sinking 4 grand into a 3500$ sled is.......well.......hmmm...stupid.
even sinking 2g into a shortblock is a tossup IMO
It is and it isn't. When you have lots or enough money for something new, then yeah it's dumb to fix the old pile. But if your on a pretty low sledding budget, fixing is a lot cheaper. 2000 for a shortblock or at LEAST another 4-5k for another sled (even if he parted this one out) to even get riding. And whether it was a 4000$ used sled or a 8000$ used sled the motor was going to go anyways. It the shits it went now but If fixed properly ie new shortblock it will give you a few years of fun without any worries.
Also I dunno about everyone else, but I think the best part of blowing the engine is taking it apaRt to see what happened. Ya it sucks when it happens but that's when a new adventure starts. Even if there is no intention of fixing, I still take it apart ha