Due to my plaguing indecisiveness I need some advice or suggestions...

I have a euro-spec 1982 240TD. 250,000 miles on the clock and a 616 that burns a quart of oil every couple hundred miles. Other than the excessive blowby and a couple other little annoyances, I think that the engine still puts out a decent amount of power, although I'm sure it could be better.

The car needs some attention here and there... some cleaning up and going through before it could be a real pleasure to own and drive, or sell. Right now it's not living up to its full potential. When I bought it, I didn't realize the rate at which it was going through oil. It kind of snuck up on me. I've tooled with the idea of sticking in a 617 turbo mated to a 5-speed (although I haven't researched what kind of tranny is available for the swap) for the increased power, but wondered if it would be sacrilege to do away with the 616 - plus I appreciate the simplicity and the economy and the uncluttered engine bay with the 4 cyl.

Anyway, being that the cost of a 616 rebuild is far beyond what I want to spend at this point on the car, I found someone in town selling a supposed rebuilt 1975 "616.916" with about a 1000 miles on the rebuild and "works perfectly". Complete engine for $500, maybe less if negotiable.

What do you guys think?