$8K???? That's actually pretty reasonable, if it's not a grenade with the pin already pulled. Milledge (A known sharp Porsche 4cyl. guru) charged a minimum of $15K for the basic motor rebuild, and then you went to the dyno, and added an ECU. He liked MoTec, IIRC. So, you were talking mid 20s all said and done.

I guarantee that there are SM motors that are more than $8K.
And lot's of IT motors as well. I shudder to think what Autoechnic has spent on it's E46 ITS BMW motors.