The 2.6 has had some issues but then again many aluminum head motors have. The big ones are head cracking over time and if you overheat and ballance shaft bearing failures if you run out of oil. Also the ballance sahft chain drives the oil pump and if allowed to run really loose it fials, the pump stops spinning and life is bad.

That said a reasonalby maintained 2.6 will go 120,000 to 200,000 miles or more. A new head will get you years of useage, odds are it will outlast the rest of the vehicle. basicly these mtors can be rebuilt to be very reliable.

The down side is cost, a rebuilt engine is not free and a new head + parts for the rest of the engine can add up. If you shop well it can be done on a budget, just not the same one as a chevy.

The motor has a number of strong points like the bottom end is way over built, forged crank, beefy block, rods.. etc. With a turbo you can get an easy 180 to 260 hp and a lot of torque.

With a carb you can get a low cost fun to drive vehicle that has acceptable performance.

Rust depends o nwhere the vehicle lived. My california Raider is very clean. Get one from the salt belt... and expect dammage.

Kevin