God luck with that project. Sounds cool.
As for the drivetrain, I don't know the value. But I can tell you the 2 biggest weaknesses in it: the water pump and the MTX ( manual transaxle). The water pumps have plastic blades which like to grenade at 50k miles. Late 99 and all 2000 models supposedly have an updated pump which will not break, but since you're getting a motor from somewhere, it might be a good idea to swap it out. NAPA sells a water pump with a metal blade which seems to make it last much longer.
And now for the MTX. The differential is very weak. I exploded mine when leaving from an intersection. I got up to 10mph and the spider gear on the diff exploded and blew 2 holes thru my tranny. So if you go the MTX route, I would look into getting a Limited Slip Differential ( Quaife or Torsen) installed to beef up the tranny.
