Help Me Justify Engine Swap

[Bronconewbie]

Hello,

I bought a 1989 Bronco II beginning of the year without any mechanic knowledge and been having issues with engine leak. I took the car to the mechanic to get it diagnosed and the car has a cracked piston and they recommended an engine swap.
I would love to swap the engine and drive the car, I live in NYC and it would be treated like a Sunday driver instead of a daily.
Now the issue is the quote came back higher than I expected and I’m asking myself if it makes sense putting in a new engine.
I still have to talk to the shop and see what engine they found but does it make sense to spend all this money into a Bronco II?

 

[tw205]

Any response to “ is it worth it “ will require a monetary amount. $10 used junkyard engine with 10 seconds warranty. Full rebuild punched turned ground ? Gonna need more info. Even $2500 with 3 year warranty is cheaper than a new POS with more electronics to fail and recalls for explosive airbags or catastrophic engine failure. Then there’s the condition of your ride. Rusty NYC body got many years left. 34 year old rig in NYC gotta be well vented.

Cracked piston huh. Still drivin it?