Ferrari 308 Honda H22 swap

Thought you guys might appreciate one of my latest projects. A friend of mine bought a Ferrari 308 about a year ago. It almost immediately(100 miles) seized the top end of the motor due to an oiling issue. After seeing how much the rebuild was going to cost and how unreliable Ferrari engines are, There was no guarantee even with a fresh rebuild the motor would last more than 10k miles, He decided the best course of action was to yank the engine for something reliable. What is more reliable than a Honda? He chose a Honda OBD 1 JDM H22 motor. I for reasons beyond me said I'd jam the thing in there. It took about three months of 20-24hrs per week to do it but we got it done. It's now logged well over 3,000 miles with the only failure the clutch cable. That has now been converted to hydraulic.

I can detail the issues and solutions if your interested. The end result though was a car that weighs 300lbs less, Starts up every time with no hiccups and gets 25mpg.

Here is a link to some photos of the build- https://picasaweb.google.com/108443716073126060230/Ferrari308HondaH22Swap

I love that GRM now has two bizarre and awesome Ferarri swaps on the forums.

Swank Force One wrote: I love that GRM now has two bizarre and awesome Ferarri swaps on the forums.

Seconded.

Looking forward to lots up updates on this. Loving the custom work.

Awesome!

I worked at a Ferrari dealership prior to opening my shop. It was in the late 70s when 308s were still being sold. I saw or heard nothing during my time there to indicate that a 308 engine was unreliable. The early carbureted versions were troublesome due to being over rich during city driving. The later fuel injected cars corrected that problem.

They are much more costly to maintain than a Honda due to recommended maintenance intervals an parts cost.

Yeah, I'm really curious where this "Ferrari 308 engine won't last more than 10k miles" idea came from, because it sounds really not-believable. I also can't imagine the sadness of seeing a Ferrari and hearing Honda inline-four noise coming from it.

In reply to Swank Force One:

I'm waiting for the Swank Force Industries F2T/Maserati Merak swap kit.

Am I missing something here or are there really people willing to spend 30k on a car then cut it up and swap it because parts are too expensive? I'm not meaning that to sound critical I really want to know.

Nice! On one hand it's sad to lose the Ferrari sound, but on the other hand it's now vastly more budget-friendly to us mere mortals (both in terms of parts and fuel consumption), and the H22 is only slightly less powerful than the stock engine, and could easily surpass it with a few bolt-ons. Don't forget the new engine surely weights far less as well.

Imagine the head explosions from this thing beating an all-original 308

So why the H22, and not say one of the other options like a J series? transverse LS? K swap?

In reply to pres589:

Amazingly it sounds exactly like the flat plane V8 that came out. Just dumb luck on our part. We didn't build the exhaust for any reasons other than fit. It runs a modified stainless ebay header, no cat, single in/dual outlet Mitsu EVO 10 stainless muffler. The 2' or so of piping is 2.5".

tpwalsh wrote: So why the H22, and not say one of the other options like a J series? transverse LS? K swap?

The K series motor was out right away. IMO and others might disagree but it's an all or nothing motor. Very little low end power, drive like you stole it or it goes no where slow. We also wanted to use a pre OBD2 motor. The owner had owned a C5 vette and never liked the motor. He wanted something high revving. I think it was also the fact that had all ready been done, wanted to break new ground.

moparman76_69 wrote: Am I missing something here or are there really people willing to spend 30k on a car then cut it up and swap it because parts are too expensive? I'm not meaning that to sound critical I really want to know.

It was as much reliability as it was parts cost. The swap ended up being only slightly cheaper than the engine rebuild would have cost. We also gained a modern AC compressor which is a big deal in central texas. But yes long term as compared to the Ferrari engine maintenance is basically free. Also the H22 is a $1,000 motor. We could could frag this ten times now for the cost of one 308 rebuild.

Sweet! Any pics of the finished car?

I can dig it. Weird but genius. It fixes all the Ferrari problems; longtivity, reliability, cheaper motor parts, much better mpg and the ac isnt piss poor like oem ferrari.

In reply to banzairx7:

How many miles did the Ferrari engine have on it when it grenaded?

bravenrace wrote: In reply to banzairx7: How many miles did the Ferrari engine have on it when it grenaded?

29,000

Was not sure what kind of hack job I was going to see when I went to the photgallery.

That looks surprisingly sanitary. Good job on the swap.

Interesting swap. Looks clean. Not sure it's the swap I would want if it were my 308, but it's not my 308. I'd like to hear it run.

I want to dislike it.. But I can't...

Wow very nice!! where is the old motor?

I need to get some more current photos of it finished. It looks a lot cleaner now. Well except some hose routing. The owner did that part of the job.

Old motor is just sitting in the corner of the shop. He thinks if he ever sells the car he'll include the original motor. Not sure there is any added value there. I'd personally like to see it sold off and recoup some costs.

Cool!

Need moar pictures and a video please.

GameboyRMH wrote: Nice! On one hand it's sad to lose the Ferrari sound, but on the other hand it's now vastly more budget-friendly to us mere mortals (both in terms of parts and fuel consumption), and the H22 is only slightly less powerful than the stock engine, and could easily surpass it with a few bolt-ons. Don't forget the new engine surely weights far less as well. Imagine the head explosions from this thing beating an all-original 308

Not really it's still wrapped in an expensive ferrari car. Engine parts yes, but small E36 M3 that brakes on an old car is still all ferrari.