Bought 96 Tacoma, doesn't run. Options?

A little background: Just bought a 96 Tacoma 2wd 4-banger for $250. Not $2500- I mean $250. He hasn't run in a few years- the head gasket blew on the first owner, and he just let it sit in his yard for a year. He then sold it to another guy, who did absolutely nothing to it but put it in his yard and let it collect dust. I bought it, because I couldn't turn down a truck for $250. Since it sat for so long, it does not run, and problems have likely sprang up from it's dormancy. (Shrunken/cracked seals, old, watery oil eating at the block, which is cast, etc.)
So the options I thought of are:
1. Drop motor and do a total rebuild, either re-plane head/buy new head.
2. Buy whole new block, keep old one to familiarize with and rebuild.

What do you guys think? I'm totally willing to buy a whole new block, so that I know that there's nothing wrong with it. If I do buy a block, should I buy one new, rebuilt, or just from a junk yard? (I do frequent Pick'n'Pull, the car graveyard.)

Just wanted someone else's opinion on this.
Thanks!

 

Buy a cheep reman, with a GOOD warranty. They are not hard to change.

 

Do you know anywhere I could look for one? Any sites/etc?

 

Damn man, $250 bucks is a hell of a deal, even for a non-running truck!

I agree that you should either buy a nice problem free reman with a warranty standing behind it. Even if you spend a couple thousand, you have a solid truck with an excellent motor for under 4 grand.

Nice find!

 

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=remanufactured+toyota+engines

 

I owe it all to craigslist!
I looked up this truck on Kelly Blue Book, and the general listings for this truck (including all amenities it has) are:

Excellent- $5,518
Very Good- $5,243
Good- $5,118
Fair- $4,493

So no matter what, it's a heck of a steal for $250! I'll probably never find a deal like this again, haha.

 

So you gonna get a new block?

 

Well, I still want to, but my buddy that's going to be helping me says we should only pursue getting a new block if this one is really bad- we haven't began to tear it down yet, so we have no clue how bad it may be.
Can't even touch it until we've finished building his garage, because there's no other place to work on it but his place. I have to keep the truck over there as it is- if I had another non-running vehicle in my yard, my neighbor would call the city on me again. She's already done it four times.
So yeah, at this moment, it's really still up in the air. I hate waiting.

 

buy a cheap complete engine from a salvage yard most of the time they offer warranty also. keep and rebuild your original engine.

 

Damn, I need to look at craigslist more often!

 

I wish Pick N' Pull had my truck in stock- the closest 96 Taco in a Pick N' Pull is 800+ miles off in Ohio.

 

Yeah, man! There's some crazy good deals! And also, if you're looking to buy, not barter, still look in the barter/trade section- some people also list a cash offer. Like my truck- it was listed under barter. The guy wanted to trade something (he never specified what he wanted) or $250.
Also, I see you're a local- I'm right across the city line in Chesapeake.