Game-Changing Engine Swaps: 12 Incredible Conversions That Took Things To The Next Level

Engine swaps are a time-honored tradition for mechanics who never learned to color inside the lines. Some of the earliest modified cars built to gain power for more speed originated during prohibition. Bootleggers running illegal booze to the black market sought ways to outrun the law and initially took to altering their cars for better performance. The genuine modifications eventually gave way to engine swaps, where a guy running moonshine could switch out his Ford engine for a bigger and more powerful Cadillac while retaining the same look of the original car. This ingenuity and experimentation led to the creation of the modern sport called NASCAR.

Common swaps over the years have involved replacing a 6-cylinder of a base model car for a V8 that was offered on higher-level performance trims. These would be rather easy as the engines going into the cars were made for them and were offered as options for that model. However, some people like to push the boundaries of good taste and mix and match makes and models to create something completely new. And modern technology has also made this endeavor much more technical, requiring high levels of skill as computers have made cars some of the biggest pieces of tech available. Fabricating parts and aligning equipment from different manufacturers is not something learned in school and takes grit and inventiveness to execute well. Some examples of good engine swaps are astounding, and these 12 incredible conversions take things to another level altogether.

Sticking a venerated Ferrari power plane into another car is a logical choice as the Italian machines are known for very high power output, but to turn the tables and put an engine from a Honda, best known for highly reliable 4-cylinder engines, into a Ferrari is unorthodox. However, the end product happens to also be just about as cool as it gets. The only way to make it cooler would be to have Tom Selleck pull up in the car himself.

The Ferrari 308 is an icon of the '80s that represents the pinnacle of cool for its time. This is evident by its placement in the popular Magnum P.I. television show. The cars still look great today, but the original 3.0-liter V8 engines really only output around 250 horsepower new from the factory. They were a product of new EPA regulations. So finding a way to add power is a logical choice, even if a Honda K24 engine isn't.

Mike Burroughs from Stanceworks built this project and it is an extremely thorough transformation. The Honda 4-cylinder has been worked over from every corner to now produce 1,000 horsepower and is mated to every imaginable racing product, many of them bespoke for this car. The interior is tastefully redone with a minimalist look and professional detail. The exterior is finished off in white with a custom aero package. You can follow the build of this project on the Stanceworks YouTube channel or subreddit.

Westen Champlin loves to do things his own way. Being a farm boy from the Midwest, he loves a good diesel, so why not stick a Cummins in a Mustang? What Champlin calls the SmokeStang is a late model sixth-generation Ford Mustang that has in place of a Coyote 5.0-liter V8 a 6.1-liter 12-valve Cummins diesel straight-6 from Utah's Power Driven Diesel. Equipped with twin turbos, it produces 1,264 horsepower and a staggering 2,200 lb-ft of torque.

The enormous truck engine does fit in the engine bay of the Mustang but is totally open to the elements as it is way too tall for a hood. Needless to say, it is capable of some mighty burnouts and Champlin's tire bill is surely quite high. The name comes from the smoke emitted both from the tire burning and the diesel clouds shot straight up from the turbo in front.

The SmokeStang is akin to an invention by a mad scientist. There is absolutely no good reason for sticking a heavy-duty truck engine from a bus or dump truck into a Mustang. But with the SmokeStang, logic and reason have no place, and that is just fine, especially given that it runs a quarter-mile down Kansas drag strips in about 13 seconds. It can be seen on the Westen Champlin YouTube channel.

Rolls-Royce is well known for making fine motor cars, but they also made engines that helped to win WWII. Created as a version of the infamous Merlin engine that powered Spitfires and Hurricanes, the Meteor is detuned and adapted for use on land to move tanks. It makes sense that an enormous V12 with tons of torque built for airplanes could also be adapted for tank duty, but sticking one in an old cop car is a bit ridiculous. Regardless, a group of Swedes has done just that.

The car in question is a retired California Police Interceptor. It is the last generation Panther body Crown Victoria, which originally came with a Modular 4.6-liter OHC V8. It has since been replaced with a 27-liter Rolls Royce Meteor V12. It's obnoxious and wholly impractical, but eternally cool. Meteors produced just 550 horsepower when new, but is now pushing 2,500 thanks to twin turbos and custom-made everything. The car needed significant reinforcement because of the extreme weight, but everything has come along nicely — it even has a custom-made hood that entirely covers the engine.

The Meteor Interceptor is unique and wholly absurd. It answers a question nobody was asking, and it answers it in spades. The torque alone should have ripped the car in half ages ago, but the build continues. It can be seen on The Meteor Interceptor YouTube channel.

If you thought a Miata really needed an undeniably grotesque amount of power, then you might want to stick a Dodge Hellcat engine in one as these guys did. Truthfully, you probably should not do this, but you certainly can enjoy that it has been done.

The Miata is a small car with a small engine. Part of what Mazda engineers did with the car is to design it with a perfect 50/50 weight distribution to make it the best-handling sports car ever. It is even-keeled and has just enough power to push it through the corners without being overbearing. But with horsepower under 200, it isn't the fastest car around. The guys that run the YouTube channel KARR decided to change that about one particular Miata by stuffing a 707-horsepower Dodge Hellcat engine in the car.

Known affectionately as Hell Kitty, this 1999 Miata is extensively modified to make this swap work. Backing up the Hellcat is a 6-speed manual transmission and Ford 8.8-inch differential. The corners are handled by upgraded suspension and Wilwood brakes. It has a roll cage and everything inside is custom. But the most prominent feature is the giant supercharger sticking out of the hood. The 50/50 weight distribution is gone, but massive power has replaced it. The builder sold it in 2019 at Barrett-Jackson for $36,000. A subsequent owner, unsurprisingly, wrecked it leaving a car meet, claiming a caliper locked up.

Cars are not the only thing that can get a creative engine swap. Why not do one with a classic Lambretta motor scooter? Lambretta scooters were born in the post-war period with the need for cheap transportation in Europe. It became wildly successful but ultimately closed by 1972. Most models came with 125cc engines but some models went up to 150 or 175. Even with the largest engines, Lambrettas are famously stylish, but not terribly fast. Hence, a custom turn to Yamaha.

Stone Automotive/YouTube

Under the seat of this 1960s scooter sits a water-cooled 2-cylinder Yamaha engine from an RD350. It replaces the single-cylinder air-cooled unit but remains a 2-stroke. This means it's a rev-happy monster in this tiny frame and puts out unfathomable power to be handled by the 10-inch wheels. The owner claims the original horsepower rating is somewhere around 6 and is now boosted up to 69. It took plenty of creative engineering and fabrication to make it work and the ingenuity can be seen in things like the hidden radiator in the glove box. The wiring is a mix of Yamaha and Lambretta, but some original Yamaha gauges have been incorporated into the scooter frame. The dual exhaust pipes, swing arm, chain, and disc brakes are obvious giveaways that this scooter is something special. This installation is incredibly clean and sorted, and it shows the builder possesses a great deal of skill. Stone Automotive interviewed the owner for its YouTube channel.

The Suzuki Super Carry is a small Japanese market van classified as a kei car, with an engine of 660cc or less. Because of the limited engine size, the Super Carry is rugged and useful, but it is in no way quick. However, that is nothing a good old-fashioned engine swap can't fix.

At least one Briton owns one of these little vans with an all-Suzuki swap. Calvin's Car Diaries interviews the owner and takes a tour, including driving, gaining insight into the what and why of this unique little van. The owner bought it with the engine already installed. Packed into the van is a 4-cylinder engine from a Suzuki GSXF Bandit that measures 1,250cc, nearly double the original 3-cylinder plant. The factory horsepower rating of 70 is now roughly doubled and the power is sent to the wheels through the same sequential 6-speed gearbox from the bike.

Mike says the engine is located mostly about where the original went, and it obviously took a lot of customization to make it work. Accompanying the motorcycle engine is the original motorcycle tank mounted in the cargo area to supply fuel and the gauge cluster from the bike sits on the dashboard. This little van is way too fast for its own good — 20 to 70 mph takes 10.59 seconds — and looks like you could flip it in an instant. Although, if the right side is kept up, it will turn heads wherever it goes.

The Datsun 240Z is one of the best classic cars to ever come from Japan and the original drivetrains are excellent. That means there is no good reason to swap it for a black cloud-spewing turbo diesel, but who needs a good reason anyway?

Team Boosted/YouTube

While Westen Champlin's Cummins diesel Mustang is an example of an extreme diesel swap, this Datsun is a bit tamer. Featured on the Team Boosted YouTube channel, the diesel Datsun exchanges the original straight-6 for a Mercedes 4-cylinder turbo-diesel. Although this is one of the weirdest matches you could think of, the car is a runner. The build is documented throughout the channel, with videos showing everything coming together as well as dyno runs showing the Mercedes diesel capable of pulling in excess of 500 horsepower. It is an interesting and incongruous sound to hear coming from this car, but that makes it no less cool. It also helps that the car is done well with matte gray paint, flared fenders, and large contemporary wheels. They say it started out as, "a purple piece of crap," but it turned out great and comes with a tremendous black smoke performance.