Steve stopped by yesterday, and our suspicions are confirmed: She's dead Jim.
Lots of scuffing on the bores means it will need to be machined. Some scratches on the crank journals will need to be addressed.
Seeing as rebuilding the 7M would be a "cheap and temporary" choice, and the rebuild requires quite a bit more work than expected, it's JZ time! The plan is to do a 1JZ-GTE VVTi swap, hopefully running by spring, funds allowing. If the blue car sells, no problem making that goal. If not, things may not get done as quickly. That being said, a full part out of the 7M is going to start shortly. There will be a local Supra swap meet that would be handy to sell things at, but beyond that, a FS thread should start pretty soon.
The goals of the swap will be:
-Reliable driving on mostly stock components, this car needs to be capable of a road trip at the drop of a hat, and I'm willing to sacrifice performance to get this.
-Most or all "luxuries" functioning as intended. This includes A/C, Cruise, Power Steering (PPS Perhaps?), ABS, etc.
-"Clean" installation of the motor and components. I want this car to look as nice as it drives. No wires and hoses running all over the engine bay, no tape, as few zip ties as possible. I want to be able to show up at Cars & Coffee and not get turned away.
Now, time to open up the wallet!