1*2's can hide rust well due to plastic wings, but yeah many are getting grotty underneath. Luckily the two I've owned and the many I've driven/worked on all seem to have a perpetual gear selector leak which keeps the underside nicely rust proofed.
You'll hear/read about the "dephaser" service on these, for good reason as they can cost you almost the value of the car if it hasn't been done or is overdue. The last car I bought had no history of a dephaser job and it was priced to reflect that so I took a punt. A year or two later I got it done at a specialist and it really brought the car to life. I dunno if the timing was out or what previous to the belts job, but it gained loads of perceived power after it was done.
A Trophy might not be a bad shout for a decent track car really, some will rightfully say they're too expensive to track - but in the grand scheme of things they're still cheap cars, and due to them being trophies there's a much higher chance of obtaining a pampered example.
