New Eagle owner - tired engine

[Royster]

Hello - I recently acquired a 1987 Eagle.  I suspect I have a bad/tired engine.  It appears to be the original motor but it has low oil pressure and quite a bit of sparkly stuff when I drained the oil. I bought this as a project assuming I would be spending time working on it over the next year (or more).  I have some experience working on cycles/ATV's but fairly new to vehicle stuff.  I feel pretty confident I can pull the engine but I'm trying to decide if I should dig in and rebuild the motor or get a rebuilt one.  I don't have unlimited funds but I don't want to waste time/money on my own rebuild if it doesn't make sense.
Anyone have any advise for a rookie on if it's worth it to rebuild vs replace the engine?  My first thought would be to pull the engine and see what I'm dealing with.  I'm in North East Wisconsin and have limited garage space so I'll have to plan to pull the motor soon or let it wait outside until next spring.
Thanks

[89 MJ]

They're a fairly easy engine to rebuild. That's the route I'd go.

[MIPS]

A top and bottom-end rebuild for me cost $3300 and six weeks. 258's are still plentiful but it's still cheaper to get the original block rebuilt, however have the shop Magnaflux it or equivalent so they don't end up rebuilding a junk engine.

[Royster]

Thanks for the input.  My current plan is to pull the engine and inspect as I tear it down.  I'm leaning towards rebuilding unless I find something completely broken on the original engine.  I'm bouncing between rebuilding vs replacing since I'd love to get it on the road as soon as possible but I also appreciate the feeling of working on it myself and making a "project" out of it.

[vangremlin]

I had to replace the engine in my Eagle about 15 years ago.  I was able to get a 258 from a Jeep and swap it in (with the appropriate oil pan and oil pump).  I was fortunate in that the guy selling the engine was pulling it from his Jeep to put in a Chevy 350  and I was able to hear it run while it was still in the Jeep.  Picked it up pretty cheap, you may be able to go that route also. 

Good luck!