Dificulty of engine swap

[m.glisson003]

I have a Honda Del sol and I was wondering how dificult it would be to put in a competely different engine. It wont be any bigger, if anyhting its going to be smaller.

[curtis73]

If its a different Honda engine, it will be difficult. If it is a completely different engine, rank it up there with "what-was-I-thinking" type difficulty.

RWD cars are simple - weld in what you need and make a driveshaft to connect the front to the rear. FWD cars are massively difficult to swap engine types.

[oldblu65]

You say the engine would be smaller - do you have an particular engine in mind ? If so - what and why ? Is your present engine worn out or ...what ? As curtis said , swapping fwd engines means normally having to swap the entire drive train ( transmission , axles , and differential as well ) unless the new engine will fit the present drive train . Also the new setup would require modifying the shifter , wiring , and all the incidentals that make vehicle work . It can be done but it's a major job ! Keep us updated !

[m.glisson003]

Originally Posted by oldblu65

You say the engine would be smaller - do you have an particular engine in mind ? If so - what and why ? Is your present engine worn out or ...what ? As curtis said , swapping fwd engines means normally having to swap the entire drive train ( transmission , axles , and differential as well ) unless the new engine will fit the present drive train . Also the new setup would require modifying the shifter , wiring , and all the incidentals that make vehicle work . It can be done but it's a major job ! Keep us updated !

Well my goal is to strip the car of any unnecessary weight, which is already done, and then modify the current engine or swap it out for another engine for better economy. No I dont have a particular engine in mind. The engine will need to be swapped soon anyways because its on its last legs.

[oldblu65]

If you're looking for the lightest weight and greatest fuel economy you can get , then the simplest and cheapest way would be to rebuild the original engine . That way no modifications would be needed and spare parts would be easy to obtain . The reduced weight would make the original engine feel more powerful as well as get better MPG !

[m.glisson003]

Originally Posted by oldblu65

If you're looking for the lightest weight and greatest fuel economy you can get , then the simplest and cheapest way would be to rebuild the original engine . That way no modifications would be needed and spare parts would be easy to obtain .

Okay. When rebuilding an engine what are the major things I should be doing? I've never rebuilt an engine before, the most in depth I've gone is engine swap and head gasket replacement.