Who doesn’t enjoy a good engine swap? Yes, putting an LS7 into anything and everything is a cliché, but I still dig those builds. But what I like even more are weirdo swaps, such as, I dunno, putting a helicopter engine into a Porsche 928.
That’s the sort of swap I would never think of, but I’m glad someone did (and you can click that link to learn all about it). My engine-swap ideas tend to be more practical than the usual “but something bigger/more powerful in there.” For example, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to build up a Cobra replica with a turbo four in place of the expected 351 or 427 Ford V8. I imagine the driving experience would be plenty exciting but much less sphincter-clenching compared to having instant tire-spinning power. (And yes, this is more a “choosing an engine” situation than it is a “swap,” but you get it).
Regular readers already know weird swaps are very much our jam at The Autopian:
There are links in that caption so you can check out those stories, which may inspire your answer to today’s ask. Without concern for feasibility or cost or practicality, what engines would you like to see transplanted into which cars?
Top graphic images: eBay seller; iOS
Second comment but since I own one and I’d love to see someone do it I own a 2012 Tc, reasonable build would be the 6 cyl from the camry- it would take a lot of work but the car would scoot and you could theoretically supercharge it.
Money no option: rip out the back seats custom drive shafts and mid mount a 1uz mid engine- lexan rear window with vents kinda like the f40, rwd with a custom suspension setup….. and set up the old engine bay as a frunk.
Lexus LFA V10 in a 996.
61hp VW Lupo 3L engine in my VW Eurovan:
Going to be even slower, but the MPG will be incredible!
80hp VW 412e engine in my old 356:
I’m TIRED of carburettors.
168hp CX25Turbo2 engine in my old Citroën DS:
Engine block is the same (dating back to 1934), so shouldn’t be too hard.
170V Mercedes with that new cummins gasser motor.
Something about a car designed in the 30s with cylinders the size of coffee cans
A Wright Twin Cyclone into an M4 Sherman… oh wait, they already did that…
How about five Chrysler flathead sixes stuck together? Wouldn’t that be…
Oh. Right.
Or an Allison 1770 cubic inch V12 in a BMW Isetta?
Oh, that’s been done too.
https://macsmotorcitygarage.com/the-allison-powered-monsters-of-jim-lytle/
A Commer TS-3 in a mid 80s Ford pickup. A rotary swapped Citroën DS. A BMW 700 coupe with a turbocharged R100 engine. A Honda Gold Wing 1800 engine in a Fiat 124 Spyder. I’ve seen a Honda CB550 in a Berkeley, giving it a 4 stroke engine and twice the power.
I’ve also had an armchair project of a Dodge Caravan with a mid mounted 426 Hemi stealth installed with tubbed wheels and a recessed air intake in the roof so it looked as stock as possible until you opened the sliding door and saw a V8 instead of child seats
Midengine full size vans have been done.
There was a business Aerostar here with a 351 installed.
I think it had a turbo before, but they decided more means more!
Yasa (Mercedes) 1000 he axial flux ev motor with the 220 kwh skateboard from the Chevy Silverado ev with an optimized for aero wagon body or the Probe V concept car body
Or
Yasa ev motor with Mercedes EQXX body modified to ensure it can carry 6 people 3 in front and 3 in back.
Front row has central seat for driver with side seats on both sides slightly offset amd back from the driver.
Back modified slightly in the opposite way, so the center chair is slightly offset further back. Cd value lower than 0.18 & frontal area below 1.2 M
Skateboard ev battery pack/ chassis from the new BYD with flash charge capable (basically 6C charging capable w/BYD’s 1200 KW flash charger). Oh so for this dream thought experiment 50k BYD flash chargers distributed all over USA + Canada.
Late ’60s or early ’70s Buick Electra 225, with the engine swapped for a period-appropriate A2W naval nuclear reactor. 200,000 horsepower of pure American power, and you never have to pay for gas again.
EV drivetrain from the Focus Electric (but with better modern batteries) into a Mazda5. I think it would bolt on ok since they’re the same platform, but packaging the batteries might be tricky.
I’m interested in designs as originally planned, so:
What about a Subaru boxer in a Corvair?
There was the dealer kit for the mid engine V8 Corvair. Looks production when installed.
Neat!
There is a V8 Corvair club.
LFA’s engine is the one I would love to see in any car
When I was a kid I had a copy of VW & Porsche magazine, and there was an add in there for a company selling rebuilt M28 V8s out of 928s, from 4.5 to 5.0 liters. At the same time, there was a BMW 318i for sale in my town. I desperately wanted someone to shoehorn an M28 into that car, but leave the 318 badging.
Sure, an SBC swap would have been simpler, cheaper, and probably more reliable – but an all-German sleeper seemed like a great idea.
Kaiser Tornado I6 in a CJ-5, Ford Essex V6 (the British one) in a Maverick (the one base on the Falcon), PowerStroke 4.4 V8 in a late-model F-150 or F-250, Pontiac V8 in a squarebody GMC, GMC V12 in… basically anything
EDIT: Autopian staff, please, if the bullet list function is going to break every time, just get rid of it.
An early Mercedes-Benz R129 SL with a Lucid electric motor and batteries.
I’ll raise you a W113.
Hemmels are already doing Pagoda EV conversions – I don’t know which motor they’re using tho.
Sigh, if only I had the money, oh wait, isn’t Peter paying for this?
I’m digging the idea of Torch putting a tiny turbine under the hood of the 2CV. TurboSnail! Turbines are notoriously small and light. There are gas turbine gensets small enough to fit. Use an electric motor for propulsion so no gearing issues. We won’t worry about the fuel consumption…
I had a ride in a Mazda Rotary swapped Spitfire once. It was terrifying.
I love the sound and high RPMs of the Yamaha SHO engine! I know they’ve been put into the Lotus Esprit and does fit well there.
I’d consider other homes for that sonorous V6. How about a ’64-66 Mustang? A ’55 T-bird restomod?
I’m just saying a SHO motor in an escort gt from the late 80s or early 90s would really be cool, hell while we are doing this go on and throw on some bigger brakes and an exhuast.
That would be an interesting ride, for sure. I think an 80’s escort would explode with that much HP, but the 90’s version might have a chance.
It would be fast, then parts would fall off and then it would be faster, and then all of a sudden it wouldn’t be fast at all.
LoL!
I’m very late to the party, but here are mine:
– Chevrolet Monza Spyder with a Buick Grand National 3.8 turbo and a five-speed, or a warmed-up 3.8 RWD drivetrain from a 4th-gen F-body.
– Mercedes-Benz 300CD coupe with a 21st century Dodge Hemi in it, for a proper “Daimler-Chrysler from hell.”
– Speaking of Hemis: a 4th-gen Dodge Dart/Plymouth Valiant, the really plain and square looking one that looks like the car from the “slippery when wet” sign on the highway with steelies and poverty caps hiding gobs of suspension goodies, and a 6.2 Hemi under the hood.
– Pontiac Fiero GT with a “backwards” supercharged 3800 V6 in the back, or better yet, the 5.3 LS from the late Monte Carlo SS and others.
– Datsun 240Z/260Z/280Z with a built Chevy Vortex 4.2 straight six.
– Also, although it’s much more than an engine swap, here’s the body swap I would really love to see happen, which resulted from falling down a rabbit hole after reading an article about the early 80s Cadillac Seville “bustleback”: did you know that its track and wheelbase are only different in any direction by about a half inch from a modern-day Cadillac CTS? There is a warped part of me that would love to fight in some stoplight wars in such a rig, complete with wire wheel covers and white walls.
“Datsun 240Z/260Z/280Z with a built Chevy Vortex 4.2 straight six.”
The Atlas family are pretty tall, but so was the original Z engine. I’d do the 5 just for the sound. or go lightweight and do a Volvo white block 5.
Turbocharged Hayabusa engine in a Peel P50. Dub the resulting abomination “Instant Death”
Average Forza Horizon build:
Too true
Too lazy to read all comments, so sorry if this is a repeat: Mazda RX8 rotary in a Chevy Vega. Like GM intended all along. Also this is my dream 24 hours of Lemons build.
I thought I was getting the 2.5L Skyactive engine in my Mazda5. Instead I have the previous generation 2.5L wheezer at 157hp. I’d love to have that 185hp in there now, AND it would get better gas mileage!
There was a version in Japan with the Skyactiv-G, I believe. I was asking on Reddit the other day, and it sounds like Canada didn’t get it either, even though they sold the 5 up there a little while longer than here in the US.
There is a large empty spot under my hood and the salesman said it was for the European diesel option.
Maybe for this exercise, I should wish for a nice, inline 6 under there. Maybe a BMW motor?
Mazda’s been advertising theirs lately, or is it a BMW unit? I lose track of who’s buying who’s motors.
Thanks for the tip. It seems that they developed an inline-6 turbocharged engine for the CX-90. Reviews are puzzled that the inline-6 is not very smooth at high rpms. That could explain why I haven’t heard much about it.
I’ve always wanted to see a chevette with a k series motor, on wantanabe wheels some custom coils and a nice exhaust- bonus points if the car has period correct bumper stickers failing paint and rust. Can someone throw a manual and the engine from the kona N into a Venue? Hyundai needs to make a Venue N See also any k car convertible with a k swap. I want throwaway cars as sleepers.
Tuned/chipped VW TDI engine in a C4 corvette. Should be more powerful than the 1984 Corvette engine, and if you run skinny wheels with a low drag coef and small frontal area, I’d imagine you’d be both faster than a stock corvette AND get 40-60mpg somewhere.
How about an EMD 16-645E in a Smart car to combine two of Miss Mercedes’ interests?
The suspension might need a little reinforcement to hold the 169.1 liter / 10,320 cubic inch 16 cylinder dual turbo diesel that weighs in at 36,400 lbs., and generates 2,000 hp at 900 rpm. A trailer might be needed to hold fuel, since the vintage locomotive engine will use around 130 – 150 gallons/hour at full throttle.
Fun fact: each cylinder is 10.6 liters / 645 cubic inches.
There’s a guy in Mexico, swapping a viper v10 in to a smart. He’s uploading it on instagram.
Isn’t a Viper V10 bigger than the whole Smart?
yeah my bad, it was an inlione 6 from a bmw
Meh, Jim Lytle stuck an Allison V-1710 in 59 BMW Isetta 600 back in the 60s. It was a pretty tight fit in his ’34 Ford, to tell the truth.
https://macsmotorcitygarage.com/the-allison-powered-monsters-of-jim-lytle/
I would still like to see a Tesla S P100 Drive unit in the back of a volkswagon Beetle, probably one of the last few from Mexico to get a few creature comforts at least. Not sure if the pan can handle it or the suspension, but it would also be nice to use as much of the Tesla Battery Pan to move the weight of the new batteries as low as possible.
As far as Ice Goes. I am kind of simple here, I would like to swap the TRX 6.2 into a 2500 Gasser. Probably have to include the trans, but I imagine it is possible to get the 3/4 ton axles to live with the extra power, but if not, perhaps 1 ton diesel SRW axles will work?