Your in the same boat i was in.
Just start tearing it down. Its really alot of fun. Keep everything in order and when you get down the block, make sure everything is ragged off. Alot of the wiring harness and stuff can be tossed along with some of the VI components. Keep all the vaccum lines and connectors cause it comes in handy if you swap in the motor. I dont know your future plans of this motor though.
How many miles on it ??
Old motor:
This was my DEK before the tear down. 8500 miles
Before being dropped in:
