The engine has been consuming oil since almost day one. Well....maybe not day 1, but for a while. There have been a LOT of tests run to find out where the oil is gonig, but no luck. I was driving the vehicle and noticed a faint knocking sound coming from the engine that progressively got louder over a period of a week until the engine just gave out. The mechanic said he found bits of metal in the oil pan. Odd because even though it consumed oil, it was well maintained and oil was added at regular intervals. Anyways, that's what happened. As far as getting a crate motor, it makes zero sense to do this because the car would barely be worth the cost of the motor after swap. Thanks for you help, though.