This may help:

We replaced the engine in our '79 Arrow IV (T-tail) a few months ago with a
Lyc. factory reman and overhauled the prop at the same time. The only
things we didn't relace firewall-forward were the exhaust and the
alternator, both of which were only a couple of years old. We now figure
the plane has a market value right around $90K. It has a very nice exterior
(maybe 8.5/10) and a not bad interior (solid 7/10). Very well equipped.
including backup electric AI, but no panel-mount GPS. VERY well maintained
by a top shop.

To turn your "dog" into a plane like ours, you would probably have to spend:

27K for a reman engine and prop o'haul (including installation)

15K for new paint and interior

maybe 10K to resolve other misc. problems. Add another $2K if the Piper
service bulletin on fuel hoses has not been done. This assumes no major
problems with the airframe, but does assume some needed work on the landing
gear (like main gear bushings).

The Garmin 430 probably adds $5K to the value, and maybe 3K premium for the
straight tail vs the T.

That works out to about $46K, based on the 90K starting point. So an asking
price of $50K is not wildly optimistic.

I'd guess that of the costs listed above, A&P labor probably amounts to
around $7K to $12K, so if you have the time and inclination, and if the
seller will take $45K, you might just have a good deal.

One final consideration: the lead time for reman and factory o'haul IO-360s
from Lycoming can get long. We had to wait many weeks for ours. You can
use that time to do the paint, interior, and other stuff (assuming the
needed services are available at the field where the plane is), but you are
likely to be grounded for a long time after the purchase.

--
-Elliott Drucker