The new head and head gasket lasted four or five laps before compression went away on #2. This was at the end of Saturday and pulling the head again was deemed to be too much. Thus we finished on three cylinders. The copious rain on Sunday also helped us not be too terribly off the pace.
My more mechanically-inclined brother-in-law also thinks the block might be salvageable and will be checking on it soon. We pulled the three-banger engine last night and will hopefully know the broad strokes by this weekend.
Around here Miata motors seem to go at a premium. Heck, I got my current spare by buying a wrecked Miata for less than long block goes for on the open market ($600-$1,200). I blame people that race Miatas.
Ha, I think an Ecotech swap would be cool at some point. A lot of benefits there - reliable power, plentiful cheap motors, it's a proven solution. We'll see.