I've shipped and received many Fender and Fender styled guitars that were only in gig bags and with a lot of bubble wrap and popcorn, I've never had a bad incident. I wouldn't try that with an angled headstock Gibson style though.
I say keep it OG and try to sell it. You can probably clear $2k USD and get something that inspires you. 34 years of misery...you deserve some enjoyment man.
I don't know anything about electronics, but you must have some tech reasons why you'd say no on this project. Curious what they are. Is it the germanium thing?