That nasty noise

As I have evaluated what will need to be done for next steps, I have run bang up against a surprise: I wasn't expecting to need refurb this engine. I was expecting that it would be a deader, and I would be pulling it out this weekend and start shopping for Subarus. Instead the engine has pulled a surprise whizzer on me by remaining viable long after I would have guessed that it was DOA.

Here's the surprise: How much can I afford to make it run? How much can I afford not to? I had budgeted $300 to answer the "run-able" question. I spent $150 and got my answer. Now I need to spend more to make it "road-able" which is a much more expensive proposition. How much more? Here's a rough estimate:

• Heat Exchangers (which also act as the exhaust manifold) $340
• Engine Shrouds (to support replacing the Exchangers) $20 x 8 = $160
• Allen Head shroud screws (M8 1x12mm) $17 boltdepot.com
• Muffler & Tailpipe: $200
• Vacuum, Fuel & Ventilation Hoses: $160

Which kicks out a total of $877. Ow. That is the starting price. It goes up from there as we find things not anticipated. (What if the distributor is toast? That's $150 for a SVDA replacement. What about the cost consumables like oil, etc? What if the alternator is cooked?) Also note that this has nothing to do with suspension / brakes / electrical / body / tires. This is just the engine.

So I'm going to start the process of the 'first things' that cost little to nothing but time:

1. Gum-out the throttle valve. DONE
2. Replace as many vacuum hoses as practical and confirm that all of the vac hoses are connected correctly, esp a direct connect between the plenum and the FPR. DONE
3. Test vacuum diaphragm on distributor. DONE (GOOD)
4. Perform a full compression test on cylinders 4, 2, & 1 to see where they are relative to cylinder #3 which came in at 100psi. Testing yielded the following results:
1. Cylinder #3 100 psi
2. Cylinder #4 150 psi
3. Cylinder #2 100 psi
4. Cylinder #3 120 psi
5. Try the engine again.(DONE. Still stalls after almost runaway conditions.)
6. Valve Adjust. (Skipped, nothing more to learn.)
7. Test Alternator charging. (Skipped. Dash lamp turns off once the engine is running, showing charging.)
8. Clean out engine compartment with vacuum cleaner. (Skipped. Dropping Engine.)

All of these items cost time and little else. Which is good, since I'm still having to work out costing for all of the parts that I need to buy, as listed above.