absolutely, thanks for that.

I had figured on doing the timing chain and gear (think i've heard of a dual chain upgrade), and possibly water pump (though looks to be new, I'll have to recheck) with the engine swap, and had read about the head gasket issue, so I should've thought of that. Tech's not available until late June to so the swap (reasonable and popular, evidently), so i hadn't thought too much about specifics.

good points.. now I'm half wondering if the knock I'm getting mid-engine might be head-related, though it seems to be more mechanical than combustion-related. Swapping a head gasket sure would be an easier fix than than swapping engines..

Car seems to be lacking power, but I'm going from a Saab 2.6 liter that's much lighter, so i can't claim to be that familiar with the 300e power curve and response from a dead stop. I'll know a little more after changing plugs, cap, and rotor. looking at plugs, and doing a compression test..

thanks..