Financially, part it out, sell the front end full assembly for $1,000 and whatever goodies you can. i personaly am at the $3,340 price tag on parting out my 98 MK3 not including the engine and suspention so....... i scrapped the body for $60 lol. see my
RIP memorial video here.
im sure you will miss her and the love and care it had from you. Sorry to hear such bad fortune, especially in these times. Very glad to heat you came out ok from it and no one was hurt, Frigin deer man!
as for a swap, im personally doing a porsche 944 swap with a beefed up 350+ build with my TDI but there are lots of small trucks, geo trackers, boats, generators, and even a mini and other small cars that get a great TDI swap given to them.
My suggestion, if you have the time is a car that gets a HUGE support base in modifications, like the 944, or better yet, fox body mustang, Miatta, Boxster, and so forth. I prefer porsches because is A: pisses off porshe purists, and B: parts are will and always are available for all years regardless from the factory.
I would love to see a mini swap again! whatever you do im sure it will be awesome. maybe go find a donor body and just bring another one back to life! that would be a simplest. Plenty of people around here that have runaways or timing belt snaps or other neglectful issues. im sure you can find a donor easily, with no or little rust, might have to wait. but in your area, you should be able to find one.
