[Mark V]

Hello everyone, new member who recently acquired an '87 944 project with 242,000 (yes, that's correct) on the cheap that I'm planning on fixing up with my son who has taken an interest in cars. It obviously has numerous things that need addressing, which is half the 'fun' of a project. Glad it has started out cheap.

It starts and runs, makes no smoke and has good oil pressure at idle, but that is where the good times end. It has coolant leak(s) coming from the engine somewhere, as well as oil leak(s). Unknown last timing belt change. Visibly has a water pump with the block off so it's clearly not original.

I've had competing thoughts on the direction to go with all of this. I have a fair amount of mechanical aptitude. Option 1: find the obvious leaks and address those as needed with the engine still in the car while changing out the t belt and water pump. Option 2: yank the motor, replace all vac lines (there is a vac leak, somewhere), do belts, water pump, cam tower seal, oil cooler seal, etc. Option 2 while obviously more thorough would definitely push the cost envelope of the project. I also have no access to a lift and getting the car high enough to drag motor out from the bottom with regular garage tools doesn't sound like my idea of a good time.

So before I go and pitch my idea to the CFO, I'd like to get some thoughts from the community on this.

Thanks in advance.