clutch won't disengage Options

[gbp808]

Hi All, my "roller" '75 914/4 2.0L was eventually able to fire up (yay!) but next problem seems to be that the clutch won't disengage. The car has been non-operational for many years, PO did not share what "broke" before non-use began. Currently she seems to cycle thru all gears when engine not running and clutch is depressed. Starting in neutral is fine but cannot get into any gears, grinding++. I tried bumping the starter in 2nd gear, with clutch depressed, a couple of times but plates did not disengage.
I tried light tapping thru the big hole on the inboard side of the starter, no help (I was not confident of what to tap and did not try very hard).

Looking at the clutch cable, there is some free play of the pedal but cable seems OK to brief inspection. Presumably since it cycles thru gears with clutch depressed and engine off, the cable is doing it's job correctly...? Therefore it must be a frozen clutch/pressure plate or throw-out bearing? If this is a correct assumption, does anyone have any suggestions, or is the next step to remove the transmission?

Many thanks!

[930cabman]

I've crossed this bridge before with a sweet original 1985 Alfa Spider with 12k original miles, forgot to mention zero rust, but she had been submerged in the flood surge from Hurricane Sandy. The hulk came to me cheap (probably will never do another flood car) and this was in my pre 914 days.

It has been since 2013, so the details are a bit unclear, but I do recall cutting a section of the aluminum bell housing to access the pressure plate that had "welded itself" to the flywheel. I recall saving the trans, but later scrapped it due to previously being submerged in the ocean.