Greetings Michigan What do you need from this car . If you keep your foot light you can drive an engine with a loose rod for a long time, I think 2 years was my record You can get a used engine for about $500 and 15 hours to put it in for a first timer. That’s cheaper than a new beater and a new set...

That is an easy one as the pan is not hard to remove and FCP has rod bearings for $50 ish. The oil pan is sealed with Anaerobic sealer and the rod bolts are reuseable. You won't know until you remove rod caps if the problem is minor and it requires cleaning crank and rod installing new bearings. If ...