Side impact will certainly give high risk of injury.
There is nothing then a thin steel strip that can protect you.
pic Randha
On daily basis a 1.6 will do best.
I use one for over a year now on daily basis and it is a running resto.
Of course there was a sh*tload of work to make it reliable.
Parts are not a big problem for the 1.6 engine.
Here the topic over my 1.6...(just look pictures, they tell the story)
http://www.matramania.be/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2610Buying price 800 Euro
When finished probably astronomic so don't think it wil be a cheap runner.
Best regards Herman