I finally did it and bought a new "netwarrior", the shell server that serves some 70 users. Installed a new Linux real quick (Rock-Linux, what else?) and started migrating mail and news over to the new machine. The system istelf is a SCHWEEET box, 1GHz, 1Gig RAM, 200 Gig HD and 2.2.19 with LIDS, all in a case the size of a shoe-box.
The real pain will start when all 70 users complain that I moved them from Password to RSA-Auth in SSH :).