89 300E not passing smog - engine work

[think300E]

My 89 300E with more than 248k miles has not passed smog. Last mechanic refused to work on car (under CAP funding) because he said it needed engine work.

Referee wouldn't provide waiver because I had no proof of spending $500, and while at the referee - it was smogged and test resulted as gross polluter.

Options I thought of:

- Do head job, probably will cost a few thousand

- Take it to some other mechanic and use my own money (up to $500) to document the requirement then try to get waiver.
If the car needs engine work, and I was paying out of my pocket, would smog person try to 'fix' / replace parts as needed OR would they also not proceed to test / fix and suggest to do mechanical job first?

- How to sell a car without a smog in California.
I read that I could turn it into non-operational, and sell as is, not operating, it can be done? because buyer would still need to smog it to get it out of non-operation status? Is that true?

- Sell it as mechanical special (non-operation), needs work etc AND How much to sell it for?

Vehicle retirement in Calif is currently suspended, so option would be to sell it to someone else.

HELP

[mbdoc]

I would suggest either repairing the engine issue by having the cylinder head removed &
inspected, OR looking for a good used engine with a lot less mileage.