here is the status of where things are....i think.

i've been misunderstood previously
gaskets were delivered last week to him after waiting weeks to get the part numbers from him .....it took a call from jim rich to make this happen - pathetic, i know
I'm not sure what the status of the motor being 'finalized' is....he says hes just waiting for the pan, thats it. It was in a state of "pretty much done" before the thanksgiving race. we'll see if i make the feb race.
i ordered a oil pan this week. should be here within a few days
in the mean time, im doing odds and ends on the boat to get it ready to drop the motor in and go.
im taking the boat down there next week to drop off to have him drop it in, break it in and test/tune.