got down to taking the intake bolts off and noticed this ugly thing.

 

i don't have an engine puller, how hard is replacing the engine comparted to doing the head gasket job?

 

WOW!!!
That is NOT a nice surprise.
Pulling a engine is more about unhooking electrical connections than anything else.
The hardest part will be hooking the flywheel to the torque converter.

 

Wow! Didn't you notice it was running a little rough first--or that awful noise coming from the front of the truck?

 

no, i bought the truck non running, said it needed a head gasket, hehe weeeee the fun of buying used cars 1800 bux not well spent

 

That's a big "HELLO!!!!!"

 

HOLY MOLY !!
but anyway....have you taken the valve cover off ( or the head) to see exactly what part of the valvetrain has let loose ?? here's at least a slight chance that this engine is more repairable than you think

 

Wow, thats not good! On the bright side, you could probably buy another engine and still stay right around what you would pay for a running rover, I don't know how much the engines cost but I'd bet between $3k and $6k for a used engine.

 

i can get another engine for right around 900-1500 bux, guess it could be worse, no i haven't torn anything else apart since seeing that, before that i tried cranking the engine, didn't crank of course but it turned over fine

 

Then you really haven't gotten that bad of a deal assuming you can land another engine. I mean its at the least a fun project to tackle that you probably wouldn't have gotten to do otherwise.

Good luck!