Hello! I am a college student studying electrical engineering/computer science. Naturally, the circles I frequent have a decent amount of overlap with automotive ones, and in an effort to understand more completely the inner workings of a car, I have resolved to take upon myself some sort of project with my car. While searching for things to do with my little (affectionate) shitbox, I came across some posts implying that it is possible to replace the engine with a much more powerful K series engine, which as I understand is commonly referred to as K-swapping in these circles. While I have a passing knowledge of the workings of a car and some skills in modelling and fabrication, I have no clue where to start, nor whether this is even a good idea to attempt as a first foray. I have seen some posts about these things, but nothing in as much depth as I'd like, with the only decent one I've found detailing the process for a GB3, not a GK3.

The operative questions, then, are thus:
- Is this an overwhelmingly bad idea? (I know it's not a good one)
- How long, realistically, would this take?
- What skills and parts would I need? (outside of a new engine, duh)
- What are the implications on the long-term stability of my car? (I don't care about resale value)

With respect to the money situation, I make a decent amount (but not an overwhelming amount) and I have a free ride because reasons, so my budget in total would be perhaps $5k, more if there is reason for it.
Thanks for reading

 

If you can't find an engine mount kit, walk away. Yes, it can be done. Yes, fabricating your own engine mounts is a thing. Even with a kit, half the work of a K swap is getting the engine in the car and physically connected (mounts, axles, shifter, fuel, coolant, intake and exhaust plumbing). The rest is the wiring and getting the new ECM/ECU/PCM to play nice with the rest of the car. You don't want to be trail-blazing all that with your daily driver and zero swap experience.