Welcome to the Madness, John! I am Canadian as well, hailing from the Vancouver/Lower Mainland area, so I'll be your Wet Coast representative.
Before you start buying parts it would be a good idea to decide what you want it to look like, as there are choices- a semi-believable factory build complete with P badging everywhere (very boring as far as I'm concerned, as at the extreme you're talking not lowered a lot, swingaxle rear, drum brakes front and back, skinny tires, 1500 or 1600 engine putting out nominal hp and maybe even the umbrella emergency brake handle under the dash, so now you can't even do ultra cool handbrake turns) and it's still a plastic car without a P vin # which will never really gain you acceptance into that club.
Or- if you realize and accept that it isn't and never will be a real Porsche, the sky is the limit- is it a fun little ice cream getter for you and your better half (or, if no significant other, a great chick magnet
?), or that and with some performance/handling improvements that makes it really fun to drive? Are you thinking flared with wide tires/rims all the way around or flat sided (which can be built to handle amazingly well)? Is the pan wingaxle or does it have Independent Rear Suspension (irs) pivot mounts- irs will handle better and be a little more comfortable to drive, but putting wider rims and tires on the back has clearance limitations- it can be done but it's more work (and $$).
If you like to drive fast even just very occasionally, please put discs at least on the front (all it takes is 1 moment at higher speed for things to go horribly wrong!), and if you like to push it's capabilities on a regular basis (as so many do when they find out how much fun these things can be- as our dear friend Stan says, "afterall, it even says Speedster on the side of it, you know!") discs on the back as well, some slightly wider wheels and tires, some sway bars and it'll handle like a skate board
! (think big evil laugh here!)
As far as the engine goes, the first choice is VW aircooled or Subaru? VW Type 1 (Beetle) engines can go from a 65hp dual carbed 1600 to 1776, 1835 or 1915 cc's revving to 5500 or so with 90- 100 or 110 hp very reliably, to 2 liter (or bigger) strokers making anywhere from140-150 hp (still very reliably, even with a 6,000 rpm redline) to 2300-2400 cc's and a somewhat more high strung 200+ hp, 7,000-7500 rpm Monster!
THAT said, even though I am a staunchly lifelong aircooled guy, I have to admit the Subie has a lot of things going for it. Still a boxer layout (so the weight stays low for handling) but super reliable modern platform with power options starting at about 150 hp. The car will weigh a little more with the radiator, water and tubing, but there's no denying it works.
No matter what you do, be prepared for people to ask questions and even want to take pics with them by (and even in) it CONSTANTLY!
To give you an idea-
This, of course, is only 1 example (it will sit lower front and back when finished, and the bumpers aren't on it)- guys, show John your Speedsters!
There are way more choices to make, but this is a start. Hope this helps. Al
PS Sorry, John, I forgot to ask- do you have any previous VW experience? I gather, since you dragged home this project in pieces, that you're somewhat mechanically inclined?
