'73 914 2.0....what to do first?, New to a project like this...where to start? Options

[AKFish]

HI there, my name is Dominic and I have an avid reader of this forum for nearly a year, now its time to get rolling on my project...

About this time last year, I purchased a 1973 914 2.0. The previous owners bought it as part of a bundle of 914's and only kept a couple.
I have some documentation from when the car was first purchased, but the more recent owners have proven elusive. It was owned by a member here named "kurbfrog" but he/she has not responded to my contact attempts, so recent history is a bit murky. Sounds like the guy I really want to talk to, headed south of the border in a bit of a hurry.
I acquired the car in a partially disassembled state. The engine, a 2.0 with it's original FI still attached, is out and pretty much everything is removed from the engine bay and the interior. Many of the removed parts are carefully bagged up and some even have labels. On the whole, the car is in pretty solid condition, however, there are some of the typical rust issues.....
The engine shelf has been cut for A/C and there is rust in the hell hole and I can see rust developing in the outer long (I think that's what it is called). My reading here would suggest that there is a lot more than meets the eye.
What I would really like to do is find out if the engine runs...and if so, just put the car back together and drive it for a while. I could decide after that, if a "rustoration" is right for me...I have zero background in fabrication/welding.

Question: What are the MUST DO items to perform on the engine while it is out, to give me the best odds of getting the car going again?

P.S. My car came with this 1975 Roller that is pretty well gutted.

[bbrock]

Ok dang it, I’ll have to figure out how to respond to each reply individually...

It sounds like step one is to fully assess the extent of the rust.

Will a 4” cutting wheel on an angle grinder get me going in the right direction?

Can anyone recommend a good set of spot weld drill bits? Thanks very much!

If you have abandoned the idea of putting the engine in and driving it for awhile before diving in to the rust repair then sure, a 4" cutting wheel on an angle grinder was one of my three primary exploratory tools. The others were a cuttoff wheel on a die grinder and a 2" on a pneumatic mini angle grinder. Ninety percent of the initial inspection was done with the 4" angle grinder though. I wouldn't rule out the car being solid enough for a few more miles though, so maybe start with a less destructive evaluation before chopping on metal? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

For cutting spot welds, get a Blair Rotabroach set. Amazing tools and great value.

@bbrock Brent what welder were you using and we’re you satisfied with it’s performance?

I'm really not qualified to advise on welders. Even after all the cutting and welding I did, I'm still a mediocre welder at best. But since you asked, I have an ancient 115v Hobart Handler I bought over 30 years ago. It has served me well. Almost everyone else on this forum knows more about welders and welding than I do. @mb911 has been a great mentor for me.