My 990 arrived yesterday also. Ditto on the packaging. It came in a cardboard box, which was wrapped in strange green paper. Unwrapping the green paper revealed a clean undamaged cardboard box. Opening the box, there were three layers of foam, with th instructions tucked between two of them. All four sides had foam walls also. I also observed that the four corners of the box has that pourable foam stuff to keep the engine from moving during transit. The cylinders were also shrink wrapped.

OK... So it was packed well, but not nicely.... When compared to the bang-up job that technopower did on the new 9C, there was really no contest. My ST-996 from the 1990s,, however, had that awesome plywood box and was bolted to the back.... Not much branding involved, but it is really cool.

I suppose thtat packaging isn't really a big deal, though. What we are buying is an engine, after all.... Not a box to put it in.

...but I was somewhat disappointed with the quality and presentation of the engine itself when I removed it from the box. I noted them following issues or shortcomings...

The finish of the bar stock parts mostly look all scratched up and mishandled. When I look at my OS Sirius, all of the shiney (non cast) bits, they are all a absolutely perfect. My new Seidel looks like garage work.... Really good garage work, but not professionally presentable or polished.

the instruction sheet looks like it was printed on a pc and is poorly bound.

The entire engine was covered with grime. I imagine that they must have test run it and never cleaned it afterwards. I find now that I'm cleaning it off with cotton patches an toothpicks, much like Ive cleaned so many used engines that i've purchased in the past.

My overall impression is somewhat positive... I got a 9 cly engine from Seidel for $1000 less than a new one costed 20 years ago, so that makes me happy. When comparing my Seidel 996 with my new 990, it became clear that by outsourcing, the outward quality has suffered. It seems that in most industries, outsourcing yields a decent enough product underneath, but without the attention to detail and pride that comes with true ownership and doing the job yourself. Hopefully, the machining of the internal components is still up to par.

In summary, I would make the purchase again even with the above info in mind. I'm still overall happy and excited to receive my new 990!