Intro and Decision to Ponder Options

[EJZero1]

Good afternoon, World.

Quick intro from Colorado Springs. I go by EJ.

Spent the better part of 15 years building and driving air-cooled VW's, and enjoyed the hell out of it. Somewhere around 2009, I got the urge for a little more get up and go (and heat). Bought an 89 Porsche 944. A few years later, picked up an 86 944 Turbo that I've modified extensively. It's a loud, rough beast that does what I built it up to do quite nicely. That being said, I've started to feel the pull back to air-cooled-ness.

Talked to a buddy of mine who owns a local European performance shop and told him I was looking for an air cooled project. He offered me a deal I felt was worth a shot...

I am the proud new owner of 2 1970 914's!

Car 1: Absoulutely and completely disassembled, and on a dollie. Completely stripped of paint, with shoddy patches evident in various places. On the bright side, it wouldn't present too much in the way of surprises in terms of body work, as it's all pretty evident already. Comes with boxes and boxes of parts, and I would consider it in the neighborhood of 75% complete. Missing interior, hood, windshield and other cats and dogs.

Car 2: Pretty complete roller with some apparent body work under the paint in places. Missing drivers door. Front and rear trunk floors look solid, especially for a 46 year-old car. NO TITLE!

Package came with a 1.8L carburated motor (obviously not correct for the cars) and transmission.

Objective: Build a nice driver, with little concern for originality or "correctness" in terms of "that 1970 wouldn't have come with blah blah blah".

Original idea going into this was to rebuild the tub, using the roller as a donor, but since the roller "appears" to be fairly solid in it's own right the question I submit is this:

Would you stick with Plan A and rebuild the "no surprises" tub, knowing that it needs welding and you've never touched a welder in your life?

Or

Seriously consider diverting your attention to Plan B, the roller, being tempted by a not too shabby car already resting on 4 wheels, but knowing you'll likely be devastated by all of the morale crushing surprises you're bound to find as you start digging into it.

I know, I know... My own choice to make... Not enough info provided... Different strokes for different folks... Just throw me a bone or two, and maybe I'll get some rationale I haven't considered yet.

In closing, just want to add how incredibly cool the vibe is around here! I'm a member on other automotive forums, and this is by far a much more relaxed and helpful gathering. I look forward to being a part of it.