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These engine swaps are the craziest and most unusual ones you have ever seen
by Dim Angelov, onIt seems, in the world of modified cars, engine swaps are as common as ketchup on a hot dog (original, I know). There are certain engines that are considered to be the go-to platforms, for such things, e.g. LS, 2JZ, etc. as well as cars that are crying to accommodate either of them, in their engine bays. However, there are engine swaps that are much more uncommon, whether because of the engine choice or because of the car they are done to, and these are some of the main culprits.
Jaguar E-Type V-8
Starting off with something that will, no doubt, be considered a travesty by many of the purists. The Jaguar E-Type is considered to be one of the most beautiful cars, ever made. Enzo Ferrari, himself, once said: “This is the most beautiful thing, I have ever seen”. But for all its looks, the cat was notoriously unreliable, especially when equipped with the V-12.
That said, when restoring an E-Type, some individuals have chosen to get rid of the original engine, like in this 1964 E-Type coupe (called XKE in North America), featured on Two Guys and a Ride. The original inline-six unit was dropped in favor of a 302 V-8 engine from Ford Performance, which develops around 400 horsepower. Eric says the only change needed to drop the V-8 in, was to lower the sub-frame by two inches.
While not the only V-8-swapped E-Type in the world, the owner of this one – Eric Hawkinson – has restored it from the ground up. Both the beautiful silver exterior and black leather interior with wooden inserts, look original and you would never think that it has a Ford V-8 under the clamshell hood. The car was sold last year, for $185,000.
Ford Mustang 2JZ
Probably zero people expected to see a Mustang with the venerable 2JZ engine under the hood, but here it is. Stephen’s 1995 SN95 Mustang, which was featured on TheSmokingTire, has not just the engine of an Mk IV Toyota Supra, but also the Getrag V160 six-speed manual gearbox. Even more impressive is that the 2JZ Mustang is BAR-legal, which means you can legally drive it in California.
According to the owner, swapping the 2JZ required some fabrication, but it was definitely worth it, because of the reliability and tuning potential of the 2JZ engine. He used a front K-member from a later 5.0-liter Mustang and fabricated brackets from the engine mounts, while the rear cross member came from a T56 transmission.
It’s not the first time, a 2JZ has been shoved into a Mustang engine bay, but this one is both a track weapon and a fully-legal streetcar, which is a rare feat. Unfortunately, we don’t get exact horsepower figures, but with the current single turbo setup, it should be around 500 horsepower.
Honda S2000 Viper V-10
The Honda S2000 is one of the most desired Japanese sports cars. To this day, it features one of the most playful chassis and its normally-aspirated, inline-four engine still has one of the highest specific outputs of any production car. Apparently, that’s not enough for some people and the owner of this particular one has taken the stock 2.2-liter unit (it’s the later AP2 model) out and has put in an 8.3-liter V-10 from a 2006 Dodge Viper.
Carbuzz wrote about the build, back in 2014. Back then the V-10 was in stock form, which meant 505 horsepower and 535 pound-feet (725 Nm) – significantly more than the stock 240 horsepower and 162 pound-feet (220 Nm). The S2000 features plenty of supporting mods, including a beefier clutch, custom radiator, upgraded suspension, brakes, as well as a couple of tasteful MOPAR performance parts, among other things.
At the time Carbuzz wrote about it, the V-10-powered Honda S2000 was listed for sale, for just $27,000 – pretty much what a stock S2000 costs today. While not the only V-10-powered S2000, this one certainly looks like it was tastefully done. A true pocket rocket with the heart of a dinosaur.
Ferrari 308 GTBi Honda K24
Like the V-8-swapped Jaguar E-Type, this one may trigger some of the purists (probably most of them). We are talking about a time attack built by Stance Works that is based on a Ferrari 308 GTBi. This particular version of the car is not the 308’s finest hour. According to the host, the car is plagued by the Borsch K-Jetronic fuel injection and I s heavily restricted, due to the strict emissions regulations from that era.
This meant that the stock car made a not very Ferrari-worthy 214 horsepower and 179 pound-feet (243 Nm) from its 2.9-liter V-8 engine. However, Mike – the host – has decided to fix that problem by getting rid of the Italian V-8. Instead, the 308 time attack build will rely on power from a fully-built Honda K24 turbocharged engine.
The build is still in progress, but the K24 engine is already making 1,000 horsepower, which was one of Mike’s goals. The other goal is a dry weight of under 2,000 pounds (907 kg). There are currently 59 episodes on Mike’s channel, so you can check out all the steps.
Rolls Royce Phantom 2JZ
We have another 2JZ entry on the list, which we have covered in the past, and it is even weirder. It comes from Japan where, it seems, anything is possible. The owner of this Rolls Royce Phantom, bought it brand new, back in 2009 and has done the unthinkable. The driver of the British luxury vehicle has a car-parts business and an interesting philosophy. “When something breaks, I don’t fix it. I modify it”.
This is exactly what he did when the original 6.75-liter V-12 engine broke down. He threw it away and put a 2JZ GTE, with a big single turbo. At its current state, the engine makes around 700 horsepower, while still mated to the original six-speed automatic gearbox. The swap was done both for fun and for practical reasons. The 2JZ is known to be very robust and aftermarket support is plentiful.
We can only imagine what the people at Rolls Royce are thinking of this creation. One thing is certain, no other Phantom sounds or moves the way this one does.
DeLorean DMC 12 With a Kia Stinger GT Engine
If the previous one could be considered outrageous, this one is more understandable. Although the DeLorean is something of a movie star, thanks to “Back to The Future”, it isn’t exactly a model performance car. Its PRV-derived 2.9-liter V-6 barely made any power and let’s not talk about the reliability.
However, there are a few builds out there that prove that even a crappy car can become quick if you put a proper engine in it. This particular one drag-raced a Warthog on the Hoonigan YouTube channel and is said to be the current fastest DeLorean, in the world.
This DeLorean is the epitome of well-sorted. It features Ferrari brakes, a Porsche six-speed transaxle, and a 3.3-liter twin-turbo V-6 engine from a Kia Stinger GT. It’s worth noting that the twin-turbos have been upgraded to Garrett G25s, running on 9.0 pounds of boost, which results in 487 horsepower at the rear wheels. This is enough for a quarter-mile time in the 11-second range. The car was recently sold for $243,000.
Chevrolet Corvette C5 13B Rotary
You may call this one revenge of the rotary. By now, most people are, at least, aware of the rotary engine’s pros and cons. Sadly, the latter outweigh the former, by quite a bit, which is why many RX-7s switch to a Chevrolet LS V-8, once the rotary decides to leave this world. However, we see the complete opposite with this C5 Corvette, owned by Rob Dahm.
A Corvette engine bay is the last place you would expect to see a rotary engine. It’s also the least sensible thing to do, but Rob did it just for the giggles. To add insult to the injury, the rotary “Vette” was taken to an LS meet, where he was detained. Moreover, this is the Corvette C5 Z06, which is the most desirable version, with regards to the powertrain.
The rotary engine is stock, but features a Garrett GTX3584RS and Adaptronic M2000 ECU. The dyno runs made a strong case for rotary power, as the Corvette put down 550 horsepower and 505 pound-feet (685 Nm). At the time, the car still needed a few final touches. Some (most) of the gauges were not functioning and the dashboard was lit up like a Christmas tree. Regardless, Rob proved his point – you can, indeed, have a reliable, rotary Corvette…for a while, at least.
Acura NSX K24
The Honda K-series is the most popular engine swap, for the Honda Civic. The internet is full of high-horsepower builds and more recently, quite a few all-wheel-drive conversions. The bigger K24, in particular, is a cheap way to get a dependable platform, capable of high-horsepower figures. Because of this, we are starting to see K24 engines in some unlikely places, such as this 1995 Acura NSX.
The car was featured on That Racing Channel, a few months ago, where the owner, Navin, explained in detail what has been done to the car. For some reason, the original C30 V-6 engine has been taken out and, instead, a K24A2, which has been heavily modified. It features a closed deck, sleeved block, and an S2000 oil pump, to name a few.
More importantly, there is a big single turbo, which at 40 pounds of boost, is good for 1,000 horsepower. Those go to the rear wheels through a Quaife, sequential gearbox. The clutch is a Tilton, twin-disc unit, while engine management has been entrusted to a Hondata V4 ECU. The engine bay looks a lot emptier than stock, but this little K24 unit is capable of serious power, as the video shows.
Lamborghini Gallardo 2JZ
The 2021 SEMA Show certainly had a few things to show us. While electrification was a substantial part of the exhibition, one of the craziest cars was not an EV. It was a 2JZ-swapped Lamborghini Gallardo, which 1320videos stumbled upon, while at the SEMA show.
To call this an engine swap is a bit of a stretch since Bryce Yeager – the owner of the car – bought a Gallardo shell. This meant that the original 5.0-liter V-10 was nowhere to be found, which gave him the green light (despite people trying to dissuade him) to put a 2JZ.
The engine is, of course, not stock, as it features a gigantic turbo sticking up high above the engine bay. In its current state, the 2JZ Lambo puts down 1,000 horsepower. Most of the rear panels are missing, which leaves most of the hardware exposed and visible. There’s a lot of structural bracing and, more importantly, Gallardo’s original six-speed manual gearbox with a gated shifter.
Nissan Skyline GT-R Ford Barra
What’s common between a Nissan Skyline R32 and a Ford Falcon XR6? Nothing! However, YouTube channel 1320videos took us to Australia, in order to show us a Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R with one of the most unusual engine swaps – a Ford Barra inline-six.
As to why the owner chose to replace one of the most legendary Japanese powertrains with a Ford inline-six, we don’t know, but the car still packs a mighty punch. The car, which the owner now calls “XR32” develops 975 horsepower from the 4.0-liter DOHC inline-six. However, due to traction issues, the car was detuned to “only” 800 horsepower, which was still enough for an 11.2-second quarter-mile time.
Ryan Tuerck’s Ferrari-powered Toyota "GT4586"
You may remember a wide-body, bright red Toyota GT86 that had a crash at the Portland touge. That was driven by professional drift racer, Ryan Tuerck and has one of the sickest engine swaps ever done to a car. The car is a full-on drift build, but it’s also street-legal. More importantly, it no longer features the asthmatic 2.0-liter, normally-aspirated flat-four.
The Japanese, sports coupe now has a 4.5-liter flat-plane V-8 engine, out of a Ferrari 458 Italia. The engine is stock, which means 562 horsepower and 398 pound-feet (540 Nm). The car was featured on Donut Media, where there are a couple of episodes with the car. The most entertaining among them is where Ryan talks about the car’s “daily usability”. Regardless, this is not your typical V-8 swap, but it’s, by far, one of the coolest.
Trabant-Powered Audi A4 Avant Rat Rod
Have you ever met people that made you ask yourself “what is that person thinking?” This is probably one of those types. The Audi A4 Avant is a common choice for a family car, in Europe, but for some reason, the owner of this one decided to turn it into a rat rod. The trend where cars are intentionally made to look weathered has even gotten to Europe, but this guy went further.
The car has literally been gutted and features a rusty iron grating instead of a roof, a couple of planks for a rear right door, and many other um…distinctive design elements. But the engine is the biggest oddity here, as it originally belonged to a Trabant 601.
The engine in this East-German automobile is a 0.6-liter, two-stroke, inline-two engine that makes a staggering 26 horsepower and 40 pound-feet (54 Nm). Hold on to your hats, because this allows the 1,356-pound (615 kg) vehicle, with a body made of plywood, to hit 60 mph (97 km/h) in about 30.0 seconds, on its way to a top speed of barely 70 mph (113 km/h).
Clearly, the engine swap was not done for the sake of performance. You can imagine the performance of that engine on a car, clearly much heavier than the Trabant. At least, the engine and its soundtrack fit the car’s overall aesthetics, perfectly.