A couple of Q's Options

[Poor-sche Lover]

So, I'm trying to make two cars into one. First of all, I have heard a lot of people talking about being able to "turn the engine by hand." What exactly do you mean "by hand"? Obviously, the spark plugs are out, but do you literally mean rotating the flywheel/fan with your bare hand? If so, how easy is it supposed to be? Is there a lot of resistance? On a second, but completely unrelated note, apparently, I'm going to need to repair the dreaded "hell hole." Do I just need to replace the whole piece, or what? Here's a pic (hopefully)

[Dead Air]

There's guys (and Gals) who know alot more about this than I do here! But...Getting some of the debris and muck out of there is gonna be a help. Try to figure out if the corrosion got down into the suspension. Make sure the weep holes under the car are clear. You can find them underneath, they look like little rubber grommets. Ours had two gallons of water just sitting be hind the drivers seat. and do a search for "hell hole". Some members are working on replacement kits for what your trying to do.
What happened to your fuel injection?
PS your battery tray looks better than ours!