‘Shoehorning a bigger lump in’
Discussion
I think it is and it isn't.
People still do engine swaps, but simply dropping in a physically much larger engine isn't quite so straightforward as it once was.
Pulling out a small 4-pot and replacing with a Rover V8 or Essex V6 is a world away from dealing with integrated engine management and body control module nonsense.
Also helped that you used to be able to muck about with necessary mounts and clearancing without any concern about it being structural modification beyond being done safely and MOT-able.
People still do engine swaps, but simply dropping in a physically much larger engine isn't quite so straightforward as it once was.
Pulling out a small 4-pot and replacing with a Rover V8 or Essex V6 is a world away from dealing with integrated engine management and body control module nonsense.
Also helped that you used to be able to muck about with necessary mounts and clearancing without any concern about it being structural modification beyond being done safely and MOT-able.
It still happens - a link to this just appeared in the "Car Buying" section.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256739221763?_skw=e92+v...
Someone in the Readers Cars section has recently bought a Ford V8 to replace the Pinto engine in his Tasmin and another thread on there relates to a Chevy LS transplant into a Toyota GT86.
A few years ago there was a thread by user "ATM" who put an LS engine in an E46 BMW and there's an ongoing one about a Boxster with a 2.7 litre Audi transplant.
It probably doesn't happen as often these days, but then that may because it's probably far more complicated particularly on the electrical side.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256739221763?_skw=e92+v...
Someone in the Readers Cars section has recently bought a Ford V8 to replace the Pinto engine in his Tasmin and another thread on there relates to a Chevy LS transplant into a Toyota GT86.
A few years ago there was a thread by user "ATM" who put an LS engine in an E46 BMW and there's an ongoing one about a Boxster with a 2.7 litre Audi transplant.
It probably doesn't happen as often these days, but then that may because it's probably far more complicated particularly on the electrical side.
Desiderata said:
K series 2litre Honda engine into a little cr-z hybrid is a popular modern transplant among the Honda fanboys.
130bhp to 200bhp instantaneously, but with a lot more tuneability available.
K20 into anything is a popular swap.130bhp to 200bhp instantaneously, but with a lot more tuneability available.
If anything, changing an older bigger engine for a smaller/newer/more powerful or tuneable engine seems to be the way forward these days!
Lotobear said:
I once watched a You Tube video of a guy in the US who shoe horned a V8 into an MGA and made a lovely job of it.
I've always admired the shape of the MGA and still think this is a project I would love to do if I ever get the appetite for restoring/modding cars back again.
Same here with the MGA, but I think I would go with a 2.0 Duratec.I've always admired the shape of the MGA and still think this is a project I would love to do if I ever get the appetite for restoring/modding cars back again.
moffspeed said:
“I’ve put a bigger engine in the Cooper S”
“1293, 1340?”.
“Nah - I’ve gone 78,000”
(Unfortunately a non runner).
Wasn't it the RR Meteor tank-engined SD1 where the DVLA kept sending back the V5C without properly amending it, as they thought the 27L declaration was an error in inputting 2.7L?“1293, 1340?”.
“Nah - I’ve gone 78,000”
(Unfortunately a non runner).
Pretty much most of the folk I know run modified vehicles. Everything from 1100s in 750 bikes, to modern turbo V8s in old Americans and pick ups.
There are still plenty of people swapping stuff about as a hobby, and a good many garages/workshops that exist entirely on such work. It might be beyond a lot of the older guys to work with computers, but there is a generation that have grown up with such things and would rather that than play with carbs and the like. That said, an older guy I know fitted a Lexus motor in his 1930s Studebaker, he had a lot to learn about electronics, but it fired up first go, once sorted.
Legally, you just have to be a bit careful what you cut about, and if you go too far you can always build to the correct spec' to put a car through the inspection process... one of the biggest hurdles, at inspection, is glass, but that shouldn't really be a problem with engine swaps.
There are still plenty of people swapping stuff about as a hobby, and a good many garages/workshops that exist entirely on such work. It might be beyond a lot of the older guys to work with computers, but there is a generation that have grown up with such things and would rather that than play with carbs and the like. That said, an older guy I know fitted a Lexus motor in his 1930s Studebaker, he had a lot to learn about electronics, but it fired up first go, once sorted.
Legally, you just have to be a bit careful what you cut about, and if you go too far you can always build to the correct spec' to put a car through the inspection process... one of the biggest hurdles, at inspection, is glass, but that shouldn't really be a problem with engine swaps.
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