Engine swap
Process of replacing a car's engine
title: "Engine swap" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["vehicle-modifications"] description: "Process of replacing a car's engine" topic_path: "general/vehicle-modifications" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_swap" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Process of replacing a car's engine ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/96v6-1.jpg" caption="[[Saab 96]] with a [[Ford Cologne V6 engine]] instead of the standard [[Ford Taunus V4 engine"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Berkeley_SA492_Honda_CB400_engine.jpg" caption="Berkeley]] SA492 with a [[Honda CB400]] engine"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Volvoinbeetle.jpg" caption="VW Beetle]] for racing"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/1959MGA.jpg" caption="1959 [[MG MGA]] with a [[Mazda MX-5]] engine"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/ChryslerIntrepidV8rwdconversion.jpg" caption="[[Chrysler Intrepid]] with supercharged V8 and rear-wheel drive conversion"] ::
In car tuning culture, an engine swap is the process of removing a car's original engine and replacing it with another. This may be a like-for-like replacement or the installation of a non-factory specification engine. Typically, an engine swap is performed for performance using a more powerful engine, but may also be performed for ease of maintenance as older engines may have a shortage of spare parts.
Overview
An engine swap can either be to another engine intended to work in the car by the manufacturer, or one totally different, with the former being much simpler than the latter. Fitting an engine into a car that was never intended to accept that engine may be more laborious and costly, and may involve modifying the car to fit the engine, modifying the engine to fit the car, and building custom engine mounts and transmission bell housing adaptors to interface them, along with a custom-built driveshaft. Some small businesses build conversion kits for engine swaps, and many shops and companies perform engine swaps for customers.
Swapping the engine may have negative effects on a car's safety, performance, handling, and reliability. For example, the new engine may change the weight distribution and overall weight in a way that adversely affects vehicle dynamics. Existing brake, transmission, and suspension components may also be insufficient for the increased weight and power of the new engine, with either upgrades being required or premature wear and failure being likely. It may also be difficult to get the car's interior and exterior features, such as the headlights or gauge cluster, to work with the new engine.
Insurance companies may charge more or even refuse to insure a vehicle that has been fitted with an engine different from its initial configuration. It may also be harder to register an engine swapped vehicle or get it to pass government mandated safety inspections. For instance, in jurisdictions such as California, with its strict smog rules, it may not be possible to register a late-model vehicle with an engine swap.
Types of swaps
American engines
A common anecdote among tuners in the United States is that the easiest way to make a car faster is to drop in a more powerful engine. The LS swap, which involves swapping a General Motors LS-based small-block V8 engine into a car which either didn't originally come with it, or came with a different variant of it, is considered to be one of the most popular engine swaps in the United States, being swapped into a wide variety of cars from many manufacturers. Prior to the introduction of the LS engine, it was also popular to swap both small block and big block Chevrolet V8 engines into a number of cars.
Ford V8s such as the 302 and Coyote are also popular for engine swaps. A 302 fitted with aluminium heads, intake, and water pump only adds about 40 lb to the front of an MG MGB and is substantially more powerful and lighter-weight than the iron-block six-cylinder found in an MG MGC or Triumph TR6. Aluminium 302 performance blocks are available that weigh 60 lb (27 kg) less than the common iron versions and can be found in displacements of 331 and 347 cuin, but they are significantly more expensive.
British sports cars (such as MGs, Triumphs, and Sunbeam Alpines) from the late 1960s and early 1970s were popular choices to engine swap with more powerful or durable engines. The original manufacturers did this when the vehicles were current with the MGB GT V8 and the Sunbeam Tiger. From an aftermarket perspective, the all-aluminum 215 cid Buick and Oldsmobile V8 engines are a traditional choice for these cars. Derivatives of that classic General Motors engine, the 3.5L, 3.9L, and 4.2L Rover V8s are also frequently used. (The original Buick/Oldsmobile, the Rover, and the related Morgan-licensed V8, are simple bolt-ins. Moreover, in the mid-1980s, hot rodders discovered the 215 could be stretched to as much as 305 cid, using the Buick 300 crankshaft, new cylinder sleeves, and an assortment of non-Buick parts. It could also be fitted with high-compression cylinder heads from the Morgan +8. Using the 5 liter Rover block and crankshaft, a maximum displacement of 317.8 cid is possible. Davis, Marlan. "Affordable Aluminum V8's [sic]", in Hot Rod Magazine, March 1985, pp.84-9 & 121.)
Chrysler sold many turbocharged models in the 1980s, and the engines they use share much in common with their mass-produced naturally aspirated counterparts. It is quite common to swap a Dodge Daytona engine into a Dodge Aries. The Mopar Performance division even offered a kit to upgrade the Daytona to rear-wheel drive with a Mopar V8.
Although the more recent 60-degree Ford and GM V6 engines—notably GM's 3.4L L32—are more compact than Buick/Oldsmobile/Rover and Ford V8s, they usually do not equal the power-to-weight ratio of the popular 90-degree V8s frequently swapped into smaller cars. These V6s can, however, be very cost-effective and easier to fit into a variety of cars.
With the rise of electric vehicles, there has been a growth in the popularity of EV swaps, which take a vehicle originally powered by an internal combustion engine, and replace its engine and running gear with one or more electric motors and an accompanying battery pack. The electric drivetrain is often taken from a Tesla or another widely available electric vehicle. Multiple companies have been founded which offer EV conversions for classic cars.
Japanese engines
In the Honda world, common engine swaps include B-series engines as used in the sixth-generation Civic Si (B16A) and Type R (B16B) and the third-generation Integra GSR (B18C) and Type R (B18C5), as well as K-series engines. More recently, larger displacement Honda engines such as the J-series V6 have also become popular to swap.
Two of the most popularly swapped Japanese engines are the Toyota 1JZ and 2JZ inline sixes. The Toyota UZ V8 is also a relatively common swap.
The Nissan SR20DET inline-four, Nissan RB series of inline-sixes, and Mazda 13B rotary engine, are also commonly swapped engines into a variety of platforms.
In addition to Volkswagen air-cooled engines, vintage Volkswagens take well to the Subaru EJ engine, which also has factory turbocharged variants.
European engines
Engine swaps are also somewhat common within the Volkswagen tuning scene, with Type 2 (Bus), Type 3, and Type 4 engines often being swapped into the Type 1 (Beetle). Later water-cooled engines, such as the GTI 16-valve four, VR6, or 1.8T are commonly swapped into the Mark 2 Golf GTI, Jetta, and Corrado, or less commonly into a Mark 1 Golf, resulting in an excellent power-to-weight ratio even with minimally modified powerplants. Porsche engines are also very popular, with one of the most popular source engines being the 1.6L flat-four from a Porsche 356.
Diesel engines
Swapping to a diesel engine for improved fuel economy is a long established practice; with modern high-efficiency diesel engines, this does not necessarily mean a reduction in performance associated with older diesel swaps. For off-road vehicles in particular, the high low-end torque of turbo-diesels makes these conversions particularly effective. However, older non-electronic-injection diesel engines are well-known for their reliability, especially in wet conditions.
Motorsports
In Super GT's GT500 class prior to the introduction of the Class 1 regulations, most cars were provided with specially modified racing engines from manufacturers, as the rules allowed for any engine to be swapped into a car as long as it is from the same manufacturer. Notable examples include Toyota using highly tuned Celica-sourced 4-cylinder engines in their Supra GT500 race cars.
List of commonly swapped engines
Note: These are the most common examples and are not an exhaustive list, just a representative cross section.
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| Engine | Common recipient vehicles | Displacement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadillac big block V8 | Hot rods, kit cars, pickup trucks, 1950s-1970s GM muscle cars | 472 or 500 cuin | One of the largest displacement car engines ever mass-produced, with the biggest ones being 500 cubic inches (8.2 litres), and capable of accordingly high torque figures. Easy to acquire from scrapyards. |
| Chevrolet small-block V8 | Hot rods, kit cars, Chevrolet Vega and S10, Nissan Z (S30), Pontiac Fiero, Austin-Healeys, Jaguar XJS and XJ6, Suzuki Vitara, light aircraft | 265-400 cuin | The SBC ("Small Block Chevy") was designed for a wide range of displacements in a compact package, being lighter and more compact than previous V8s of similar displacement due to improvements in metal casting techniques. It has been available in sizes ranging from 265 to 400 cuin. Mass production has made this engine quite abundant and affordable, with the most common displacement being 350 cuin. |
| Chevrolet Turbo-Air 6 F6 | VW Type 1, VW Type 2, VW Karmann Ghia, light aircraft, dune buggies | 140-164 cuin | Not suitable for longitudinal RWD layouts as it turns counter-clockwise (as with the Honda B), though it can be used in a mid-engine layout. |
| Chrysler 426 Hemi V8 | Hot rods, older Mopar vehicles, kit cars, dragsters | 426 cuin | |
| Chrysler LA V6/V8/V10 / Viper V10 | Hot rods, kit cars, muscle cars, pickup trucks | 238-512 cuin | |
| Cummins B I4/I6 | Jeeps, pickup trucks, off-road vehicles, truck pulling vehicles | 3.9-6.7 L | There are a wide variety of various adapter plates for the B series due to its wide use in agricultural and road vehicles. Normally used as a swap for its reliability, low-end torque, and fuel economy. |
| Duramax diesel V8 | Pickup trucks | 6.6 L | Can use the TH400 automatic transmission. |
| Fiat Twin Cam I4 | Morris Minor (until the 1990s), kit cars, hot rods | 1.3-2.0 L | Now supplanted by the lighter Rover K-series in Morris Minors. |
| Ford Barra I6 | X-series Ford Falcons, Ford Cortinas, Ford Mustangs, Shelby GT350s | 4.0 L | Uses an iron block and an alloy head. Has gained world wide recognition and support, competing with the Toyota JZ series and Nissan RB series due to their tunability. |
| Ford Cologne V6 | Hot rods, kit cars, Saab 96, other RWD Fords | 1.8-4.0 L | If installed in a Saab 96, it makes the car nose-heavy and requires relocation of the radiator to the side or rear. There is also a Cosworth-designed 24-valve version. |
| Ford Coyote V8 | Hot rods, kit cars, Ford Mustang | 5.0 L | An upgraded high-performance DOHC version of the Modular V8 designed for the facelifted fifth-generation Ford Mustang. |
| Ford EAO I4 | Hot rods, kit cars, VW Type 1 | 1.3-2.5 L | A common swap for many small Fords prior to the Zetec, Duratec and EcoBoost engines, with the Cosworth version being capable of 500 bhp. |
| Ford EcoBoost I4/V6 | Hot rods, kit cars, Ford Mustang | 1.5-3.5 L | Becoming more popular as a replacement for the Pinto and Cosworth engines, with the V6 being an alternative to the Modular and Coyote engines. |
| Ford Falcon Six I6 | Ford Falcon, Ford Cortina | 144-250 cuin | Uses a large iron block with an alloy reverse flow head (with integrated manifolds) and a pushrod valvetrain. These engines were common given the ease of swapping, with mounts, sumps, transmissions etc. being shared with the stock engine. The CF6 has been succeeded by the SOHC Intech and the DOHC Barra engines. |
| Ford Modular V8 | Hot rods, kit cars, Ford Mustang and other pony cars | 4.6-5.8 L | Sharing many of the same components with the previous Windsor family, it replaces the cam-in-block pushrod valvetrain with an overhead cam for better high-RPM breathing, making this engine wider and taller than previous Ford variants (being about the same width as the Ford FE V8 engine). The 4.6L V8 is the most common version. |
| Ford Windsor V8 | Hot rods, kit cars, Ford Mustang and other pony cars, Ford Ranger, Mazda MX-5, MG MGB | 302 or 351 cuin | The 351W has a higher deck height (and thus a longer potential stroke) than the 302W, but both can swap heads. The fully assembled 351W is taller and wider than the 302W, leading to the 302W being more popular for swaps into smaller cars. |
| Ford Zetec I4 | Hot rods, kit cars, older Fords (Cortina, Escort, Anglia) | 1.0-2.0 L | Requires a Ford Type 9 transmission for rear-wheel drive layouts, though no adaptors are needed. |
| GM 3800 V6 | Jeeps, Chevrolet S10, Pontiac Grand Am, Pontiac Fiero, hot rods, kit cars | 3.8 L | Conversions are popular due to the engine's prevalence in GM midsize cars and minivans from the late 1980s through mid-2000s. Even though it is a 90° V6, the engine shares the GM 60° V6 bell housing bolt pattern, so swaps between FWD and RWD transaxles and transmissions are straightforward. Can be adapted to more traditional front-engine/rear-wheel-drive setups and is a cousin of the Rover V8. |
| GM 60° V6 | Hot rods, kit cars, Pontiac Fiero, various British sports cars, Chevrolet S10 | 2.5-3.4 L | Can be fitted in both front- & rear-wheel drive applications, sharing its bell housing pattern with the Northstar and Buick V6. That said, transverse & inline engines use different blocks. A notable example is the cast-iron 3.4 L L32, designed for longitudinal rear-drive applications. The high-airflow aluminum heads and intake from the 3400 as used in the Pontiac Grand Am GT are a direct bolt-on. |
| GM High Feature V6 | Hot rods, Mazda MX-5, kit cars, late model GM cars | 2.8-3.6 L | The LFX in particular is an all-aluminum DOHC V6, though it has been succeeded by the LGX and the LFY. |
| GM LS V8 | See: LS swap | 4.8-7.4 L | Compact and light, these engines typically use a cast iron block with aluminum heads (although some variants have an all-aluminum construction). As with the SBC, mass production has aided in availability. There are many minor improvements over the previous SBC. |
| GM Northstar V8 | Hot rods, kit cars, sandrails, dune buggies, light aircraft, Pontiac Fiero and other GM late models | 3.5-4.6 L | Bell housing is similar to, but slightly different from, the GM metric pattern. |
| GM Quad 4 I4 | Hot rods, kit cars | Had a brief spurt of popularity among hot rodders because it bore an uncanny resemblance to the 1930s Offenhauser Twin-Cam. | |
| GM/Opel Coscast C20XE I4 | Austin Mini, hot rods, Lotus 7-style kit cars | 2.0 L | Can be fitted in RWD layouts with an Opel Manta/Omega or Ford Type 9 transmission. |
| Honda B I4 | Honda Civic, Austin Mini, mid-engined kit cars | 1.6-2.0 L | Not suitable for longitudinal RWD layouts as it turns counter-clockwise (as with the Chevrolet Turbo-Air 6), though it can be used in a mid-engine layout. |
| Honda F20C I4 | Hot rods, kit cars, Toyota AE86 | 2.0 L | Longitudinal inline-four designed for RWD applications. |
| Honda H I4 | Honda Accord (fourth through sixth generations), Austin Mini, mid-engined kit cars | 2.2 or 2.3 L | 1990–97 Accord engine swaps are straightforward drop-ins with minor modifications required for the wire harness, whereas the 1998–2002 Accords require swapping the driver-side mounts to fit. As this engine is also used in Formula 3 cars, it is able to be fitted into a RWD car. |
| Honda J V6 | Honda Civic, Honda S2000, Mazda Miata, kit cars | 3.2-3.7 L | Popular in certain circles because it produces more torque than a four-cylinder. Can be used in both front- and rear-wheel drive layouts; the latter can be done with a GM TH-400 automatic transmission or the transmission from a Mazda MX-5 or Honda S2000. |
| Honda K I4 | Austin Mini, Honda Civic, Honda CR-X, Honda Integra, hot rods, kit cars, Mazda MX-5 | 2.0-2.4 L | The K-Series was mass-produced for a wide variety of common Honda vehicles, making it relatively affordable. It can be turbocharged and retrofitted to many smaller and lighter Honda cars, such as the Civic. K engines can be used in both front- and rear-wheel drive layouts as they rotate clockwise, and adapter plates are available to bolt one up to the transmission from a Mazda MX-5. |
| Land Rover 200TDI diesel I4 | Land Rover series | 2.5 L | Equipped with Bosch mechanical injection. Used in turbocharged form with or without an intercooler, or without the turbocharger in older Land Rovers. |
| Mazda B I4 | Hot rods, kit cars | 1.1-2.0 L | Can be used in both front- and rear-wheel drive applications, with the transmissions being used in many other applications. Adapter plates are available to fit other engines in front of it. |
| Mazda Wankel engines | Austin-Healey Sprite, light aircraft, Lotus 7-style kit cars, Mazda MX-5, MG Midget, Suzuki Samurai, VW Type 1, VW Type 3 | 0.4-2.6 L | Very light and compact, suiting a wide variety of small RWD cars. Also popular for home-built aircraft due to their light weight and high power potential. |
| Mitsubishi Sirius 4G63 I4 | Mitsubishi Lancer (early 5G), Eagle Summit (4G), Dodge Colt (3G and 4G), kit cars | 2.0 L | Fitted to many Mitsubishi models, including the Eagle Talon 1G and 2G with the DOHC turbo model. Installation into 4G and early 5G Mitsubishi Lancer variants is relatively straightforward and can use mostly standard Mitsubishi parts, as the Lancer Evolution models used essentially the same engine. Later 5G Lancer models have the 2.0L 4B11T engine and simplified transmission that result in the intake and exhaust manifolds being on opposite sides compared to the 4G63. |
| Nissan VQ V6 | Datsun 240Z, Nissan 240SX, Nissan Maxima | 2.0-4.0 L | A narrow 60-degree all-aluminum DOHC V6. The 3.5L variant is the most commonly swapped. |
| Porsche F6 | VW Type 1, VW Type 2, VW Type 3, light aircraft, trikes | 2.0-4.0 L | Firewall must be cut out to fit vintage air-cooled VWs, and the resulting vehicles can be tail-heavy. |
| Rover K I4 | Morris Minor-based hot rods, Austin-Healey Sprite, MG Midget, Lotus 7-style kit cars, Austin Mini | 1.1-1.8 L | Requires a Ford Type 9 transmission for rear-wheel drive conversions. Weighs less than the Austin A-series engine. |
| Rover MDi / Perkins Prima diesel I4 | Land Rover series | 2.0 L | Equipped with Bosch mechanical injection. Used in turbocharged form on older Land Rovers. Donor vehicles had no intercoolers. |
| Rover V8 | Various British sports cars, Hot rods, kit cars, light aircraft | 3.5-5.0 L | This small aluminum-block V8 weighs less than some iron-block four-cylinder engines. |
| Saab H I4 | Saab 99, BMWs | 1.8-2.3 L | 16V turbo engines are easily tunable and highly available. May also fit in Triumph Herald and Triumph Dolomite as it is derived from the Triumph slant-four engine, and could bolt up to the Triumph 5-speed transmission. |
| Subaru EJ F4 | VW Type 1, VW Type 2, VW Type 3, light aircraft, kit cars, dune buggies, motorized tricycles | 1.5-2.5 L | This liquid-cooled flat-four engine has a factory turbocharged version that is quite desirable for certain applications. Adaptors are available off the shelf for a wide variety of swaps, provided the automatic transmission models are not used. |
| Suzuki G I3/I4 | MG Midget, Austin-Healey Sprite, Austin Mini, Morris Minor, light aircraft | 1.0-1.6 L | Requires a Suzuki Swift transaxle in the Austin Mini, but bolts up to a Suzuki five-speed truck gearbox for RWD cars (the transfer case is separate). |
| Toyota 3RZ-FE I4 | Toyota Hilux, Toyota 4Runner | 2.7 L | Older Hiluxes were equipped with 4-cylinder engines ranging from 90 hp and 122 ft-lbs torque (1979-80 carbureted versions) to 135 hp and 173 ft-lbs torque (rare 1986-87 turbocharged versions). These older engines have relatively low compression ratios ranging from 7.5:1 to 9:1; when used in a daily-driven rock crawler, an average fuel economy of 12–16 miles per gallon is expected. |
| Toyota 4A I4 | Toyota MR2, Toyota Corolla, kit cars, Morris Minor | 1.6 L | The 4A engine was offered in different configurations ranging from 90 to 170 hp. The high-performance variants included either a five-valve-per-cylinder configuration or a Roots supercharger. |
| Toyota JZ I6 | Toyota Celica Supra, Lexus SC, Lexus IS, Nissan 240SX, Nissan 350Z, Mazda RX-7 | 2.5 or 3.0 L | Models designated A61 have off-the-shelf adaptors for a 1JZ or 2JZ engine. |
| Toyota UZ V8 | Older RWD Toyota cars and trucks including the Hilux and Supra, hot rods, kit cars, light aircraft | 4.0-4.7 L | Commonly sourced from the Lexus LS and other Lexus vehicles. |
| Triumph pre-unit engines | Triton motorcycles | 650 cc | These are Triumph engines in Norton Featherbed frames. The idea was to combine the best engine with the best frame to create the best of both worlds—namely, a high power-to-weight ratio. |
| Volkswagen 1.9 TDI I4 | Suzuki Samurai, Chevrolet Tracker, Suzuki Vitara | 1.9 L | Aftermarket kits make this a straightforward conversion, but it may also be possible to use the equivalent petrol engine with them too. A kit could be adapted to a small hot rod or kit car with the petrol engine. |
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References
References
- Hunkins, Johnny. (2020-09-09). "9 Crazy LS Swaps".
- (2024-02-12). "Popular V-8 Engine Swaps, Now and Then".
- "The Ultimate Guide to Ford Coyote V8 - Swaps, Performance Parts, History, and Tech".
- "EV Swaps Will Be The Future Of Hot Rodding. But Not Yet.".
- (2010-07-26). "J-Series Engine Swaps - A J-Swap For Everything".
- (2020-02-24). "The 10 Coolest 2JZ Engine Swaps in Super Street History".
- "HomePage".
- (2008-07-29). "BigMike, Company Profile". Marlin Crawler.
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