Possibly my 97 Montero, to buy or not to buy

Hey everyone I have a friend of mine who didn't change the timing belt soon enough. The result, I guess were the pistons kissing a few of the valves. She decided to not get it fixed which has resulted in it sitting at my neighbors house for a few months waiting for her to do something with it..

.. thats where I come in. Since I'm a sucker for a low cost (initial) project, this will be my first 4wd vehicle. My usual is the Mopars of the '80's, you know the little 2.2 - 2.5 turbo'd cars that you find in every junkyard in the US and most of mexico..

So the skinny on the Montero. This thing is in pretty darn good shape. No rust anywhere, rockers, liftgate, wheel wells, none. It's black, has the sunroof, power winders, (something I have gotten use to not having) It only has 137K miles on it. There really is nothing wrong with it except the bent valves, and whatever else that problem could have caused. Now her asking price of $700.00 makes me want to jump on it, but past experience with other vehicles is making me stand back and try to find some valuable info.

I imagine others have come across the timing belt issue. 137 K miles seems a little premature but what do I know? Do you guys think this is a good purchase? Should I pull the heads, check em out, replace the needed valves and run with it? Or should I find another engine and git er done that way.. I'm having trouble finding a used 3.0 except I think the salvage yard (where I work) has a Mitsu Eclipse with a 3.0 in it.. I believe the engine is smoked but the heads are probably still good, if it's the same engine..

Sorry this is so long, and if I am unclear about anything please let me know.

This isn't going to be a rock crawler, maybe lift it enough to get some larger tires under it for mild off roading, but I would like it to tow my little 21' Bayliner, and have it set up for camping with the family..

Thanks everyone

Here are some pictures

[image]http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv181/TwistedNoodle_1/IMAG1338.jpg[/image]

[image]http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv181/TwistedNoodle_1/IMAG1337.jpg[/image]
[image]http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv181/TwistedNoodle_1/IMAG1336.jpg[/image]
[image]http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv181/TwistedNoodle_1/IMAG1335.jpg[/image]

Ok that didn't work...

Here they are..

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The first thing I would do is to look into the availability of parts. Call a machine shop and have them see if the parts are available and to see how much they would want to rebuild the heads, or fix what ever else might be bad. Pistons, rods what ever. Parts are the big factor I would look at. Or find a long block.

If its as clean as it looks id say the 700 + 500-1500 installed for a decent engine still makes it worth it

Thank you for the input Camoit.
* side note* Btw this site is great. I wish I would have found this years ago. I've been looking for a D-50/M.Max for 2 or 3 years. I like to mess around with the turbo Dodges of the 80's. I wanted a D50 to put one of my motors in because FWD sucks. lol

Anyway, I have found a 3.0 out of an Eclipse. Does anyone know if the heads are interchangeable?

welcome ! Id like to see your turbo stuff in the " other vehicles" section. Dont forget when you price parts to include all the bearings, seals, tensioner , h20 pump and pulleys. I doubt the pistons have bad damage....probably just a small dent from the valve hitting it. If you get another used engine its most likely gonna need all the timing components replaced anyhow. So tear it apart and see what you have to work with. It would suck to swap some used heads on it and then find leaking valves or valve seals. The more you take care of now will save you trouble in the long run