Greetings and salutations!

A while ago I posted my woes here about my 79 300TD that bit the dust while on vacation, and now the time has come to do something about it. I am going to rebuild the engine, and I am starting to gather the necessary resources together, which brings me to my question:

Can anyone recommend any particular reference materials that I should have, either for the engine specifically, or the car in general? I have been snooping online, and it seems that there are several variations of the factory engine repair manuals depending on what year they were printed, as well as other manuals covering the chassis, body, heating & cooling, etc. I have also seen a cd-rom available for the 123 cars, I am wondering if this has all the printed material, or just a subset. I know when I go into the dealer, they have the complete parts book on the computer, is that on the cd-rom as well?

Also, what is too much to pay for the literature? I have been watching e-bay, and it looks like the engine & body manuals are worth quite a bit, while the parts catalog and the maintenance guide are not worth as much. Any opinions?

Also, while I am at it, any recommendations about special tools? I am a reasonably competent mechanic, I have rebuilt engines before, just not mercedes diesels. I dont mind spending on something that will make a real difference, but I dont want to throw away money either.

Thanks in advance!

-Zach