Engine Swap Project - Suggestions

[ryanmil]

Hi All,

I'm almost finished refurbishing my house now and my mind is already starting to think about embarking on another project!

With a budget of £5k, I was thinking about doing a street-sleeper type engine swap project. I've never done an engine swap before, so it would need to be fairly straightforward, keeping fabrication to a minimum if possible.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Best I can come up with so far is an E36 3 series with a BMW 4.0 V8 wedged in

[surprisingskoda]

V8 into E36 is neither straight-forward or minimal fabrication.
If you fancied going down that sort of road though, building an E36 compact with a 2.8 M52 (328i) engine and Sport/M3 LSD is relatively easy and uses off-the-shelf parts.
It's all been done though. Personally I'd be spreading the net farther and looking for something a bit more oddball.
Or just combine an MGF and a Metro for proper sleeper status. Or a Rover 213. Yes, put a 220 Tomcat/820 Sterling 2L twincam engine into a Rover 213, and you will be hero.

[compass]

2.3 turbo redblock into a Volvo 240. Pretty simple, unlike the T5 conversions and quite easily get 230bhp from it.

A 240 saloon, and standard GLT virgo alloys and lowered a touch with this engine conversion would be a fantastic sleeper.

[MrSpeedy]

If you want a small nippy car to terrorise people with, I reckon you'd be hard pressed to beat a rover 100 (or late metro) with an mgf 1.8 k series in it. I believe that they can be bolted together simply raiding the bl/rover parts bin

I still fancy building a Triumph Acclaim with a Honda B16 lump in it, compete with trilby and travel blanket on the back seat

[chairchild]

+1 on a Rover base, the misconception of poor reliability has made almost every model exceptionally cheap

Old Rover 100, throw out the stock K series engine, and throw in a much larger K series, with VVC. Buying two donor cars, with MOT, can easily be done for less than £1500. Weighing in the unwanted shell will get you approx £100 - the unwanted engine, maybe £60


Only real bit of fabrication, IIRC, is modifying the gearstick assembly to fit the Rover 100 floorpan. But even that's quite simple




Don't forget to save a few hundred to get all the paperwork/etc sorted to make it legal, which includes receipt of the donor engine, and some form of engineers report. No point in making something this fun if you can't drive it eh?

[composimmonite]

Why do an engine swop ?
Wouldn't it be easier to take a performance model such as Escort XR3i, Golf GTi, Astra GTE, etc and removed the obvious bits like spoilers, stripes, alloys (fit wide steels) and such then fit base model parts instead ? Lot easier to insure as well. Then spend the difference on uprating the engine to get the performance you want.

Paul H

[chairchild]

easier.. yes

as much fun? Probs not

[jiminwatford]

What about the running gear from an M3:


www.copart.co.uk/c2/homeSearch.html?_eventId=getLot&execution=e2s1&lotId=17839744&returnPage=SEARCH_RESULTS

Into a 318?

Preferably with hubcaps.


www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-3-Series-318i-PETROL-MANUAL-1995-M-/281325636383?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item4180508b1f

[stevieclj]

Jun 17, 2014 10:51:19 GMT jiminwatford said:

What about the running gear from an M3:
<snip>

Into a 318?

Preferably with hubcaps.
<snip>

Because everyone has done it, or knows someone that has. I believe an E30 or an E36 has been converted to 99.99% of the engines BMW have produced/offered.

Think further afield, something small and light, with a 1.8/2.0 turbo engine dropped in, immediate sleeper and probably chassis twister if the right combination is chosen.

[Doyal]

BMW E28 with a SR20DET "hot side" is oppsite to the BMC & steering box. S14 subframe

[ettorebugatti]

Mitsubishi Charisma with EVO II/III engine.

[paulisa]

i am just starting to put a BMW m42 engine and box in a lada riva this should be a fun car to surprise a few people at the lights

[mini-mad-nick]

volvo 340 with a 2.0 megane lump or a 360 with a 2.3 redblock or mk1 golf with 20v turbo. as said above, metro with a vvc. or mk2 fez with a zetec in it.

[rjbell78]

I've always thought it would be fun to but a turbo'ed vtec engine in a awd civic shuttle. Have yourself a WRX in sheep's clothing.

[TurboDieselWeasel]

I would look at some oddball posibility; I don't know if it's doable, though.

Take a Renault 21 - and stuff in the 3.0 V6 from the Laguna. That's 170-190HP in a "granpa mobile". Put a hat on the parcel shelf and you'r a winner But I think that's a route rarely taken, so there's probably not much of a path you can follow. Unlike with E30s & big engines. and like I said, I don't know if it's even possibel. But to me it sounds tempting!

I don't know about your abilities - but you'll learn as you progress. Think before you start tearing stuff apart, make pictures of everything, get literature, wiring diagrames and study these (internet OFF), re-draw them, write down everything (stuff might take longer than anticipated and before you know you've forgotten important stuff). Put labes on stuff - do research. Be prepared! Getting & keeping the overview about the stuff you'r about to do is vital. And sometimes you need to go two, maybe even three steps back to go one step foward. But having never done it is no excuse to not try it! You will succeed - if you'r prepared.

Oh, and don't set yourself a deadline. Take a break and have a beer if electrics fook with your brain. So many people have done it - why shouldn't you? A bit of fabrication should not stop you from being awesome!

[sharkattack]

Sorry but I'm going to be boring as these threads always disappear into flights of fantasy.

Jun 16, 2014 21:49:05 GMT ryanmil said:

I've never done an engine swap before, so it would need to be fairly straightforward, keeping fabrication to a minimum if possible.

In that case, whatever you do, even it it's an 'easy swap', you'll have enough on your plate.

If you want a BMW, do a BMW. BMW's are awesome. They might be 'common' to those of us in the know but not to the local carpet warehouse kingpin in his brand new Mercedes. If you want to put the willies up people like that then you can't go too far wrong. Plus there is literally no end of cheap donor cars, spare parts, knowledge and experience to tap into.


If you attempt something that no one has ever done before be prepared to spend months (or years) head scratching about how to build it and then listing it on Ebay as the dreaded 'unfinished project'.

[mini-mad-nick]

id ssuggest thinking what you want to do, then just rearch research research

[samwell]

Jun 19, 2014 14:01:24 GMT sharkattack said:

Sorry but I'm going to be boring as these threads always disappear into flights of fantasy.

Jun 16, 2014 21:49:05 GMT ryanmil said:

I've never done an engine swap before, so it would need to be fairly straightforward, keeping fabrication to a minimum if possible.

In that case, whatever you do, even it it's an 'easy swap', you'll have enough on your plate.

If you want a BMW, do a BMW. BMW's are awesome. They might be 'common' to those of us in the know but not to the local carpet warehouse kingpin in his brand new Mercedes. If you want to put the willies up people like that then you can't go too far wrong. Plus there is literally no end of cheap donor cars, spare parts, knowledge and experience to tap into.


If you attempt something that no one has ever done before be prepared to spend months (or years) head scratching about how to build it and then listing it on Ebay as the dreaded 'unfinished project'.

Nice to see someone weigh in with a sensible opinion for once. These threads tend to very quickly descend into people spouting wish lists of cars they're never going to build and then probably shouting at you over the internet when you've finished to tell you just where you went wrong.

As sharkattack says, pick what you like, potentially E36s and then look at what you really want from your car. If performance is more important than having a V8 then look at forced induction options, 5k will go a long way to turbo charging almost anything with a bit of money to spare for mapping and getting help from a garage/mobile welder for the bits you can't do.

S

[TurboDieselWeasel]

Jun 19, 2014 14:46:37 GMT samwell said:

they're never going to build and then probably shouting at you over the internet when you've finished to tell you just where you went wrong.

I don't think RR works like this...

[ettorebugatti]

In a R21 I would go for the 2.2 with longitudinal engine and then you have various options:
-V6 from a R25 Turbo or A610
-Rover/Ford/Chevy v8 with adaptor plate to a UN1 gearbox as pretty much all the GT40 replica boys and girls are using

Audi 80 with S4 (Audi B5) running gear could be a bit of a sleeper.

Alpina did a v8 version of the e36 so it isn't entirely unfeasible.