My 50 cents on this is to buy the newest, nicest, manual trans 240 you can find.
If you want a manual wagon they are a bit more rare but worth the wait to find it. Clutches last longer than on just about any other car I know of. Routinely
going 200k plus miles. It's a straight forward job, also. Use synthetic oil
in the rear axle and either Amsoil or Redline MTL in the manual trans. The autos are good they just don't have quite as much pickup as the manuals. The driveline in a n/a 240 is very understressed. You will probably miss the boost. You may want to consider a couple of performance mods. Something like the exhaust and a cam. They will help the passing power without adversly affecting the engine life. Personally, the manual cars are the only ones I drive.

You might also consider a 240 turbo but to find a nice one you may need some patience. They are out there but most are either projects or the owner has a nice fixed up car and doesn't want to sell it. These are all getting to be 20 years old. They only made 240Ts from 1981-1985.

Any 240 turbo or a regular model from 1983-1987 is either going to need a engine wiring harness or already got one. Be sure to check the condition of the wires on the starter,and the gray connector at the rear of the motor. Also the gray connector back by the passenger side firewall. If the car doesn't have the wiring harness replaced you should be able to reduce the price of the car by some appropriate amount. The 88 and newer cars don't seem to have the wiring decay problem. Wish you well on your search. Happy rolling!
Dave 82 242ti 278k mi.