Yeah, bummer, but I'll bet he either turned a rod bearing or dropped a valve head.

Yeah, with the damaged plug, I was leaning toward the dropped valve.

Guys, thanks for the help and comments.

Our bet its a damaged valve as well.

I am open to suggestions on what my next steps should be, which is to repair the damage or dump the ole' girl for parts!

Much of that would depend on the condition of your vehicle. If it is in good shape, and has been reliable, my suggestion would be to repair the damage. I'd also be curious as to what happened and caused the damage. You're failure is not unheard of, but is unusual for these engines.

I'd think about a used engine. If the engine dropped a valve, it tanked a piston for sure, and maybe a cylinder wall or head.

it'* probably too big a risk to rebuild that one.

Odd...things like this are usually pretty reliable.

Any work done on the top end that you know of?

While it is possible to be able to repair the damage, I did years ago on a high performance V8, that was due more to not having many good used engines to choose from. In your case, I agree with Bob. A good used engine would be your better bet.

Thanks to all for your comments.

No work has been done to the vehicle within the past two years, so I kinda rule that out.

The body is in tough shape. The 'clearcoat' is coming off all over, especially on the roof, and I don't want to put a chunk of dough into a good paint job. So given the body needs work and now a new engine, I don't think I want to put that kind of dough into this car. At least that is my thinking right now. I would though like to find out exactly what caused this problem.

If you have tools and time.. diagnosis is free...