my car)...is there anything specific to that model year and engine size that I should be aware of? The car does have its original FI.

Here's my other question...is a 1.8 worth buying? From what I understand it would have less power and torque than my 72 1.7. I'm not unhappy with how my 1.7 performs, so would it be a real noticeable downgrade in performance?

[era vulgaris]

Came home empty handed. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

Passenger side hellhole and longitudinal rust, front trunk gutter rust, bottom of driver side door rust, rear trunk lid has a protruding dent the shape of a tire, rear trunk lid hinge on driver's side broke off at some point and was reattached slightly off so panel gap for the rear trunk lid is off. Heat exchangers were eaten through. Paint was terrible. The 40 year old olympic blue original paint looked great. Unfortunately someone touched up every nick and chip with the wrong color blue. It looks like the car has periwinkle acne. Funny none of this showed up in any of the pics. All the weather seals need replacing. The interior was immaculate though, looked like it just came off the showroom floor.

The seller was a super nice guy though, and let me poke and prod the car as much as I wanted.

I guess it's better to have seen it and walked away than to not have seen it at all (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)