Maserati-Ferrari motor into e30

[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 :)

[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.

[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.

[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]

Yeah, my car knowledge is pretty minimal. I really only research the vehicles I like.

Anyways, I met with the guy selling the f136 and got some measurements. They're all approximations because I was hanging off a ladder 10 feet in the air. The dude loves Maseratis though, has owned his '07 since 2014. He did mention the astronomical prices to maintain things like brakes and suspension. Said he hasn't had any issues with the motor though, which is why he is selling his spare. He also showed me his Quattroporte and man does it sound good.

Width (Head to Head) ~ 27"
Height (To Intake) ~ 27"
Height (To VC) ~ 19"
Length ~ 24"
Engine mount to back ~ 10"
Bottom to crank ~ 6"
Bottom to Engine mount ~ 8"

The motor itself looks small, but does seem wide. I don't know e30 engine bay dimensions so I'll have to look into that. I wish I got the width of the bottom of the motor.

[varg]

There's no doubt that they sound good. Some of them look nice too. As for the engine, that's narrower than I expected from the pics, probably nearly identical in size to an M60. The shape makes the width more of an issue since the point of maximum width is lower than it is on a domestic V8.

[mbonanni]

Yeah I was poking around for similar size motors and the m6x came very close to the f136. What you mentioned does seem like it would be an issue, not sure if the motor would sit low enough. I’d be worried about getting the transmission to line up correctly.

The guy that swapped one of these into the old mustang is running Megasquirt MS3. From a little research my first impressions are it seems like a bitch to get these to work. I’ve never dealt with a stand-alone engine management though.

[lukeADE335i]

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

Basically a 4.2 V8 swap into a biturbo would give you more or less a very cut price Shamal with a much more reliable engine - a genuine Shamal is worth a mint, a biturbo not much :)

[Stanley Rockafella]

quit asking questions and do it.
Make sure to post pics of your success/failures.

Best outcome is you complete it and it's all you hoped for, and more!
Worst is you wasted thousands of dollars and your time.

Either way it's a great experience

[mbonanni]

Haha, I wasn’t really asking questions to do the swap. More so just gathering information for fun, hoping maybe someone else will see this and do it themselves. Really just fantasizing over something other than m5x, s5x, and LS swaps which are pretty common. If the adapter kit for the t56 wasn’t so damn expensive I would consider giving it a go considering my Laguna coupe is going to be sitting starting in the next month or so.

[E30SPDFRK]

You could get a MASERATE30 euro plate and be super cool

[mbonanni]

Tempting....

[Garage30]

A maserati with this engine passes my shop a couple times a week. The sound alone will make it worth it.

[TobyB]

Just to sum this thread up:

"Cool engine for cheap- 'someone' should stuff it in a car because I think it'll be cool"

--some intelligent discussion about fitment, costs, and relevant opinions--

takers: 0

"Awww, come on you guys, I'm not going to do it, but you should"

t
has other projects he's more interested in, too.

[Italian_Tuneup]

I'm glad someone else is thinking this... I am still knee deep in my M60 swap, but those F136 engines are amazing and I keep thinking about what to stuff one into. The dry sump ones seem to be the way to go, much more compact and could lend to better fitment. I was initially thinking 944, keep the transaxle theme going... but that might be a tight engine fit. I am glad you got the dimensions, that will help a lot. I've also been thinking E30, RX8, BRZ.... something that would be livened up quite a bit with the F136. I think the hardest part would be the engine management. I've never done standalone, so that's intimidating. Can those systems even deal with cam phasers, etc?

Anyhow, time for more Maserati V8 fantasies......