advice moved topic....

I am in the next couple of weeks swapping my 1.8 mk1 golf gti engine into my finished project car,i am luckly enough to have space and time to do the right job however i am a novice to mechanics but i am learning each day and have the right friends (landrover mechanic) who i am getting to do the swap. I want to give him as much infomation as possible before he starts, and i feel here is the best place to get advice needed to getting the most out of my donor gti engine. The engine is a minter with only 93,000 on the clock and is a runner now.
I have my empty rolling shell ready for the donor engine and all the other compents in place, i need some advice on the stages for doing the swap. plus what parts should be replaced as most of the donor parts are from a 20+ years gti, eg. cables, engine parts.
In addition i have the use of a sandblaster which i would like to use to strip down the dirt and corrision on the outside of the engine. could some give me some information for the best way to go about this plus what i can and cant blast.
I understand this may be quite vague but i want to get the most out of my project car so the much help i can get would be very muchh appreciated.

Hi there,
First off I wouldn't sandblast the engine if I were you. Just don't like the idea of sand getting in somewhere. Would certainly do the engine no end of harm if it did. You'd be surprised the difference a thorough degrease makes to an old looking block. A couple of coats of engine enamel afterwards and it should look great.
As for what bits to replace - depends on the condition of what's there really. I doubt it'd be on it's original cables after 20yrs anyway. Anything made of rubber will deteriorate over the years. Hoses, mounts, bushes, seals, etc. While the engine is out it's a good opportunity to change the two crankshaft end seals, intermediate shaft seal, cam seal, etc. Easy to do out of the car, not easy if they leak when the engine is installed !
Good luck with it,
Mark

cheers mark
that is a great starting point,if any one has any other tips would be much appreciated.
cheers droitwich