Well crap! Advice needed with shot engine
 

My Supra apparently started leaking oil. I drive 500 miles a week and didn't notice how low the oil pressure got. I took it in to have it looked at and the mechanic said I was 3 quarts low when it came in and enough damage was done that a rod is knocking so my engine is shot. (His technical description.)

I had been planning to sell it in a few months, though I had planned on driving it until then. He said that without taking the oil pan off they can't know how bad the damage is so I now have no idea how long until the engine craps out completely.

The car has 137K miles and in great shape is possibly worth 3K. While it is in good shape, the seats need to be recovered so it isn't even worth that much.

If you were in this situation, what would you do?

Do you have the $$$$ to have it fixed?

Find a good used 7m-ge.

First of all, I do have the money to get this fixed. The mechanic said it almost certainly a rod bearing though the extent of the damage won't be known until the engine is opened up.

If I was going to keep the car I'd buy a 1JZ front clip and do an engine/tranny swap (something I had been planning to do before) but since I was planning on selling it in a few months anyway I'm not sure if it wouldn't make more sense to sell it to someone who was already looking for a project car and let them do with it what they want.

sorry to be the harbringer of bad news....but a 7MGE with rod knock is not worth 3K.

to take off the oil pan the engine has to be pulled =X or at least lifted up some.

personally, id drop in a turbo engine, but it all depends on how much money you have, how much you like the car, and what you want done to it.

check the oil often, i check it every time i drive ;)

I said 3K in good shape, and obviously, a car with a rod knock is not good shape. I am trying to figure out what it might be worth taking the problem into consideration.

Well for me to put in a new 7mge in my supra cause i have a blown headgasket and a bad piston, its going to cost me 1600 for someone to do it, 800 for the motor and 800 for laber in removing, so i guess if you fix the car you'll make 1400 bucks off of it, but those are the rate around here.

i thought by '3K in good shape' you meant the shape it is in now, DESPITE the rod knock. i gotcha now though ;)

assuming you do the work yourself, and correctly, youll very easily be able to clean up the entire car and have an almost spotless automobile after the swap, if you decide to go through with it. depending on the outcome and how much luck you have, id say youd be able to get more than 3K ;)

What another 500 bucks.

Max bet on these cars wether you have 10k in it or not matters very little.
The kbb is where it's at.

If you think your going to mod it out and make bank.

A fresh un-modded supra is worth more the the real car buyer.

No one wants to wade through what you or I have done to the cars.

I am not trying to make money on this car. I paid 2K for it, well below market because the owner was leaving the country and wanted to get rid of it quickly. I got it in stock configuration and it is still in stock configuration. Right now, however, it has a rod knocking so anybody looking to buy this car is going to know going in that it needs some serious work from the get go.

My options are:
1. Put a new engine in it so I can sell it for something nearer to what I paid
2. Sell it as is, taking a huge hit for the engine problem.

What I really don't know is what a person looking for a Mk III would pay for the car as it is right now. If it is worth 2K with a working engine but only $500 with a messed up engine then even putting $1K toward the car is worth it.

As part of my considerations, a friend of the family restores cars and will do the swap so labor will be negligible. Most of the cost will be the engine itself if I go that route.