Knocking 96 Cobra, Rebuild or MK VIII Swap?

With 199k on the clock, my cobra started knocking. It's been sitting for over 2 years now and i'm finally ready to get it back on the road.
Im considering getting a MK VIII engine and swapping over all my cobra goodies. I know i will need a new flywheel, but i think that's about it. But i do have more questions that i cannot seem to find solid answers to.

What is the best year MK VIII to get a motor from?
Can the stock MK VIII motors handle 7200-7500RPM?
What's the downside to using a MK8 motor vs rebuilding mine?

The ultimate goal would be to get the car running for under $1000 if i was to use a MK VIII motor.
If i cannot make that happen i'll be budget rebuilding mine with boss rods and ModMax flat tops, but that's going to be closer to $3000 I'm sure.

For anyone who has done this swap, what advice do you have? What do you wish you had done differently?

1 - 97 and 98 have the same beehive springs as the Cobra heads and the same F6 revision heads. Get a motor out of a 97 or 98. Or C swap it with an Aviator engine...
2 - Yes, easy I have one out of a Continental in my GT (bellhousing adapter) and I shift it at 7k+ routinely
3 - Less power potential. If you are never going to go much past 400whp then just toss a JY engine in there and roll.

Only advice is find the lowest mileage motor you can and get it from a good yard, one that takes videos of the engine running if possible with the odometer from the car in the video. Mine did.

The swap you are proposing is a 100% straight swap. Swap your intake and accessories and that's it. Even the front covers are the same on the 97/98 IIRC. Maybe delete the IMRCs and have the tuned out, up to you.

Done differently... well if I were you I'd be looking at 03-05 Aviator engines. Sell off your 96-98 Cobra stuff and pick up 99/01/Mach stuff at hopefully cost neutral and then drop it in. Looking at more like $1500+ to get an Aviator but you get the Terminator heads and if you get an 05 you get the BEST heads and the Aluminator block. The ONLY reason I didn't do this is because I found a bellhousing adapter for a 99-02 Conti engine for $75 on the Corral and there was a 52k original mile 99 Conti engine in a yard 5 minutes away that came out of a car junked from an estate sale. Oil in the thing was still golden, I have never seen a JY engine as clean as this one.

96 was the first year Mark VIII that had the beehive springs. If you're using a Mark VIII longblock you'll have to swap these off your Cobra engine: complete intake manifold with fuel rail, IMRC's, coil packs, spark plug wires, oil pan, oil pump pickup (unless you use a 97 - 98 Mark VIII), knock sensors, AC compressor and lines, PS pump and lines, water pump nipple, exhaust manifolds, coolant bypass hose, and the heater core fittings in the back of the heads. You'll need to buy a 6 bolt flywheel and a pilot bearing (should change the rear main seal, clutch, and throwout bearing at this time).

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After doing some talking with some friends, i think i'm going to pull my motor and rebuild it.
My last junkyard build ended up with a second motor being rebuilt properly, i don't want any unknowns this time.
If i can just ball hone the cylinders that would be prime, then i could just do a quick rebuild. If not, well, flat tops and boss rods it is.
I'll find out once i pull the motor apart i guess.

Yep, that's the fun part, finding out what is wrong when you yank it... Car I bought with a blown motor still had the paint marks on some of the parts it was so new. Jackasses who had it blew the first motor and then replaced with a Jasper motor and blew that one too lol.

Rebuild it.

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