I have read around, thought about it and wanted some fresh opinions. I am in the process of stripping down my 74 2.0 and since I am going to take it completely apart I want to upgrade what I can while I'm here. The engine will not turn freely so the block is likely coming apart as well.

Here is what I plan on doing so far:

Replace and upgrade brake system
Replace upgrade exhaust system
Stainless steel fuel lines
Replace and upgraded starter
I havent seen the pistons yet but I'm likely going to have to do some upgrading there too.
Sway bars are going in too.

What else do you guys recommend doing? I don't care if she ends up being concourse or a racer, but I want her to perform well and reliably on the road. I want to do these changes by myself since I am going to pay a body guy to fix the body.

Get the body fixed. If you have a budget left, take lots of pics and we'll give you 10,000 ways to go.

Take the time to upgrade all of the bushing in the suspension to modern levels at least. Turbo tie rod ends. Coil over shocks on rear. Maddogs Motorsport stiffing kit. And PMB brakes alll the way around.

I'm not trying to be argumentative but you have to be more specific than "upgrade". These cars actually drive quite well when all the stock systems are working properly. I would start by defining what you want out of the car and what you feel could be improved in the last 914 that you drove.

I appreciate where you're coming from, but outside of the hell hole, the body is relatively fine. The longs are rock solid but there are quite a bit of small repairs to be done.

Let me clarify what is going on with the car amd what i want to do. I am not trying to Turbocharge it or anything. It is a literal barn find. I have been pulling dead rodents out of it since October. They got everywhere over the 30 years it was stored. Recently a chipmunk fell out when I removed the fan shroud. It. Is. Dirty. So everything has to come off to be thoroughly cleaned. All the hoses are shot rubber, metal or otherwise. The plastics are the only things in relatively good condition. So it all has to be stripped down and replaced and since I'm replacing it I might as well improve when able. The car only has 63k so mechanical wear and tear should be low, and I dont want to make stripping the engine down a regular thing. So I'm looking for any easy mods or tips to make life easier( eg. I plan on replacing all the stupid flathead screws with hex nuts.)Cheaper is preferred, but I am a big proponent of you get what you pay for and I would rather not shortcut now and have my baby back up on jack stands in a few months because I should have replaced the whatever when I had the chance.

Change or perform maintenance might be more accurate than upgrade. (e.g. everything is out. Should I go ahead and swap the flywheel with only 63k and save the hassel of doing it later.) I am a total novice at this so any advice is appreciated.

Rodent piss in hidden areas, I would suggest you media blast it, or chemical dip it.

Brakes,stock is fine if all the sum of the parts are new or reconditioned .
Exhaust,choose the right upgrade and get a little more power.
Fuel lines,yes.
Starter,stock is fine with good wiring and ignition switch.
Pistons and cylinders,small power gain going to 96mm, is the engine FI or carbed? we don't know.
Sway bars ,add front one if you don't have it,the rear one has little effect because it is rather small,I have one because it was on the car when purchased.

I will add some stuff,horses for courses and some may not agree,but I don't do stuff I don't need;
Gearshift, upgrade to all the latest innovations and stock parts for improved shifting ,upgrades....Tangerine Racing has that covered.
Lighting ,upgrade headlights to H4 or better.
Electrics ,go right through the lot otherwise you may do too much ,ask me how I know.
Roof,replace all seals these buggers can leak, trust me on that.
Ignition switch , replace it cause it will fail, its not if, its when.

Curt made a good point ,sort the bodywork first and slowly buy up parts needed for the rest of the car during this period,don't expect to have the bodywork sorted cheaply as there is always more rust hiding that you won't see.
There is no such thing as a rust free 914........
you are in the BEST place.

Knawed wiring. Where you can't see.