Anyone ever do a b*st*rd engine swap?

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

By b*st*rd, I mean engine and car are from different manufacturers and never even remotely intended to work together. If so, what did you build? I have been searching around and found someone with a 1989 BMW M3 with a LS1/T56 swap, a magazine building a LS1 powered Fox body Mustang, a Lexus LS400 1UZ-FE ( 4 liter DOHC V8) in a Miata, a Ford 302 in a Triumph TR-4, Chevy 350 in a Volvo 240, Nissan SR20DET in a Miata, an Infiniti VH45DE (4.5 liter DOHC V8) with twin turbos in a Datsun 240z ( yes I know they're the same company) , Honda B16B1 VTEC 4 in the Austin Mini Cooper and a Chevy 350 in a BMW 325i. I have been bored lately, and contemplating an 80's BMW 325 with a Ford HO 302 from a Lincoln MK VII LSC and an old WC T-5 that has been sitting in my garage for the last few years, and that's why I am thinking about this. ( I can get the engine for $250 complete at the local U pull it and they have 4 of them) How hard is it to modify an oil pan? Relocate a steering shaft? Relocate the master cylinder? I kind of just want to try it because of the challenge of mating two enthusiast cars from two completely different worlds without ruining what makes the car or the engine so great.

 

[axisg]

worst 2 things I ever had a part of were:

1 - dodge slant 6 into an '83 Malibu

2 - chev 350 + 4speed out of an 80's 'vette ... onto a shortened Malibu frame then... dropped a convertable VW Bug body on it. Butt Ugly and went like a bar of soap on a wet floor

 

[dirty joe]

procharged ls1 in a wrx, 350 in an old beamer, 351w in a volvo station wagon, blown sbc in a chevette, bbc in a fox body, a couple sbc in a fox body, an ls1 in a fox body, ls1 in a rx7, carb'd sbc gen 1 in a 4th gen camaro, and well, my 455 poncho in my 79 grand prix (def took a lil bit of work 😉 )

 

[rustyroger]

b*st*rd engine swaps

I've helped put a ford 352 Y block in a '70 AMX, a project on the back burner is 383 mopar & 727 into an '81 celica, i've seen a british Ford Fiesta fitted with a mid-mounted Rover V8 turned around to keep front wheel drive - and it was been driven!.
Years ago, a guy called Andy Saunders built a street legal car with a Rolls Royce supercharged 24 lliter V12 Merlin engine but not really a b*st*rd swap, more a "because it hasn't been done" custom build.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

The 352 was a 385 series ( I think) , not a Y block ( those are 292 and 312's). I still don't see why anyone would put it in an AMX, but I'll hold my tongue...

I also remembered seeing the Buick/Rover 215 put FWD in a Mini and one put mid engined in a Mini panel truck. Then there was the mid mount Hayabusa motorcycle engine in a Mini. It seems the Brits do some strange and wonderful swaps in those cars, as do the Australians. I saw an Aussie Mini with a Toyota Starlet Turbo engine swapped in.

 

[fryer1979]

LT1 into an '89 Pontiac Fiero, LS1 into a '91 mazda RX7, 350 into a '81 Jeep CJ, TPI 350 into a '82 Jeep CJ, 460 into a '79 (I think) Ford Currier, 454 into a '88 Camaro, 4.3L vortech v6 into a '86 Toyota 4x4, and soon to be putting a LS1 and 4L65E into my '79 Camaro. Oh yeah, there was also the 426 Hemi into a '68 Camaro. Even though that car is fast as hell I still cringe a little when I see it. A buddy of mine is taking measurements and gathering parts to put a Cummins deasel from a '02 truck into his'67 Dodge street rod type truck. b*st*rd engine swaps are fun and challenging, if you are considering one look into Advanced Adapters for some help. These guys have saved me a lot of fabrication work. Oh yeah, the obligatory 350 into a '86 s-10, almost forgot that one. And I'm also considering a 4.6L into my '03 Ranger.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Yeah, They have a few things that are cool for swaps. The best thing for my swap will be one of those universal engine swap crossmembers that bolt or weld between the two frame rails and are cut to fit. I think the cost was like $50 and it makes that part almost a bolt in. I will use one if it will not interfere with the steering or suspension crossmember. I had found a South African company that has adapters for almost any trans and engine, but will try to use a T-5 instead as it is stronger than the Getrag transmissions BMW used.

 

[fryer1979]

I don't really know much about the BMW gear, but I do know that the T-5 (the five speed found in most mustangs, and third gen f-bodies) is actually a pretty week transmission. Just about anyone with some descent experience with f-body or mustang tuning will tell you that in order to make these transmission hold up to any kind of power they need to go through a process typically referred to as hardening. Depends though on how much power you want. If your gonna keep it under 300 ft-lbs of torque you ought to be ok, but if you go over or really even close, you ought to have a good performance transmission shop do that for you. I had an '89 IROC-Z with the five speed, and after I began building I switched to the T-56 6spd which even needed help to handle the 775 ft-lbs I punnished it with. That car was FAST!

 

[fryer1979]

oh, and the hardest part of the movements you suggested is always going to be getting the linkage to work right. But one can only really do that when having seen the project. It is fun, frustrating, and challenging all rolled into one happy little ball. enjoy!

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Well, the Getrag 260 the 3 series has is only rated at 225 ft lbs while the T-5 is rated at 300 ft lbs. The car will probably weigh 2700-2800 lbs finished, so it will not be too bad on parts. ( stock, they range from 2390-3050lbs depending on the model, year, engine and body style) I'm not going to make too much power initially as my plan would be just to get it positioned, the lines, wiring, Air conditioning, cruise control, etc. working with a pretty much stock 5.0. I will use the Ford EEC IV SEFI system to run the car, but also use the BMW ECU in the car to run everything else. I printed out the wiring diagrams for both the BMW and the Ford to start working on how to integrate them. The Mustang uses a cable clutch and the BMW is hydraulic. Both of these are easier to use than a mechanical linkage. I would probably use the Mustang Cable clutch and fabricate a way to mount it to the firewall and then to attach the quadrant to the pedal. The other thing I would need is to adapt the Ford driveshaft flange ( and length) to the BMW differential flange ( it uses an IRS). Once this "Stage I" build is done ( if I actually do it), I will try to improve it with aluminum heads, and some other things to increase power and decrease weight over the front end. Stock it has a 47/53 weight distribution with the inline six. The V8 adds around 115 lbs to the nose, but it is further back than the six, so what real effect it has on weight distribution is uncertain. The battery is already in the trunk from BMW, so a trunk mount kit is not going to help either. All in all, even if I don't do it I am learning a lot about the details of car construction and the options available. It's a fun academic exercise to play with, but I really wish I had the money and space right now to try it!

As for the T-5, it all depends. I know of a friend of mine who used a stock T-5 in a 81 Mustang with a bad *ss nitroused 13.5:1 351W that ran 10's and pulled the wheels on launch with slicks. I also built a 1984 Camaro for a friend with a 425hp 406 and it managed to kill the non world class T5 by stripping 3rd gear during a race. It took a year to do so however, and the car was driven hard all the time.