kwikperf.com Blog

Will it meet emissions standards in your state?

 If you’re going to run this rig on the street, are you ready to jump through the inspection and licensing hoops of your state?  (Sorry about all you California guys.)

This topic could be a whole book by itself but here are some resources to help you understand what you’re facing:

Mike Knell of Jags That Run has a book series but the one to start with no matter what engine you plan to use would be:  “Chevrolet TPI and TBI Engine Swapping”.  He also has specific books on swapping into S-10, Datsun Z cars, Jaguars and even one on  Volvo swaps.  He also sells a lot of useful parts for engine swaps.   Go to: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/index.html   Mike’s books can also be found in many book stores and at Summit Racing and Jegs.

Forums to search and lurk:

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/index.php

The general rule in most states is that the vehicle has to meet the standards of the engine and it has to have all the emissions equipment it originally came with.  Some states exempt cars built more than so many years ago or before a certain date.  For example, here in Missouri, only vehicles operated in major meteropolitan areas such as St. Louis and Kansas City have to be inspected and vehicles with historic or street rod plates are exempt from emissions inspections no matter where operated.

We’ve identified at least 13 questions to ask yourself before you start an engine swap project. Here’s another of them:

“Is the car worth it?”

Here’s the deal–engine swaps can cost a lot of money. And a lot of time. And it’s always more than you think it’s going to be. So, is the rest of the car worth the new engine and all the rest of the upgrades you’ll have to make?

Two examples:

1. A couple of years ago, I did a pretty easy swap–I pulled out a tired Chevy 350 and bolted in a fresh 454. The vehicle is a 1978 GMC 1-ton dually, crew cab, automatic, 4WD. Something I use once in a while to pull a goose-neck trailer to haul my wife’s bulldozer or to haul a car project.

This kind of swap is about as easy as it gets. No transmission change, no radiator change, no steering issues. Pretty much plug and play. And boy is there a difference in power between a tired 350 and a fresh 454.

I’m glad I did the swap. However…..the truck has the traditional GM rust issues in the front fenders. A windstorm damaged the hood and one door. One of our 4 English Mastiffs (who love riding where the back seat used to be) lunged at something and cracked one of the back windows, and it has a horrible shimmy in the front axle at certain speeds. I’m pretty sure that if I wanted to sell or trade the truck, I would get back very little of the money I spent on the 454 engine and all the little stuff I replaced during the swap. I’ll eventually drive my investment out of it but the engine is probably worth as much as the rest of the truck.

2. My current project is stuffing a 5.3 Chevy V8 into a 1987 BMW 535iS. What prompted this project was the original automatic transmission finally gave up the ghost at 220,000 miles. The BMW dealer wanted $3000 for a factory rebuild. That’s about the value of the car. And I’d still have a tired engine.

So, my gearhead buddies, Ken and Kenny, kept poking at me saying things like, “Hey Mr. Hot Rod, if you had any cajones at all you’d put a nice big V8 in there.” So that’s what I’m doing and I think the car is worth the effort. I’ll end up with more than $3000 in the swap but I’ll also end up with a car that has a rust-free body, an almost perfect interior, great ride and handling and soon, reliable GM power. It will once again be part of the daily-driver fleet taking me on my 100 mile per day round trip commute.

I’m expecting gas mileage as good as the old 6 cylinder, lots more power with no change in ride and handling due to the all-aluminum V8 weighing only about 60 lbs. more than the old 6.

I love the car, I’ve owned it for 10 years and I’ll be happy driving it forever. In this case, market value of the finished swap has no bearing. It’s all about the personal enjoyment and use I’ll get from it.

There you have two examples of the question, “Is the car worth it?” The first is questionable, the second is a definite “yes”. Which is it for your project?

We’ve identified at least 13 questions to ask yourself before you start an engine swap project. Here’s one of them:

“What do you really want from your engine swap project?”

In other words, why go through all the toil, sweat and tears, oh, and money? Everyone has a different motivation–just be clear about yours.

Below are some possibilities. Some of these are my own, some are the ones I used to justify the money to my wife, and some are ones I’ve observed in other gearheads. See if any fit you.

1. More power. Argh, argh. Yeah, gearheads are power freaks and we never outgrow our need for speed. Engine swaps can work well for the guy who doesn’t have the patience to re-work the internals of the engine he already has. Just shoe-horn in a bigger engine and let cubic inches do the work for you.

2. Reliability. Jam in a low-stress big block and get 400 to 500 ft. lbs. of torque at low RPM. Or, build up a peaky small block and that’s always on the ragged edge of breaking. One just keeps on truckin’ with no problems, the other can take a lot more shop time. Or, like my BMW, the old engine was tired, the transmission was shot and it was going to cost a lot of money just to end up with something that would still need a lot of expensive maintenance. A late model Chevy V8 with low miles will outlast the rest of the car with minimal cost. Well, after it’s finally installed.

3. Bragging rights. I confess. This is one of my motivations for my Chevy 5.3 LS family engine swap in a 5-series BMW project. I want to coast in to cruise night at the local drive-in, pop the hood and have people say, “Wow! How’d you do that?”

4. Accomplishment. There’s a big internal pay-off to finishing a complex project like an engine swap. You’ve had to tackle every major automotive system and modify most of them. You’ve solved one obstacle after another and it feels good to come out the other side with something that meets all your original objectives–it looks good, it goes like scat, all your buddies are envious and maybe it’s even practical–something you can drive every day. What would you rather do in your spare time–break 100 in golf (whatever that means)? Or drive a car that you personally built? Yeah, the car.

I’m sure you can think of a lot of other reasons to do an engine swap. My main point is this: Just be sure you’re clear about what your own personal objectives are. So that when you run into obstacles, and you will, you’ll have that vision of the end result to keep you motivated to push on through.

There’s a guy named Stephen Covey who wrote a book called, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. Habit number 2 is, “begin with the end in mind”. In other words, get really clear about what you want to end up with–before you start. You’ll have a much better chance of getting what you want.