[1cougr2nv]

please help, i know this thread is old but i have a major dilema. My car is losing coolant and i just noticed today that some of it was dripping down the left side of the engine block right near the cam gears. So im pretty sure its a head gasket. Now the thing is, my mechanic is quoting me $750-850 to replace the headgasket but since the motor has 230,000kms on it, we both agreed to swap the motor and go with one with less kms. So my question is, i want to get rid of the VCT engine from the cougar and go with a straight 16v engine like the focus without the VCT crap. Sooo, who here knows what engine i should be looking for (year , make, model). Basically the simplest swap. However, on the first page of this thread i think (optiion 5) the tuners choice is the engine im wanting/ looking for. But i want to know what exactly ill need on top of this motor to make it fit or will it drop right in. Also my mechanic told me he would charge $800 to do the swap, thats without the new engine, just the swap. Is that a good price, do you know anyone in Canada, near toronto preferably that is cheaper or even someone on the boards here that knows how to do the swap for a good price?.

Thanx,
Dan