Engine swaps and transplants.

"Insane engine swaps"


A popular modification with Torquecars members involves a
complete engine swap and remains one of the most cost effective
modifications you can do. As long as there is sufficient space in the
engine bay any engine can be made to work in any car although in most cases the work involved is prohibitive
to say the least. In an ambitious project you would have to strip the
car to a shell and create custom drive train, create a custom gearbox
and make a one off loom to cope along with a totally new engine computer.
So if someone asks "can I fit an XXXXX engine in my YYYYY car", the
answer is yes but you should be asking is it affordable and practical.
Generally speaking look at engines from the same manufacturer and
preferably from the same model as these are usually mated to the same
gearbox ranges and engine mounts are available off the shelf saving the
time and effort of creating custom engine mounts yourself. Often high
performance saloon engines will fit into smaller family or shopping car
derivatives from the same manufacturer.An engine swap remains one of the most cost effective ways to increase the power of a car.



When swapping in an engine which has twice the power of the current one you should also look at replacing the gearbox.
Firstly the gearing will be so low you will not be able to fully
exploit the top end of the engine and secondly you are likely to shred
the current gearbox as it was not built for the power you are putting
through it.
Your first task is to ask around and see if and engine swap has been
done before on your stock car and donor engine combination. Our forum
is a great way to meet other owners who have done or are considering
the same engine swap as you. Find out first what is involved in your
chosen project as these are rarely just drop in replacements and
usually need an engine management upgrade and new wiring loom with many
engine swaps needing different engine mounts and an amount of custom
work such as shorter drive shafts.
Set yourself a budget, add another 50% for unexpected work and start
looking around for your donor engine. If you can avoid one which has
been sitting around for months you will avoid the need to rebuild the
engine and there will be little corrosion which has built up.
Engine bay space is often at a premium and you can always relocate
the battery and some of the engine electrics to the boot if you are
very tight for space.
(When engines are left without coolant and engine oil for more than
a few days corrosion can be a real problem especially around the core
plugs). When stripping down an engine always replace the cylinder head
bolts and rod bolts but there is no need to replace the main bearing
cap bolts with new ones. it is also worth replacing the core plugs
(which pop out when the engine freezes) when you have the engine out of
the car and you should take the opportunity to replace these with new
parts.

Whenever you fit an engine to a car I would recommend stripping it
down first, inspecting and replacing worn parts, and rebuilding it to
ensure that it is reliable. You should aim at a minimum to replace the
core plugs, head gasket and cylinder head bolts and while the head is
off you get an opportunity to inspect the engine for damage and can
decide in advance whether more extensive engine work is required or
cost effective - usually for the extra cost involved you will save
yourself a great deal of hassle later on dealing with component
failures.
When you have a stripped down engine you have a fantastic
opportunity for tuning and can save a small fortune if you get all of
the engine modifications done at the same time so look into engine
balancing, fitting larger valves, gas flowed machined head, crank
lightening and even a lighter flywheel and clutch as most of these will
involve a great deal of man hours stripping and rebuilding the engine
again should you decide to do these at a later date. Replacing the oil
pump, water pump and fuel pump is also a good idea at this stage as a
failure can be catastrophic undoing the work you have done and
requiring another rebuild.
With the new engine fitted check all of the leads pipes and hoses
are connected, there should not be any exposed connections. when you
are satisfied start the engine and let it run for a few seconds. Check
the engine for leaks and look at the oil level and pressure, water
level and look on the ground for leaks. An engine will usually take a
few hundred miles to properly bed in so keep the revs down and watch
the temperature gauge and oil pressure gauge constantly. If you have
stripped down the engine and fitted new pistons and rings run in the
engine afterwards with low rev & high stress driving such as hills
and acceleration, changing the oil and filter after 200 miles and then
after 500 miles and 3000 miles to get rid of the metal fragments that
will collect in the oil and prematurely wear the engine. (Do not use
any oil additives in this run in period or for the first 9000 miles as
these will stop the bedding in process.)