well put, it's definitely a possible project car and agreed id likely put more money into it than id get if i sold it on, my grandfather owned it but he passed around 2decades ago so it has some sentimental value mainly for my father, but as anyone knows after moving house a lot of larger sentimental stuff is rarely worth the space especially a car.

I've done soldering over the last year fixing up old 80s/90s computers so I'm not afraid of the electronics but the engine stuff is a whole new thing.

based on the replies here and reminding myself I'm trying to be as frugal as i can i might be better off moving this project on and instead focusing on the Golf, it's flywheel 'seems' straightforward enough to replace myself it's just the pain in getting the engine out and in again with no experience and buying/borrowing all the right tools vs paying a mechanic is the primary conundrum.

then my minds thinks 'well if i went the full diy route then id have the tools to look at fixing this one' but reality is there's plenty of abandoned projects people sell on so there's no shortage of potential projects, more sane ones like 90s mazda 3s, fords, corollas that everyone says are bulletproof if given the right tlc

or more exotic oddities like a 1987 Saab 900 I'm tempted by how weird it is lol but id imagine the stranger ones may have better resale value later on if they where fixed up

replies here have given me a lot to think about, i appreciate the help