Upgrade shopping list? And random Questions? 97 1.8 to 99-00 1.8

My 97 has developed a rod knock so I'm planning to pickup a 99-00 motor. I'm looking to start a list of everything I will need to locate, may depend slightly on what all I get with the motor I buy. (Hopefully it comes mostly complete, but sometimes they don't come with coils/intakes or other misc parts.) Any tips on what to look at before I pickup this junkyard motor? I will try and check the endplay and look for oil leaks (if they haven't dried up) beyond that I just plan to check the head has the correct casting #s.

What are people using to control the VICS? Would like to keep the stock ECU for now if possible, would like to be able to get the car inspected with minimal hassle and until I turbo the car a stock ECU should be fine.
I've read the cam angle sensor is different but I can retrofit the one from my 97 what all is involved?

Are there any simple/cheap upgrades I should do while I have things apart?
Mill the head?
Swap intake cam for a exhaust one?
Adjustable cam gears?
New valve seals? Gaskets etc?

Thanks for any advice.

Lot's of things transfer and some get replaced.

All you really need from the 99 motor is the block, head, intake with it's accessories including VICS controller and fuel rail. You will reuse your accessories -alt/ps/ac, CAS, throttle body, header, valve cover and coils. You will need to make a bracket to relocate the throttle cable a bit. You can reuse your EGR but there is some modifying to make it fit on the 99-00 intake. I just made block-off plates and eliminated it completely. You reuse your crank sensor

Other things to consider at the same time.

• Mazdaspeed motor mounts
• Clutch and flywheel,
• Tapping pan if you plan on running a turbo (I can tell you what I did)
• Coolant reroute
• Silicone coolant hoses

Plan to do a timing belt job. New cam and crank seals, timing belt, idler and tensioner pulleys, rear main seal and might consider transmission seals as well.

To operate the VICS with a stock ECU, you will need a RPM switch. MSD makes one. Check with trickyrix as I think he had one and doesn't need it since he has a MS PnP. Otherwise, Jegs, Summit Racing and Amazon should have them.

Swing by this weekend and you can see what all I did as the motor is coming out. ::Rant::

I know it's not exactly what you're looking for, but there's a decent deal on what looks to be a mostly complete MSM engine here. Throttle body already sold, and I guess it would need a headgasket. That's just at a glance, though. PM the seller for shipped price on the longblock just for grins. :) What's listed is supposedly shipped for head and shortblock separately.