I picked up a 93 940 NA over the weekend. Guy who has it says head gasket blown and he's no mechanic. Pulled the dipstick, and oil looks like chocolate milk, plus coolant seems low, so that seems like the correct diagnosis.

Car cranks up and runs ok - just did it briefly to see if it starts.

Otherwise, the car is in good shape: no rust, decent paint, alloys, decent tires, leather interior, etc. Current investment is $366.

I'm looking for advice. I am an OK mechanic, but most of my experience is maintenance/tune up, with the occasional starter/alternator/radiator swap.

I assume that the head gasket has blown, and am contemplating tackling this, but don't want to go through the whole exercise and find that the engine was already ruined.

I bought this car thinking that I could use it as a parts car for a running '94 940NA that I already have which needs some TLC, but like this one more.

The goal is to end up with one good running car, without getting sucked into a money pit.

Honestly, I would like to get both cars running and keep them out of the scrap yard or crusher. It seems like a shame, but my wife isn't happy about the back yard being filled up with old RWD Volvos!

a. Is there any way to tell "engine health" in current condition?
b. Am I kidding myself?
c. How much more work is involved in swapping the whole engine - see next line?


Option B is to put in another engine. My local Volvo repair shop has a couple of running engines that he's trying to sell for $150 each. Is this a better way to go, since I don't know anything else about the car, or am I going down a rabbit hole?

Thanks in advance for any guidance