Not that this will help, but, I got a call this week, from the guy who bought my TR last February. He asked me if I had put a two-piece crank in the car? In other words, he broke the crank in half. His original claim was that he was just coasting into work, (he's a mechanic by trade), and it just started knocking. Later on, the story changes to "he was under 14psi" when it let loose. Who really knows, as it doesn't change the fact that it's broke.
My point is; things do break, and sometimes it is the fault of the driver, and sometimes it's just miles and miles of wear and tear. Things do get fatigued, and they break thereof. It always sucks when it happens, but, what you need to learn from this is; if you plan on owning performance related cars, and plan on hot rodding, then you also need to plan on spending additional money repairing them and replacing parts. It's just the nature of the game. It should always be in your budget, on top of the actual car note. In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned my first TR breaking 1 year after I bought it, which hurt my pocket book too, being in college at the time. However, I had a weak stock fuel pump, and was still trying to cram 20psi through the motor, so,,, it was my fault! I took my licks, and rebuilt it better. I learned a ton, and do not regret it happening now.
I'm not implying that you abused the car, (although common teenage sense would say otherwise). I know that my first car was not a performance ride, yet I thrashed it like it was a pro-stock racer. If you have been careful, and not stretched its limitations, then you have far better youthful discipline than any of us did, and you will do very well in the real world, when you get there. You seem like a smart kid, and are ahead of the curve by what I've read.
Finally, you are now stuck with making a decision on repairs. I agree with what everyone else said, in that, DON'T buy a reman "gopher" style motor, even if you're gonna sell the car. It would not be fair to the next owner, and then we'd be reading their posts about how they bought a lemon too.
Fix the car right, with the correct parts, and it will be better for you and all parties involved! There is enough information readily available to you, in order to let a reputable mechanic rebuild this motor, as long as you provide the proper specs. As mentioned, call Casper's in your area. Turbo cranks are the exact same as the crank out of a 4.1 motor, so you should be able to find one in a salvage yard, from many 1980-84 Buicks, Olds, or Cadilacs. The one I'm putting in my current rebuild is out of a 4.1 motor. $250 for it.
As mentioned, building a TR 3.8 does take some additional care over building a loose small block Chevy, but it's not an impossible task that only NASA can accomplish. A good machine shop should be able to prep or even build your short-block for you with the right tolerances, and then you and your boss can do the rest.
As for the reputation and info on the guy you bought it from, well, he does sound to be on the "up & up", and I really don't think he intentionally sold you a junker. You, unfortunately, just happened to be in possession of it when it finally cratered. I can assure you though, there is a logical reason for it, whether it be from detonation, or poor machine work from the original rebuild. The crank was probably the original one though, as most people would not replace a crank with a rebuild, unless the rebuild was necessary from having spun a bearing, or an actual broken crank to begin with.
Sorry to ramble on, but I really am trying to help you, as I've followed this thing from beginning to end. Best wishes...
