Vanakin,

Good luck with your new "project" vehicle. Depending on the condition of the rest of your Jimmy you might consider getting a good used junk yard engine to swap out. This would be alot of work but it is an option to fixing up an engine that been run with coolant in the oil and been run without oil.

Regarding your "old wise mechanic", I believe there is some truth to this because if you drain the oil out of an engine there is still some oil coating the internal parts to aid in preventing rust. However if you drain the oil and leave it for weeks there is a chance that the thin oil coating may eventually drain off leaving the exposed metal prone to rust.

__________________
Ray
1998 Mercedes E320, 200K Miles
2001 Acura 3.2TL, 178K Miles
1992 Chevy Astro, 205K Miles