Well, some pretty fantastic exhaust leaks have cropped up sooner than I would have hoped, so the decision point came to this: Put in a stainless 1.6 system, or advance the plans to do a 1.8 swap. Seems kinda wacky, but moving to a 1.8 means I have a much larger selection of parts, and more importantly used parts, to choose from.
Work has already started on the '96 exhaust system I picked up - been cleaning, grinding, wire brushing, and even welding! (someone decided a self-tapping screw was an acceptable way to plug a hole in the cat) I also learned a new trick to get studs out of a (rusty) cat (alytic converter).