I will update some pictures today.

BTW, I found the greeat deal on shipping on Mercedesshop.com This is a good forum for DIY info. Most of the cars are a bit older, but the guys in this site are doing many of things we just talk about, ie: DIY turbos, supercharing, big brake upgrades etc. The shipping company is:

Small Business Tranportation @ 1-888-368-6022 Ext 21 and talk to Chris.

They quoted me $169 to ship the engine from Sacramento to Dallas, but since they were picking up at a residence that required a lift gate truck, I ended up paying $260. It only toook a few days to get here and they called me yesterday that I could come and pick it up. I went to their terminal with a pick up and they loaded onto the pickup.

I started calling friends to be ready when I get home to help off load it. But one of my hot rod friends told me I should use his shop for the whole project. This is a nice shop and a no brainer, so I drove to his place which is only a few streeets over from me. He just built this shop as an add on to his home. The shop has a giant I beam with a sliding chain pulley set up for removing and installing engines, Just what I needed! I just backed the truck under it hooked up the engine and raised it enough to drive out from under it. We then bolted the engine stand to it and then lowered it to the ground. Very simple when you have the right equipment. One thing that did impress me is that these engines aren't very heavy compared to a cast iron small block chevy or Ford.

This weekend I will start cleaning and detailng the engine. I will also put the Crossfire up on jackstands and take tons of measurements to validate my assumptions that this will work. I will be focusing on the length of the engine and the front edge of the oil pan to ensure it will clear the sway bar, and checking to see if the motor mounts will line up or if I will be making some changes. I will also compare the exhaust manifold outlet size compared to the V6. If they are the same size, then with C43 exhaust manifolds I might be able to just bolt the exhaust right up to the stock exhaust. the stock exhaust might not be ideal for a V8 but it would be good enough to get it running, plus I would love to hear a V8 running through the Ansa muffler.

Once I am convinced it will bolt in, I will order C43 exhaust manifolds, and a C43 electric fan.

I also have to make a decission on a few other other items. The new engine came from a totaled 2002 CL500 that was totaled after only being on the road for 11-12 months. The person I bought the engine from bought the whole car at auction because he needed the whole front clip to fix his car. Besides the front clip, he robbed one of the valve covers, three coil packs and the water pump to fix his car. He put the cracked valve cover back on this engine. I have to buy a valve cover, but the coil packs and water pump can be taken from my V6. My firends are telling me to buy the coil packs and water pump so that my V6 will bring better money when I go to sell it.

This weekend should be fun! I have started another post in the detailing area to get idaeas on detailing the engine. The engine has some aluminum oxidation on it. I searched the web and found that there are aluminum brightners that are phosphoric acid based and will really make the aluminum look good. I am going to give this a try. I then will need to find a way to prtect the aluminum in the future. I am thinking of painting the engine with high heat Ceramic satin clear. This should make the engine look brand new but OEM. I am planning on painting or powder coating the valve covers as they are more visible even with the engine cover on.