Wolfsburg mistress

Hi everyone im Mark  ive finally finished building my new work area and am ready to begin lavishing my attention on a new germanic beauty! My very first car was a mark 1 1.3 that leaked petrol out and let water in but it stole a piece of my soul and now im older and have space I'd like to revisit the mk1 and attempt a gti project! and with that in mind im looking for some advice and help on where to start my search for a half decent base car. Im not bad at mechanicals so am not really bothered if it wont drive as I am willing to fix or probably replace the engine anyway but my bodywork skills are rough to say the least light filling sanding and priming is about my limit have a budget of about a grand to get me started what can I expect for that kind of cash?