Toyota Repair: Celica Blown Piston Rings?, worn piston rings, celica gt

Question
Hey Ted,
I'm looking for a car to work on and I found a 1991 Celica GT that supposedly only has blown piston rings.  I'm 17 and have some experience on cars, both from school (auto tech) and from tinkering on an old Jeep, but I was just asking how intense a job this would be.  Would it be sensible to replace the piston rings or would this car have to have a new engine?  By the way, this car is 300 dollars and it looks great, is that a deal?
Thanks in advance,
Nick

Answer
Worn piston rings can also mean that the rest of the engine is worn and needs to be rebuilt, it would be a wiser decision to try to locate a good used engine from a salvage yard, there are lots of them that specialize in used japanese engines near the larger cities and metropolitan areas, overhauling or rebuilding the existing engine may require extensive machine shop service and parts which may cost much more than the car is worth, try to find a used engine, the cost may be about $800 and your labor to install it and you will have a nice car for about $1,100.