Esteemed Alfisti --

I have a 1986 Spider Veloce with 171,000 miles, which I acquired last
year.

Its previous owners treated it very well but of course it continues to
age.  Lately, the 1st and 2nd gear syncros have become "particular" and
require a variety of techniques (double-clutching into 2nd from 1st;
and pushing the gearstick into 3rd or 2nd before going into 1st when
the vehicle is stopped) to avoid the "gnashing of teeth" (as mentioned
in parts of the Bible).  (And yes, in case you're wondering, this is
not the original 2nd gear syncro -- it was changed some years ago.)

Now, I have the opportunity to buy a 1987 Graduate parts car which has
only 81,000 miles.  The owner had just bought it a week before it got
totaled from the rear end (by the tow truck that was coming to get it
-- which reminds me, I need to ask for a reminder of why the car was
getting towed in the first place).

According to the owner, the Graduate's transmission was very smooth and
hardly ever made any sounds going into 2nd.  Her mechanic had told her
it was in exceptionally good condition for an 81,000 transmission that
had never (to her knowledge) had a syncro replacement.

Thus the question for me: if I can get the parts car for ~$1,000 (US)
and if I have access to reasonably priced labor to disassemble the
thing, should I buy it?  Will the 81,000 transmission be useful to me?
Or am I just going to spend all that labor for removal and
re-installation to find that in a year or so, it's no better than my
current transmission?

Granted, I'm also going to get a lot of other spare parts: the engine,
the doors, front fenders, and hood in particular might have some value
to me in the future.  (I have space for storage.)

Advice?

Many thanks!

Phil in North Carolina, USA