The serial port in CIA U300 isn't used, so if that's the only defect that the 8520 has, you should be OK with just exchanging the position of the two parts. Keir's Amiga Test Kit provides some easy CIA diagnostic tools to quickly see what's functional or not. Write the provided bootable disk image to a floppy disk, then you'll just need to make yourself a couple of simple DB25 loop-back connectors for I/O testing, the details of which are included in the CIA diagnostic menu:
https://github.com/keirf/amiga-stuff/releasesI don't recall any specific issues where the A3000 SCSI interface needs to have fast memory to operate. It should still operate with only 1 or 2MB of chip memory, though booting will be slower.
Check that 5V termination power is present on the SCSI interface (pin 25 of the external DB25 connector) as some devices need it for bus termination to operate correctly.
People often like to plug Centronics printers into the external SCSI connector instead of the parallel port connector, which shorts termination power to ground, which damages diode D800 and causes the PCB track to fuse open circuit.
Use Amiga Test Kit to run a complete memory test while you're at it, as defective memory can cause a lot of unexpected issues.
You will get problems if you mix fast memory DRAM types, i.e. if some parts are page mode and other parts are static column. That can also cause issues such as system mostly booting if you disable CPU caches from Early Startup Menu, but will fail with the default of caches enabled. More notes on A3000 memory here:
http://amiga.serveftp.net/A3000_HardwareGuide/memory.html