WOULD YOU SUGGEST REBUILDING THE ORIGINAL MOTOR OR BUYING A REMANUFACTURED MOTOR?

I would suggest purchasing a Jasper or other remanufactured motor rather than rebuilding the original. The reason being, a Jasper motor is rebuilt to specific standards and offers a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty, whereas a rebuilt motor by an individual may not have any express warranty or be rebuilt to the same standards. You may also have luck finding a junkyard motor from overseas, where vehicles have much shorter lifespans. For example, the average Japanese car engine when it is put out of service has only 30-50k miles on it. Companies sell these to US clients, where cars last a lot longer.