Common Engine Swaps
Note: These are the most common examples and are not an exhaustive list, just a representative cross section.
| Engine | Common swaps | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Small block Chevrolet | Hot Rods, Chevrolet Vega, Nissan S30 Pontiac Fiero, S-10, Large sports cars such as the Austin-Healey, kit cars, light aircraft (later engines from the LS1 onward), Jaguar XJS and Jaguar XJ6, Suzuki Sidekick/Vitara | The most commonly swapped engine ever. Can fit in almost any vehicle with minor modifications. |
| Ford Windsor engine | Commonly swapped into Hot Rods, Ford Mustangs, Ford Ranger and other pony cars, kit cars | Can also use the Cleveland as well |
| Ford Modular engine | Commonly swapped into Hot Rods, Ford Mustangs and other pony cars, kit cars | Quite a wide engine, being about the same width as the Ford FE engine |
| Subaru EJ engine | VW Type 1, VW Type 2, VW Type 3 Light aircraft, kit cars, dune buggies, Trikes. | Adaptors available off the shelf |
| Fiat twin cam engine | Morris Minor (until 1990s), Hot Rods, kit cars. | Now supplanted by the lighter Rover K series in Morris Minors |
| Rover V8 | Hot Rods, kit cars, British Sports cars, light aircraft | Weighs less than most four-cylinder engines. Typically mated to a T5 gearbox as used in Ford Cosworth RWD cars - this requires the correct bellhousing similar to TVR's. These are usually available off the shelf. BL's LT77 (as used in the Sherpa van and Rover SD1) may also be used but wear can be a problem in units covering anything well over 70,000 miles. |
| Rover K-series engine | Hot Rods based on the Morris Minor, Sprite, MG Midget, Caterham 7's and other kit cars, Austin Mini (1959–2001) | Needs Ford Type 9 transmission for rear wheel drive conversions. It weighs less than Austin A-series engine |
| Honda B engine | Honda Civic, Austin Mini (1959–2001), mid engined kit cars | Not suitable for inline RWD layouts, because engine turns counter clockwise (Chevy Corvair flat six turns the same way), though it could be placed in a mid engined sports car. |
| Honda H engine | Honda Accord,(1990–2001), import tuner car, Austin Mini, mid engined kit cars | With original equipment F series motors capable of 130-150 HP, SOHC, some models with VTEC and lower rod ratios, the swap to a more potent H-Series motor (H22, or H23) with DOHC, VTEC, high revving friendly rod ratios, and 200+ HP is desirable. 90-97 Accord engine swaps are straightforward drop-ins with minor modifications required for the wire harness, whereas the 98-02 Accords require swapping the driver side mounts to fit. |
| Ford Zetec | Hot Rods including most older Fords, such as the Ford Cortina, Ford Escort, Ford Anglia and also Kit cars | Needs Ford type 9 transmission in RWD layout, which bolt straight up. |
| Porsche flat 6 engine | VW type 1, VW Type 2, VW Type 3, light aircraft, trikes | Needs sheet metal in engine bay removed and can be tail heavy. |
| Ford Cologne engine | Hot Rods, Saab 96, kit cars, other RWD Fords. | Makes Saab nose heavy and requires to move the radiator either to the side or to the rear. There is also a Cosworth designed 24-Valve version, but the Colonge is available in displacements of up to 4 litres. |
| GM Duramax Diesel | Pick ups, Rolls Royce Saloons (Often done for torque and economy) | Can use TH-400 automatic transmission |
| Suzuki G engine | MG Midget, Sprite, Austin Mini, Morris Minor, light aircraft | Needs Suzuki Swift transaxle in the Austin Mini, but bolts up to Suzuki truck/jeep five-speed for RWD cars (Transfer box is separate). |
| Mazda Wankel engine | VW Type 1, VW Type 3, MG Midget, Sprite, light aircraft, Lotus 7 style kit cars, hot rods, Morris Minor | Very light and compact, suiting a wide number of small RWD cars. |
| Chevrolet Corvair engine | VW Type 1, VW Type 2, Karmann Ghia, light aircraft, dune buggies | Not suitable for front engined RWD layouts, because engine turns counter clockwise, like Honda. |
| Saab H engine | Saab 99, BMW | 16v turbo engines are easily tunable and highly available. May also fit in Triumph Herald and Triumph Dolomite, which as it is derived from the Triumph Slant-4 engine and it could bolt up to the Triumph 5-speed. |
| C20XE | Austin Mini, hot rods, Lotus 7 style kit cars. | May be too powerful. Can also be fitted in RWD layouts with an Opel Manta/Vauxhall Omega or Ford Type 9 5 speed transmission. |
| Toyota JZ engine | Celica Supra | The xA61 version of the Supra have off the shelf adaptors for this car to swap out the 5M engine, and fit 1/2JZ engine. (With the off shelf adapters the swap bolts in) |
| Cadillac Northstar | hot rods, kit cars, sand rails, dune buggies, light aircraft, Pontiac Fiero and other GM late models. | Bellhousing is slightly different than for other GM metric engines. |
| Cummins B series | Jeeps, rock crawlers, Dodge pickups, Ford pickups, Chevy pickups, Toyota pickups, off-road vehicles, and a wide variety of truck pulling vehicles | 4Bts are popular due to the size and weight of the 4cyl vs the larger 6cyl. Using a stock GM transmission adapter plate for a 4Bt will yield a tilt to the engine while Ford and Dodge adapter plates will not. There are a wide variety of various adapter plates for the B series due to its wide use in agriculture and on road vehicles. Normally used for its reliability, low-end torque, and fuel economy. |
| General Motors GM 3800 engine series | Jeeps, Chevrolet S10s, Pontiac Grand Am, hot rods, kit cars. | The 3800 engine was offered in different configurations ranging from 165 hp (123 kW) in the Pre-Series I to 260 hp (190 kW) in supercharged Series III engines. Compression was typically 9.4:1 in naturally aspirated versions and 8.5:1 in the L67 Supercharged version. Conversions are popular due to a large supply—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 and swaps between FWD and RWD transaxles and transmissions are straightforward. Can be adapted to more traditional Front engine, RWD set ups and is a cousin of the Rover V8. |
| Ford Pinto engine & Cosworth | Hot rods, kit cars, VW type 1 | A common swap for many small Fords, with the Cosworth version being capable being tuned of 500BHP. This is being replaced by the Zetec, Duratec and Ecoboost engines. |
| Toyota 4A series | MR2s, Corollas, kit cars, Morris Minor. | 4A engine was offered in different configurations ranging from 90 hp (67 kW) to 170 hp (130 kW). The high performance variations included either a 5 valves per cylinder configuration or an intake coupled with a roots-type Supercharger. Conversions are popular due to a vast aftermarket and many compatible parts between engine versions. Some conversions are very easy, for instance the Supercharged (SC) 4A-GZE engine and EFI system are a direct plug-and-play conversion into a non-SC AW11 MR2. Even the SC-type wiring harness plugs directly into the non-SC-type chassis harness of the non-SC AW11 MR2. The non-SC flywheel, clutch, a C56-type transaxle, and axles can be directly fitted to the SC engine with no modifications making the conversion popular.Also FWD variants are able to be converted to RWD congiguration and is now a popular swap for Morris Minor coupled to a Toyota 5 speed T50 gearbox. |
| Toyota 3RZ-FE | Hiluxs, 4Runners, and other Toyota Rock Crawlers. | The 4-cylinder 2.7-liter 3RZ-FE engine came as standard equipment in 1994 - 2004 Toyota trucks. This engine develops 150 hp (110 kW) and 177 ft-lbs torque. Older Toyota Hilux pickups were equipped with 4-cylinder engines ranging from 90 hp (67 kW) and 122 ft-lbs torque (1979-80 Carbureted versions) to 135 hp (101 kW) and 173 ft-lbs torque (rare 1986-87 Turbocharged versions). These older engines, like other engines of their time, had relatively low compression ratios ranging from 7.5:1 to 9:1, and when used in a daily driven Rock Crawler, an average of 12–16 miles per gallon fuel economy is expected. The much improved 3RZ-FE engine features a 9.5:1 compression ratio and uses newer technology such as a Hot Wire mass airflow sensor, knock sensor, and a narrow angle dual camshaft cylinder head. The result is a more powerful engine with much improved efficiency, achieving 17–21 miles per gallon when used in a daily driven Rock Crawler. Additionally, the 3RZ-FE uses the same family of Toyota W-series transmissions as the fuel injected Hilux, so older Hilux W56 transmissions may be used with the new 3RZ-FE by using the W59 bellhousing. The 3RZ-FE flywheel and clutch components are fully compatible making this a great replacement engine for old Toyota Hilux engines. |
| Volkswagen Turbocharged Direct Injection | Suzuki Samurai 4x4s, Chevrolet Tracker, Suzuki Sidekick/Vitara | After-market kits make this a straightforward and popular conversion, but it may also be possible to use the petrol engine with them too. Kit could be adapted to a small hot rod or kit car with the petrol engine. |
| Toyota UZ engine V8 | Hot rods, kit cars, Toyota Hilux, Older RWD Toyota cars and trucks, Toyota Supra, light aircraft. | Commonly sourced from the Lexus. |
| General Motors 60° V6 engine | Hot rods, kit cars, MGBs, MG Midgets, other British sports cars, Chevy S-10 | Can be fitted in both front & rear wheel drive applications, sharing the bellhousing pattern as the Cadillac Northstar and Buick V6. That said, transverse & inline engines use different blocks. |
| Dodge Viper V10 | hot rods, pick ups, kit cars | Originally a truck engine, the aluminium one in the Viper is lighter. Displacement is the same as the Big block Cadillac, at 500 cubic inches. |
| Chrysler Hemi engine | hot rods, older Mopar vehicles, Kit cars, dragsters | |
| Chrysler LA engine | hot rods, kit cars, muscle cars | Comes in V6, V8 and V10 configurations. |
| Big Block Cadillac engine | Hot rods, kit cars, pick ups, American GM Muscle cars from the 50's-70's. | The largest displacement car engine ever mass produced, with the biggest ones being 500 cubic inches (8.2 litres). Very easy to get hold of in scrapyards and are very torquey. |
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