REMAN
You can get it overhauled, and it will be less expensive, maybe, but if you get a reman, it's got a solid warranty.
HOWEVER, check carefully the fine print. I think the engine has to be running , or runable, to get a core charge. Talk to Van Bortel (
www.factoryengines.com ) about the core. If they reject your core, it could cost you $10,000. In that case, you would have spent considerably less money with an overhaul.
On overhaul. There are few shops that will overhaul a Continetal IO-360. If you read the adds in some of the magazines, you will hear all kinds of glowing reports about this company or that company who have made superior cylinders. When I last checked, no one was making them for our IO-360. The lycoming, yes, the Continental, no.
I have 2 reman's in my plane. The rear was this year. I had an oil leak, traced to the shaft coming off the starter drive. Continental replaced the unit, and paid the labor for my mechanic to remove the engine, fix it, and put it back in.
That's my $0.02 worth.