I had a 67 fastback years ago that my older brother gave me, I removed all of the engine compartment metal ,air intake bellows metal , etc, I mean"all" of it , and installed a hot rod type 1 engine, so literally, when you opened the decklid you could clearly see the nosecone, that was the" easiest" full bodied, dual carb street car to do engine maintenance on" EVER"
not to mention clutch adjustments etc. I had loads of fun with that car, Good luck with your free car, hope you have fun with it too! KG