I would have to agree with Larry on the matter of the four cylinder 123 with the stick shift. I drove one and compared it to my 123 non turbo with auto. The auto 5 cyl is no faster.
Have pulled the engine on a 123 non turbo (parts car, still sitting in my garage) and have R & R the turbo engine in the 126 I have twice. That is no picnic. Even after going through the procedure the second time it still took at least two straight days of torture to get it up and running again. Just a lot of bolts and no access to so many.
Still love them both though. But when faced with major work I might long for something a bit simpler.