Pro and cons of rebuilding the baby....

[mbzr4ever]

First, if this is in the wrong section, sorry and mods please move it to vintage or where it needs to be.

OK, need some opinions from the great wise 240 aficionados on what to do with my 79 240D that "blew up". Consider:

1) The engine had about 300K miles on it when I let a "friend" drive it and he "blew up" the engine. That friend is now long gone, needless to say.

2) The auto mechanic says it would take about $2500 to put in a new engine. Sounds like he doesn't even really want to rebuild it, just wants to get a "new" engine and put it in. It was leaking oil big time. Knowledgeble mechanics to work on mercedes are very limited here.

3) I live in Hawaii, making it difficult to find a salvage engine, or to get one sent (maybe about $500 to ship). Mechanic has a lot of 5 cylinders and wants to put one of those in, I said no, want to keep it like the original. The same 4 cylinder engine around here would be rarer than a hen's tooth.

4) The car had the beginnings of rust, would it be worth saving? The rest of the interior was fine, had just replaced the driver's seat and put on brand new tires. For $2500 couldn't I just buy another 240D without rust on the mainland and ship it over (about $900 to ship)?

5) It is the w123, manual transmission, manual everything that my dad picked up in germany in 1979. I have memories of driving this car in Europe, so, it has a lot of sentimental value to me.

6) Am driving the 300e right now, so it is just sitting and its not like I need to have it fixed right away. Can't decide if this project car is going to be more trouble than its worth.