Engine needs a rebuild, where to go from here?

[radiod]

So my buddy noticed a sizeable oil leak the other day in his driveway on his Supra and took it in to get checked out (after adding oil generously). The verdict is piston ring (or rings) are done, pressurized the bottom end, and blew out his rear main. He's got lots of oil spewed up through his PCV and all inside his intake, not a pretty sight. Long story short, the engine needs a rebuild. Just trying to help him figure out where to go though with it. He's engaged and the wedding is coming up in the fall, so he can't drop butt tons of cash in to the car, but he needs some sort of transportation too (this was his only vehicle). Don't bother going in to "The shop is retarded, take it somewhere else." or anything like that, trying to figure out options. I know the guys at the shop personally, and they're on the VERY short list of people I'd completely trust working on my own car.

Here's a list of what it is right now:

1991 Supra Turbo Targa
202,xxx km (126,xxx miles)
Cometic MHG
ARP head studs

Very clean body/chassis, fairly new red paint.

These are the options we've been able to come up with so far...

Option #1:
Sell the car as is with the engine needing rebuild. No idea how much he should expect to get for it in the condition it's in.

Pros: Doesn't waste time and money trying to work it all out.

Cons: No supra, probably getting much less money than what the good stuff is actually worth because of the engine issue.

Option #2:
1JZ swap

Pros: Working car, good engine with more power than what he has now.

Cons: He (and I) wouldn't have the time to do it ourselves, so we'd need to find a reputable shop or someone that would be able to tackle a job like that without it being a sky high bill (probably somewhat unrealistic, but you can always hope).

Option #3:
Rebuild the engine that is in there, keep the car.

Pros: Very nice rust free working car. Reliable engine.

Cons: Again, couldn't do it ourselves. He was quoted $4500 from the shop he took it to. Might be able to find it cheaper, but it will still be very expensive.

Option #4:
Buy a used (hopefully good) used 7M and swap it in.

Pros: Still a rust free working car.

Cons: Potentially unknown engine history. Still not super cheap, but would likely be cheaper than getting the shop to do a rebuild on his own engine.

Option #5:
Doing either Option #2, #3, or #4, and trying to sell the car to recuperate losses in the work.

Pros: Probably the best way to get money out of the car.

Cons: No supra


Feedback? Anyone in the Lower Mainland British Columbia area have anyone or shop they'd recommend talking to for any of these options?

 

[Koenigturbo]

Automaticlly: from what I've read here swaps cost a lot of money. Uless of course you get lucky and find a package deal from someone parting out a car even then it would cost a lot. since you guys aren't gonna do the job, that cost would add up. By the time you dump all that money, in a 1j you could have put money back in your crippled 7m. read the threads here regarding swaps and see what it entails before you make a decison. Your gonna find a lot of back and fourth between the 7m and and the 1j here on the forums. I bet you'll end up keepng the 7m. I bet you could rebiuld that 7m for less than you could do a swap. I wouldn't buy that used 7m that you mentioned, who knows how long that will last. I'd just rebuild yours. If he kept the 7m it would be less down time since that's his "DD".
Honestly: option three and keep the engine you have. Unfortunately if you did it your self, you would save $4500 which would go a long way on a 7m.
If he can't drop tons of cash then that should already answer your question. The 1j is for guys that HAVE to have it.

 

[radiod]

I personally am trying to steer him away from the 1J swap. At this point (especially) there is just too much going on for him to have to worry about troubleshooting the quirks that undoubtedly will come with a swap. Honestly the only real options I think are feasable are rebuilding the 7M he's got and either keeping the car or selling the car at that point, or just selling the car the way it is with it's blow by issues. He was down almost 4 quarts of oil in a week. So the thing starts, it runs, but it just spews oil everywhere if you drive it for any length of time (or even just let it sit). Big problem with selling it the way it is now is 1, neither of us have any idea as to what a fair asking price is for the thing and 2, not many people will be interested in a car with an engine in that condition. Like I said before, the car otherwise is very clean, no rust, fairly new paint, interior is immaculate....would make a VERY nice car if it didn't have a problems with the engine .

 

[Ash]

Give the guys at BIC Performance a call. They're in Langley, 1-604-534-5528.

I've never dealt with them, and I don't know if they do rebuilds, but they specialize in MkIII Supra's so at the very least they can hopefully point you in the right direction.

 

[Koenigturbo]

I don't know about Abbotsford, but I seen shops where if you purchase an engine from them, you can get a packaged install deal. I've seen packaged deal like 1500 insatlled from these used Japanese Engine places. far cry from $4500

 

[Suprapowaz!(2)]

If he's getting married soon then I'd say either sell it as is, or put in on the backburner until he can mess with later. In the meantime, he needs to get himself a reliable DD.

 

[radiod]

Looks like he'll be trying to sell it as is. Still just waiting for a few quotes on engines/rebuilds from some places, but it's looking too expensive for him.