I'm in the K swap the world camp,pretty damn impressive.
Our 1st K20 was out of a rollover SI at 250000 km that then went into an EG hatch ice racer for a season,then into our crx endurance car for a full season of thrashing,that car got a little tap in the right rear leading straight to the scene of the crash.
Crx was totalled so parts scavenged and so engine and trans went into an EG hatch for another full season.
It was getting a bit lazy and needed a about a litre of oil a day by the end of the yr,leakdown test was 30% dead even across all 4.
Pretty good for the miles,full bolt ons and tune with 8500 rpm limit that we used religously to run at or near the front.
The k24 we freshened with good valvetrain and cam upgrade made 253 whp.
Nice and tq'y not peaky.
The 9th gen civic we run now stayed with the crap single exhaust outlet head and its into the 3rd season now,gt2 series champs last yr and 3 wins and a 2nd so far this yr.
Lots of bmw/porche motors have come and gone during that time ;)
Pete. (l33t FS) said:
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Let's see that V8 with accessories like the Mazda engine, now 
Bonus points for headers, because few people use the cast iron manifolds.
Accessories make it a little more square, but it doesn't get any longer or wider or taller with them. The right manifolds don't take up any more room than the cast iron ones - I have a set installed in this pic.
I'm pondering a Caddy 500 in an 83 Corolla Wagon.
2000-lb car plus monster torque equals fun
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
I am here for that.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
I'll toss you the keys for fun runs
This wasn't hard to do...
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/project-cars/1988-crx/
And any EG/EK/EM chassis is even easier, though a little heavier.
Speaking of...one of the quickest time attack cars in the country is this turbo k-swapped 99 civic...pretty simple car.
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/video/this-civic-is-the-fastest-fwd-car-to-ever-lap-ncm-motorsports-park/
But if Miata is your answer...K-Power is now shipping NC K-swap kits or turn-key builds.
https://kpower.industries/
They also do 86's...
Toyota 2GR V6 into the SW20 MR2 is a very hot swap at this moment in time. All the power of the original turbo engine, same weight, more reliable, and it's darn near bolt-on.
Same with 2AR-FE 2.5L into the later, smaller MR2 Spider. Toyota legos for muscle MR2's.
MadScientistMatt said:
Just wondering about what variation of the "cheap small car with cheap bigger engine" would be reasonable to build today, the contemporary equivalent of a big block Nova or B18 Civic. What has the right combination of availability donors and platforms, with a fairly straightforward installation?
K series Honda Fit? 2ZZ-GE in a Yarris or Scion XA? Supercharged Ecotech in an Aveo / Sonic? Something with a Mitsubishi Mirage or Nissan Versa?
I recently wondered how an Ecotec drive train would fit in the back of a first gen Spark. Like a modern day Shogun/Fastiva. One of the benefits of using anything Ecotec is cost. Some people are on a budget, and I know that 2.4's were available with computer and wiring harness from local wreckers for a couple hundred bucks, and parts availability is very good. K series are great, but the last I looked they were not cheap
I've seen a MINI for sale with the drive train from a Honda CRV installed and an added turbo. That looked like a fun swap.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
Your math is flawed,it'll be a 3000lb car with that anchor in it.
maschinenbau said:
Toyota 2GR V6 into the SW20 MR2 is a very hot swap at this moment in time. All the power of the original turbo engine, same weight, more reliable, and it's darn near bolt-on.
Same with 2AR-FE 2.5L into the later, smaller MR2 Spider. Toyota legos for muscle MR2's.
I'd like to see more fwd 2GR builds. Why should J series Hondas have all the fun.
Not sure you'd call this cheap, but there do seem to be a decent number of FR-S/BR-Zs with blown engines that end up with either K swaps or LS swaps lately. Just saw an LS3 in one at C&C this morning.
In reply to eastsideTim :
Not for long. I was told that Hamilton and Franklin County and the surrounding areas will get e-check soon. They aren't meeting Federal clean air standards.
Anything over 25 years old is fair game but newer than that, there IS a process to handle engine swaps but I am unaware of what it is.
I'd love a K20 swapped Fit, myself. Gimme an Earth Dreams engine and keep the automatic. It's doable. The problem is the L15 variants are cockroaches so you'd be buying a very expensive starter car, because Fits hold their value like crazy.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
I thought they go all the way back to 1996? Hopefully that's just fear mongering. The ratty Miata has had a CEL for the 7 years I've owned it, and I'd rather not put a ton of effort into a car that gets such a small amount of miles a year.
In reply to eastsideTim :
Nope, they are keeping the 25 year rolling cutoff. At least, they do right now and there is no sign of changing that. So few cars are that old and emissions parts availability can be difficult enough that they figure it is better to ignore the <1% of cars that old rather than tell people they have to give up a non compliant vehicle that in all likelihood is only driven five or six months of the year anyway. I estimate that it they also figure that old cars are expensive, its cheaper to buy a 5 year old car than keep an old one viable, so it is rare that >25 year old cars are used as daily drivers.
It is when you first register the car, every other year based on year of manufacture, so it is effectively a 24 year cutoff for vehicles that you already own.
You remember the silver RX-7? And the black one? Both were under 25 years old when I got them and I had to limp their non emissions area sourced carcasses through E-check. Fun times. Splice a converter back in and rig up an air pump setup.
Tom1200
PowerDork
7/13/24 6:25 p.m.
I am still saying small block V8.
2.4 from a Stratus/etc. into a Neon was a fun and pretty easy thing back in those days.
I still think of mid 90s as modern, lol. Haven't quite realized how old I am.
Skyactiv 3.3 hybrid into an ND.
I'm sure it won't fit, but it would be righteous.
True story, the Ecotec Miata swap/business came about as a result of them swapping a J24 and 6 spd from a Kizashi in to a first Gen Pontiac Firefly. One of them wanted to use an ecotec, the other wanted to keep it all Suzuki. So they decided to try an eco in the shop Miata instead
preach said:
07k swap the world.
I am torn on this.
Part of the idea of "big engine small car" is to put some lazy low revving lump in something light so you can do weird things like, say, start off in top gear and go 0-terminal velocity without shifting.
The 07K is not particularly lazy or low revving. It can spin higher than the older, smaller fives that people typically swap into. The 034/035 engine breaks oil pumps and/or crank pulleys at 8000 or so, people run the 07K higher than that. Audi Sport spun them hard but they had stiffer, shorter stroke cranks, and dry sump oiling systems, even in the 10v rally cars.
And the 07K sounds absolutely glorious at 8000-9000rpm.
Wonder how long an 020 transmission would last next to one.
dr_strangeland said:
Skyactiv 3.3 hybrid into an ND.
I'm sure it won't fit, but it would be righteous.
They stretch Minis to fit B series engines, so who's going to complain about a few extra inches in a Miata to fit a straight six, a turbo and a battery? ;)
Keith Tanner said:
In reply to accordionfolder :
Fair enough. That was the case for LS swaps when I did the MG - you could buy a complete LS1/T56 Camero for the price of an LS1 and T56, and that was the dealer cost of a new T56 Magnum last time I checked. I think this is first time I've seen "it was cheap" as the justification for an LFX over an LSx, though :)
The engine/transmission is usually the biggest single cost, but there are so many smaller ancillary ones that eventually overwhelm it. Looking at the cost of the parts we used in the ND V8 cars and ignoring labor, the brand new transmission was about 13% of the total cost. Engine and controller, using a new EROD crate (not the least expensive LS3 crate) was 23%. So assuming you basically get the engine and wiring for "free" with an LFX, it would have cut the overall cost of the conversion by a bit less than a quarter. Not trivial, but I guess you also get about a quarter less power and torque :) You'd also be dealing with used parts without a warranty and you have to deal with disposing of the carcass after you've stripped it. Definitely a viable option but not quite as dramatic as "you can get an entire car for the cost of a transmission" makes it sound.
I'm not really arguing it's the "best" of anything, but let's be real, a 270+whp Miata with an OEM systems from accessories to transmission tip that is understressed is hard to beat. I talked with a gentleman at barber with an RX8 + LFX this weekend and he raved about it and it's reliability (beat on at track events since built and it was a V1 kiesler kit). I think it's a rather slept on drivetrain and for the crafty of us can be a VERY cheap swap option. If you're not buying every component for an off the shelf swap it can be done very cheaply. I suspect a zero cost drivetrain for the patient/craft who sell off the rest of a copart type car or at the very least a very cheap option. They're also the world's most DIY friendly exhaust packaging.
Side note 2: one of my track cars is an LS3 sooo.
NA/NB Miata with a Honda V-6? The OZ kit looks better thought out than the other one.
