ok, so you have swapped an engine...has anyone actually had their first engine die on them, and that was the reason for the swap? or have we all done it for more power?

 

i swaped a 350 out for a v6 so maybe it wasn't for more power, then again maybe it was

 

i bought my v6 car for $300 because it wasn't running and gave up after trying for a week. knew a guy with a 400 block and spent about $8000 over 4 years. when i started this car i thought i was doing something unique and found out its a popular swap.

 

Mine got to where it smoked so bad it wouldn't pass inspection any more, so I repaired the valve guide seals by installing a whole other motor (a 400) that I had been accumulating for some years.

Of course, that's far from the first engine swap I ever did; the first one was when the crank broke in my 60 Chevy 235.

 

my 305 had 115546 miles on it and it was starting to need valve seals, so i too replaced the valve seals. they just happened to come with a new 350 crate engine.

mine could have lasted a while, it ran very well. but, i had the itch, so i got the 350.

so i guess to answer your question, i did it for more power.

-brian

 

my V6 was to weak and i was to frustrated with a slow camaro. it ran just like it was supposed to though. but i love my 383.

 

x girlfriend blew up the engine in mine, originally it was a 305tbi.

she claims it just started knocking...but I think she did it on purpose cuz she was mad at me.
I didnt really care though, it just gave me the excuse I needed for the 350!

 

I paid $200 for my Camaro. It had a rod knock and new tires. I thought it was a cheap way to get a 3rd gen, was looking for a replacement V6 and the guy had the V8 donor car for the same price as a V6 donor car.

As I was cleaning the V8/tranny in the driveway getting ready to stab it, a neighbor drove up in his newly purchased '87 350 TPI Formula. He spent $100 more for a running car than I did for a rear-ended/totalled donor car. I put different tires on after a year and discovered those "new" tires that were on it when I got it were actually junk. Basically, I didn't do my research and have spent a lot more than I could have to get where I am. Live and learn.

This was far from my first swap as well.

 

i bought my black IROC with a blown up engine cheap...install the engine b/c it needed one, then i wreaked that car....so i bought the IROC convert, it had a motor the burned oil and an auto trans on the way out and a fed up rear.....no worries, i had all the new ****, the new 305, the rebuilt T5 and the "good condition" rear end.....all is well. so i have done 2 swaps.
PS the motor i took out of the white IROC convert...was just rebuilt and is going into an S10

 

A guy my hubby worked with wanted to get rid of the car. It had sat behind his house for over a year, so he gave it to us. (yes, really). It had a V6 and we swapped in the V8 for more power, and the fact that the V6 was going to need a major rebuild. It leaked everything everywhere

 

Had two swaps. First one was for motor that quit. Problem with EGR valve caused detonation in a heavy wind and I holed a piston. Did a crate engine replacement. Second was was to gain more power. Neighbor needed a engine for his pickup and I had a 74 Monte I was going to scrap out, but wanted to keep the 400. I bought the Monte new, so knew the block was perfect. Built the 400 up, then switched it out and sold the 305 to the neighbor. I will be putting on the sticker that came in my last Summit Racing order that says, "This car built with my kids inheartence."

 

My original 150,xxx mile TBI 305 was actually modded enough to take out stock fox body 5.0s and stock tpi305 cars. When I swapped it out for my current 355,it was still running strong,with only a slight amount of smoke on start-up from worn valve stem seals. But to answer your question,I swapped the motor for more power.Beating stock 5.0s and tpi cars weren't doing it for me.I had to have something to help me tear up the LS1s and the new supercharged Cobras runnin' the streets down here

 

My 305 only made 170 HP new and it had 210,000 miles on it.
It still ran fine, it was just gutless, so I swapped it out before it died.
Now my transmission's dying.
Does it never end?
(I guess not, as long as you keep driving it)
-Rich-

 

power power power. I would never think of ever putting an engine with less power in place of my current one. never.always upgrade, never downgrade. heh.

 

My 305 was still going strong with 168,000 miles on it but I didn't know how long it would last and I came into some money so I opted for the crate 350.

 

My 305 was still going strong with 168,000 miles on it but I didn't know how long it would last and I came into some money so I opted for the crate 350. When that one dies or gets a lot of miles on it, it will be time for a 383 or 426 small block. Keep going higher and higher.

 

The 2.8 had really bad knock in the engine, and was replaced with another 2.8 I was 16 and my parents felt that was the best solution and the least amount of work. I had little hand in this swap, my father got bored one day and I came back and it was in the car. He wouldnt wait.

The Trans Am was bought with the purpose of swapping motors from my dad's old plow truck. The 305 didnt run, and we got it running by chainging the timing chain. I drove it red, bondo, black, and primer when it was 305'd. Typical white trash car. Then it was painted, and still 305'd. 305 had much more power than the 2.8, but the need for more was still there. The 350 was swapped in around last april vacation, and I did most of the grunt work, tearing off accessories, shroud, radiator, basic stuff, well my father handled more of the difficult stuff (motor mounts, tranny bolts, getting the distributor out). This spring I will place new heads on the motor, and almost all work will be done myself. It's not bad, in 2 years I went from not being able to change my oil to being able to almost anything that doesnt involve ripping the motor apart.

 

Bought my car when i was 16 with 62k on the clock. Didn't want to do much with it since it was nice and "new". Well, i started driving, began to see other cars out there and decided that i wanted something my own and i knew i could do better too. So when i got out of HS, I was making more money and began to build it up. Now i got the new motor simply because it was new and faster. If i could do it over, i would buy a decent car and build it up, not a clean car like the one i had! Although it was nice to not have to deal with as many headaches with a cleaner car.

 

I did two v-6 to v-6 swaps

Bought the 83 for 300 with a rod knock and scored my uncle's S-10 2.8 for free. Ended up rebuilding it and installed in place of the knocking original. I now drive this one daily.

The 86 was bought for 250. after a few months it started knocking (low oil pressure). Bought another 2.8 for $75 and swapped it in. Still need to adjust the idle and get it tagged.

Both of the originals were on life support so I swapped em

 

Reason #1: As far as my mom is concerned,, my original 305, with 130K miles on the clock, was beginning to burn oil and would need a rebuild soon. Due to this, it would be better in the long run to swap in a newer engine with far fewer miles and also get better gas mileage.

Reason #2: RAW UNADULTERATED POWER!!!!! :rockon: A guy that worked for my dad mentioned he could get an LT1 for pretty cheap since he had a liscensed shop. About a month later we had a complete LT1 sitting in our shop, ready to drop in.

 

bought my iroc brand new in 1985 and probably had 30 or so payments left and maybe 9000 miles were on the car when the 305 was pulled and the 406 went in. believe me, i was really beginning to worry about me pulling down a perfectly good running iroc with a whole poopload of payments left to go at 338.29 each. i guess i did ok with it,still have the same car. so the reason is more faster funner better scarier