Maserati-Ferrari motor into e30

[varg]

]Kind of crazy the image of luxury this brand has, yet is pretty damn affordable]

The depreciate like falling off a cliff because they are well known for being pieces of shit and very expensive to repair and maintain. I didn't think there was a car guy out there who didn't know this

[mbonanni]

I spoke with the guy in my area selling a 2007 f136 4.2L from a Quattroporte and he said I can come by and take some measurements for shits and gigs. Besides the obvious can anyone think of anything else I should check out?

Also looked up and found that the 6 speed transaxles are like $1-2000. So instead of mating a 6 speed t56 someone could use the transaxle and toss it into some mid engine car.

I saw the price of Quattroportes that use this motor and they go for low teens. Kind of crazy the image of luxury this brand has, yet is pretty damn affordable. I don’t want to find out about maintenance and reliability tho.

[uturn]

Or just buy a Maserati Shamal....comes with a V8, they are over 25 yr old now and can be imported to the US.

[lukeADE335i]

The motor would sound pretty awesome, but I think if I was going to try to shoehorn a Maserati V8 into something it would be a late 80s biturbo :)

[mbonanni]

Exactly! Shit, I bet if there were two identical coupes, one with the f136 and one with an LS, almost everyone would pick to drive the f136 swapped e30 over the LS swapped one.

And yes, doing it for the internet clout as well.

[slammin.e28]

I build my cars for the internet. You gonna get internet points for a swap everyone does in their backyard or for a ridiculous swap? Ferrari engine in an e30 would be cool as hell....sure there's better....but I'm the guy that put a 5.0L V12 into an e34 touring instead of doing some turbo M30 deal...

[mbonanni]

There are plenty of tourings available in the world for sub 10k. LS' are also cheaply available and will typically set you back 1-3k for one in good shape. T56 + clutch and plumbing ~2k, and a harness + ecu another $800. Misc bits, lets say 2k.

Sure you can do things expensive with a brand new crate engine and a brand new tremec or you can junkyard dive and do it for even less. And you'll end up with a nicer and more powerful car than if you messed around with a novelty swap.

Okay yeah I gotcha. Yes you could probably buy and swap a touring for 15k, but that touring is not going to be “mint” and even if the touring was free I doubt someone is swapping an LS in any e30 cleanly for less than 14kay. Sure go ahead and cheap out - get a truck motor, don’t regasket it, make your own mounts, and make your own harness. Well if that’s your argument you can do the same with the f136 swap, get everything as cheap as possible and fab everything yourself..

The parts you just mentioned above add up to $7800 as well (given the LS sets you back $3k which is more realistic than a $1k LS). I’m thinking LS1/2 here. The engine management, exhaust, mounts, harness, brakes etc etc should all be about the same for either swap. Whether they’re fabbed personally or bought.

For what it’s worth the f136 motor has lots of testimonials online for how reliable it is. The fact there are many iterations of the motor in multiple different platforms(like the LS) makes the parts a little bit easier to find than if not and one could easily get more power swapping different parts over between the various models or FI.

I would really like to see someone do this swap, I think it would be cool. Hell, if I had more experience/knowledge I would pickup that motor locally for $2k and give it a try. I’m surprised you guys resort to “too expensive, this is better”. Like damn, daydream a little bit. It would still be cool to see, a lot cooler than any LS swapped e30 I would say.

[2mAn]

[varg]

350 4 bolt Chev.... lots of "stuff" available.. and fix it anywhere...
We put a 350/350 in my 84 Jag XJ6 all parts readily available, became a monster...and ran beautifully till........(long story about a paint job)

600lb+ engine does not belong in the nose of a 2,800lb car that came with a ~420lb motor.

[DrJosh]

Also $15-20k for a mint LS swapped touring? Now that’s just not true... A “decent” LS swap is going to run $12k at lleaassttt, probably more. And a “mint” touring is going to cost you $15k alone (look at the Laguna green one for sale in the classifieds).

There are plenty of tourings available in the world for sub 10k. LS' are also cheaply available and will typically set you back 1-3k for one in good shape. T56 + clutch and plumbing ~2k, and a harness + ecu another $800. Misc bits, lets say 2k.

Sure you can do things expensive with a brand new crate engine and a brand new tremec or you can junkyard dive and do it for even less. And you'll end up with a nicer and more powerful car than if you messed around with a novelty swap.

[mbonanni]

Well for one I never said the whole swap would cost you $10,000 I said the “drivetrain” aka Engine, trans, adapter kit..

Not sure what eBay you’re looking at but I see quite a few of the motors for sub $4k and with intakes. Hell, there is a 2007 with 30k miles on my local Craig’s for $2000 including everything. The adapter kits is ~ $4000, and yeah if you want a BRAND NEW t56 6060 it will cost you an extra $3500 but a used t56 can be had under $1800. In my scenario, a used motor, used trans, and the adapter kit would set me back ~ $7800. This honestly is not far off from a low mileage LS motor and t56 trans. Given all those things you listed are going to be standard for any v8 swap, the biggest difference in cost will be the up front cost of the motor/trans.

I understand an LS can be done for a few grand less and is more reliable, easier to maintain etc, but honestly just isn’t as cool. I’m not looking to do either swap, just thought it was cool to see the Ferrari based engine in other cars.

A few of you have mentioned the width would be an issue - I’m curious, do you guys know how wide these engine are or just making a guess it is too wide based off the pictures?

Also $15-20k for a mint LS swapped touring? Now that’s just not true... A “decent” LS swap is going to run $12k at lleaassttt, probably more. And a “mint” touring is going to cost you $15k alone (look at the Laguna green one for sale in the classifieds).

[DOC-K]

350 4 bolt Chev.... lots of "stuff" available.. and fix it anywhere...
We put a 350/350 in my 84 Jag XJ6 all parts readily available, became a monster...and ran beautifully till........(long story about a paint job)

[DrJosh]

What varg said.

For 10k you could have a monster LS swap. For the 15-20k it would cost to swap in that V8 you could have a mint touring with a LS.

[varg]

Besides the obvious issues of width as pointed out by others, I'm looking at ebay right now and those things are going for $4,000+ not $3-4,000, and they don't even come with an intake manifold for that price. There's one on there for $2,500 but it has 111,000mi on it and I'll bet it is not quite ready to go at that price. It's not happening for anywhere near $10,000 when you're spending $7,200 on just the transmission and clutch and $4,000+ on the engine. You also have to sort

• brakes
• engine management
• wiring
• cooling system
• exhaust
• accessories
• mounts
• crossmembers
• intake manifold
• incidentals

Call it $20,000 if you do everything yourself. That's a lot of money to spend for 400hp and a blingy set of ignition loom covers.

[e30davie]

Nothing is impossible. keep removing metal until it fits, and put back enough metal to make it safe and strong.