I'm Gonna Need Help, 74' 2.0 (almost) "Barn-Car" Options

[MAD914]

Hello Everyone:

I'm Matt. I've been lurking long enough, and this seems like such a friendly site, I thought I'd lose my posting virginity, and look for some suggestions. I'm not new to 914s - I've owned this one since 1983. I've "tinkered" with it, and replaced the transmission, but I've never restored one before. It's been under a cover in a garage in California for about the last 15 years, and was only driven about 5 times in the 10 years before that. For the first few years that I owned it, it was my DD. Then adult responsibilities took over, and it mostly just sat. It spent a couple of years in a garage in Houston (hence, the plates), but it was originally a California car. It doesn't currently run, as the fuel pump is gummed up, but I think that's the only problem. I've owned and worked on a couple of Bugs, and also had a Targa with a transplanted mechanically injected engine. I'm no mechanic, but I know which end of the ratchet makes the "ticky-ticky" sound.







I'd like to build a "spirited" street car, and among about a million other things, am contemplating a 2270 RAT motor, chassis stiffening kit, brake/steering/suspension upgrades and of course, repair of the hell-hole sheet metal (see photos below). I'm more interested in agility and responsiveness than brute horsepower and straight-line speed.

It may not be a real "barn car", but I think it's in pretty good shape. I'm sure there's some very devious rust I haven't found yet, but most of the usual spots seem to be clear, and the interior is OK. You can see the remnants of the 80's here, with the "wink" mirror and the fuzzy dash cover thingy.







In about 1988, I had the weird presence of mind to remove the stock rocker panels, clean out all the leaves and crap, wire-brush the metal, and spray the longs with rusty-metal primer. it seems like it helped fend off father time a bit.





Now the bad news - there's hell-hole rust on both passenger's and driver's sides, and I'm hoping it's not too catastrophic. Some words from the wise (and experienced) would really be appreciated here:



This is the driver's-side hell-hole, viewed from underneath.





And this is the passenger-side, underneath view. The hole you see there was caused by my yanking a bit too hard on the fuel hose to the fuel pump. The pump came off in my hand, along with a chunk of metal that looked like it came off of a sunken pirate ship.

Both the front and rear trunks are clean and rust free. Here are photos of the front.







The battery tray and support will obviously need to be replaced, as the tray looks like Swiss cheese.





Given the condition of the car, I'm still trying to gauge the amount of time/money/effort/grief I can justify putting into it. I'm married, so there's also the "enraged spouse" factor to consider. Any suggestions or warnings would be welcomed. I'm probably still a little light on the lingo, so you may have to spell it out for me.

Thanks in advance for any input or advice.