I have a 98 mark 8 LSC 4.6 4v

I grew up doing mechanic work on our farm
I have built / moded several cars
back before the advent of computers and modular engines

Now I am in retail now, so I have no time,
and have back problems, so
I hire most of my mechanic work now, other than brakes

But I will gather the parts and pass the info onto my builder
He builds bowtie racing engines for a living

Here is the situation

Traveling thru deep water this weekend
Which I have done lots in my life, but with vehicles I was less concerned about
So I usually would fly on thru no problem

Well being more concerned about my mark 8
I let off the throttle, big mistake,
Apparently water reversed back up my exhaust,
and hydro locked the engine
When I got it restarted, hard knocking
I am waiting on results of the tear down, but
With 120 grand on the meter
It is time for a rebuild and I'm going to do the tranny too,
she kinda whined anyway

The performance was ok before
But if I am to rebuild it, it has got to be better
I want a dependable daily driver but a real sleeper
I would like to go hog wild but I got to stay on a realistic budget
I'm not bill gates after all

Would like to go supercharged
But with the cost of rebuild on engine and tranny
I may not be able to at the moment

Seems as if I read the cobra heads may a big difference
Just don’t know how interchangeable that is
Would I need cobra intake etc? what all does it involve ?
What about a stroker kit ?

I am basically stating with a blank slate here
So now is the time to build a beast

So if you were going to build a daily driver / sleeper
How would you approach it ?

Also if you have or know someone with the parts I need
Or someone who has a project engine gathering dust
Please let me know

270.519.0588 cell
270.554.2549 business
greatspirits2@bellsouth.net

Any advice is appreciated in advance
Thanks Andrew