Need Advice

So the motor in my '91 is going south. It's got a well pronounced knock that I can't seem to ID or fix. It's definately coming from the bottom of the motor and new bearings didn't fix it.
Anyway I got ahold of another '91 from a friend at work for $1000.... It's got a '99 motor with only 60K on it. The drivetrain is in great shape but the rest of the Jeep is in fair shape.
I'm gonna be pulling the motor from the new 2DR and dropping it into my 4DR.

My question is: what should I do with my old motor and the 2DR XJ

Options

1. Leave the 2DR torn apart and part it out. I should be able to get close to what I spent for it out of the parts.
2. Reassemble the 2DR and sell it as is. It would make a great trail rig if somebody wanted to put a little bit of time into the motor and a few other things.
3. Rebuild the bad motor as a stroker and turn the 2DR into my trail rig

The wife really wont go for #3 since this project was supposed to be as close to zero net cost as possible and I really can't see her letting me keep 2 XJs.

So... Would I be able to get enough out of the parts (engine, good AW4, good 231, various other parts) to justify that or would I get more from putting the 2DR back together and selling it?

Just looking for ideas......

You probably don't want questions, but I'm curious about your knock. have you checked to see if the torque converter-to-flywheel bolts are tight? I know I had a knock that I thought was the motor going for a dump; but my brother suggested this and it worked!

The only reason I ask is because the new bearings didn't help. Did you check the connecting rod-to-crank bearings?

If it was me, I'd try everything to figure out what the knock was, and then I'd either part out the 1991 and see how much you can make from it. Maybe keep the engine for your own...

Well if you need the money the part it out or just sell it. If I did not need the money then I would try and keep it and make it into a trail rig. I know that takes money but just take your time and try and buy a piece at a time to get it the way you would like it. That would keep you from beating up you DD when you go out.

Do it all extra cheap!

Trim the fenders as much as possible, bastard spring packs, ZJ coils and home-made BPE's to add a little extra length onto the shocks. Then the only expensive part is new tires!

Mind you, I'm only this brave with someone else's money.