[Cloudsurfer]

I like the idea of of the LN sleeves, as it's a surefire way to eliminate the possibility of cylinder bore failure. Their IMS update is great as well. However, while the 3.2 heads allegedly flow plenty to allow for a 400CC increase in displacement (which could be improved with some head work anyway), what you don't get by doing a 3.6 build off a 3.2 block is VarioCam Plus, which is a significant improvement over basic VarioCam.

If money were no object, what I think is the best ticket is to bore out a 3.6 to a 3.8 with LN sleeves, do the IMS update, uprated rods, bolts, and other things, and wind up with a 3.8 WITH VarioCam Plus that should prove bulletproof. You will have to run a 7.8 DME to make this work, however.

I think a stock M97 3.8 is a pretty good choice as well. The M97 series motor (which includes only the 3.8, to the best of my knowledge) does not seem to suffer the failures that plagued the M96. For that matter (and someone please correct me if I am wrong), I don't think I've heard of a cylinder bore failure in a 3.6 either. Now, IMS failures are a whole different story, but that can be solved with LN's IMS update.