Tell that to my insurance company.
Now, back to you're engine swap, I guess the major lessons learned are getting the right parts (and how difficult that is sometimes), and getting a known condition donor engine so that you don't have to rebuild the donor anytime soon. Finally, buy good beer or hear the complaints from your buddies!
BTW - was the initial oil cloud due to oil tossed around into unusual places as the car it was in rolled a couple of times?