My mid-engine crisis, What have I got? Let the inspection begin. Options

[mobymutt]

My mid-life crisis 914 has a very tired 1.8, that I was planning on rebuilding to a 2056. With that in mind, I purchased a 1.7 with unknown history that I was planning on putting in the car while rebuilding the 1.8.

The 1.7 came from an uncompleted project car, and has heads that look suspiciously clean from the outside. I am now wondering if there's a chance that somebody has already rebuilt this engine into something better than a stock 1.7.

So... should I take the 1.7 apart to some degree to inspect, or just throw it into the car and run it per my original plan?

Here's the 1.7:

[wes]

If the 1.8 is original to the car I’d save it and build the 1.7. That way if you should decide to sell the car in the future you can advertise it with the original numbers matching engine and the hot rod engine.

[mobymutt]

If the 1.8 is original to the car I’d save it and build the 1.7. That way if you should decide to sell the car in the future you can advertise it with the original numbers matching engine and the hot rod engine.

Hmm, that's an interesting thought. I'm not even sure how to check if the engine is original.

I was going to use the 1.8 for the rebuild because I understood the ports were larger, and the larger pistons would fit onto the heads without any machining.