Need help.. newbie hoping for engine swap in my 1988 V6

Hey all.

I live in Portland, OR.

A couple years back I bought a 1988 1st generation 4Runner from the original owner, and I felt real lucky to have found one in the condition I did.

192k miles. Nearly no rust, mint condition exterior. I don't want to make it a mudder or crawler whatsoever, I just want to retain its pristine state. I'd love to make my daily driver.

Only issue is.... I think I need an engine swap. Well, rather, I just want to find someone who is able and willing to but a new engine into the thing and give it new guts for more HP and to buy me ~90-100k miles of new life in the thing.

I'm a complete novice with this stuff, and I'm not mechanically inclined whatsoever. I'm coming to y'all with essentially zero knowledge on this stuff.

I've sunk about 8-10k in repairs into this 4Runner over the past two years, and have continued to have problems. Most recently it seemed to be a coolant / antifreeze issue - I was driving to work several months back and suddenly white smoke started pouring out of the AC vents internally into the cab of the vehicle.... there was a good amount of liquid dripping into the passenger side floor of the cab from underneath the middle of the dash / right beneath wiring. I dabbed my finger in the liquid, and gave it a brief dab on the tongue - sickeningly sweet. Definitely antifreeze.

I fear my heads are leaking or something worse. This is a nearly all stock model, no significant mods have been done - just a 2" lift kit to give it a little boost.

I've read about putting a short block Chevy V8 into these things, and many other routes too - heard others tell me that I could easily just put a 2002 Toyota Tacoma engine in the thing since those are a nearly perfect fit, and there are no welding modifications needed to ensure that the new engine will fit well.

I can source a new engine (with help), but just want proper guidance on what I should look for. I've got some other friends that can help me vet out the new engine from the seller, etc, and can have it delivered, but once it arrives I'm clueless as to how to do this stuff myself. I need to find a reputable, able, and willing mechanic who can take on something like this.

Willing to pay. Just need to have confidence in the abilities of the person I trust with this.

Any and all input is welcomed. Able to talk on the phone or text about this with ease.

Thank you all for your time, and for sticking with me as I fumbled through writing this.

-David