thank you very much for the input. greatly appreciated.

now that im gung-ho on dropping the 5.6 in-- anything i can do to liven it up while on the ground? like say grab cams out of x engine, or any other little trick.

will likely gasket match intake/exhaust ports when i do valves.

1st time digging into a mercedes like this. More familiar w/ vw/audi stuff and know what to rob form what cars for cheap hop up/performance stuff. Yet im pretty damn green on these mercedes.