well, it sholdnt be too hard to remove the engine, as long as you have an engine hoist or a lift to lift the whole car and drop the engine outa the bottom. ur facing a lot of work, cuz removing an engine takes a fair amount of time. took me about 4 hours to help remove my buddies 5.9 out of a ram. just take your time and be organized about it. mark all tabs and connectors so u know where to put them when u go to reinstall. and as for the pistons, rods, and everything else u were talking about internally. i would replace everything as long as you can afford it cuz ur talking about at least a grand depending on wat quality of parts ur using. u would proly get better results from a turbo....just my thought though. ur in for a LONG trip if u do what u say ur going to, but good luck