Questions to ask before you start an engine swap project–Number 5
Here’s another of at least 13 questions you should ask yourself before starting an engine swap project.
Do you have the time?
This is just like the money question. Everything takes twice as long as you think it will.
If your daily driver ‘88 Chevy pickup is about to puke its 350 on the street and you think it would be cool as well as practical to swap in an LS1 over the weekend, I have a newsflash–you’ll be hitchin’ a ride with your friends for a while.
Just making or buying engine mounts and getting the engine in the car is the quick and easy part. What takes up time are all the little things. Like spending a few hours with the shop manual tracing electrical circuits. Finding a place to mount some electrical relays. Convincing the auto parts guy to let you paw through his whole stock of radiator hoses to find that one special bend you need.
Most of us also have other things to do once in a while. Taking the kids to baseball practice. Fixing stuff around the house. Oh, and you’ll probably have a job (see the question about money again). So it’s a balancing act. Finding time for your life AND finding time for your project. Be prepared for one or the other to suffer from time to time.
Here’s some personal experience to make the point. I started my latest project a little over a year ago. I’m putting an all-aluminum 5.3 LS-series V8 in a 1987 BMW 535iS. At the same time, I decided to shoot sort of a video diary of the project. That meant I had to learn how to edit video. And learn how to post it on the internet (look for Geezer’s Garage on YouTube). And then I decided I should have some kind of web site where I could post pictures and stuff. More learning curve. And then I ran into the AC compressor issue so Ken and Kenny and I started developing an AC compressor bracket package. It looked good enough we decided to turn it into a product and sell it here on our web site. Oh, and I have a day job. And a 1-hour commute each way. And I became a grandfather for the first time last summer. And freezing rain has my shop door frozen shut right now. Are you starting to see a problem Bucky? Yep, my original target date for being on the street got pushed back a little.
In spite of all that, the project still moves forward. I’ll share some tips later about how to avoid getting stuck and stalled but let me put a plug in here for our little company–one of our goals for Ken, Kenny and I being in business is to help guys speed up their engine swap projects. We solve some of those gritty little issues for you–like the AC compressor bracket. Instead of spending hours hacking away at a chunk of aluminum, let Kwik Performance send you a bracket package that bolts on in minutes. Then you can spend your time on the stuff you can’t buy. OK, end of commercial. More later.
