Yes you are right the engine is not that much of a biggy compared to some things, I guess i neber think of completely redoing a car like that and just think of it as a car of no real value. Dont get me wrong im the mk1 man I have many of them, but they arnt worth much in this country.
Thanks for the low down on the 200s good to know where more are, they look a little sad tho dont they. do they still run?
put a battery in, turn the key and they always run 1st time, no matter how long sitting out in the weather! The avant was my daily driver for many years, and has close to a 1/2 million miles on it, and still the motor is sound. Always hot running, and semi-synthetic oils, I think they will go forever!
i have a very nice saloon that i have spent far to much time and money on really and i still need to sort out its damn brake system 
New bom and then the abs light is showing faults too....groan it just goes on but I do love it when shes rolling and when i give a worked golf a drag down the motorway and they are just left in the dust it makes me happy. Once up and running they are pretty damn fast on a good open road. A twisty one has you battling the weight a fair bit and it gets a little uncomfortable for passengers if there there but they do hang on quite tenaciously.
Where are you situated? I wouldn't wreak them really as nobody is going to repower coupes with those motors anymore they are just a bit too old and heavy for the amount of work required to fit them in the right hand drive ones that we have here. I know of several folk who have a turbo motor sitting for just such a swap but its never going to happen.
I'm near Christchurch, and yes, as far as projects go, they are way down the list of "will probably never happen". If I was ever to do it, it would not be a coupe though, but a type-85 saloon. That, I think, would be far more of a 'sleeper'
Use the worst one to keep the best one going..... but i guess youve got a S2 so you dont want to drive an old heap 200 anyway 
most valuable part on any of them is probably a 2-piece genuine exhaust manifold that had been fitted as a replacement on the saloon. These were hugely expensive (to overcome the common cracked manifold problem). That probably cost a previous owner around $4000 or more in the 1990s. I believe it will fit my urq (if that ever needs a manifold) so obviously the manifold alone is worth more than both 200 cars put together!
For those who have never seen one (and I never had until I unknowingly bought the car with it on) they look like the top manifold in this pic:
