Is it OK to modify a classic car - and why is there so much HATE for those who do? We're going to tackle all these topics in today's debate and we've got the perfect guests to do it with - Al and Woody from The Skid Factory. Enjoy! . The Skid Factory Channel: kzfaq.info ----------------------------------------------------------- Liked this video? Here are more like it: Best & Worst Mods: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/f5xpfM6Kqc2VpKs.html Best & Worst Engine Swaps: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hduHncaFyL2-dpc.html Best & Worst Tuning Practices: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/iseHarSTu6isiqc.html Don't miss out on our next video - subscribe to our channel. ----------------------------------------­---------------- For more Haltech goodness check out our: Website: www.haltech.com Facebook: facebook.com/HaltechEngineManagement Instagram: instagram.com/haltechecu

K series into any small chassis Japanese car makes sense. Excellent engine and still keeps the original feel of that car

I have k24 turbo swapped my 1993 vw golf mk1 cabriolet and 90% of the people that have seen it love it. Modern , parts are readily available and much cheaper. Running on elite 1500 drive by wire and ic7 dash. I absolutely love it. Having owned the car for the past 13 years, it’s improved it 100%

Costs so much to do a ‘true’ restoration to a car these days. Restomod often is the cheapest way to get it on the road and enjoying it. Close enough is good enough when it comes to it being on the road Vs Jack stands for a decade.

This will be the second mass debate I've been a part of this morning.

Saw a yellow FD in the staging lanes at the drag strip when i was 16 or 17 yo. I was really excited to see one in person, and to see a rotary engine for the first time. Then as I walk to the front of the car there is a LS in it! I asked the owner why did you do this?!!! He told me "I fixed it!" hahaha

I think one of the big factors at a base level is what you're starting out with. A rolling shell that needs panel paint and a motor is different to a shell that needs panel and paint with the matching numbers motor next to it. We've got a family heirloom HG Holden that is almost completely original and the paint has since patina'ed. We we're thinking of a respray until we gave the original paint a buff and wax and will leave it as the original. The original 186 however may come out to be kept for posterity and replaced with a 308 since the 186 is pretty pedestrian but it'll be kept safe from going bang.

There is no need for hate on any project car Just appreciate the workmanship, ideas,passion and ingenuity of them all. That’s what the car scene is all about Cheers Stay moist

You guys didn't quite get the reasoning behind Rob's rotary Vette (actually a 13b two rotor). He did it because LS swapped RX-7's are SO common here in the US that it's irritating. This was a stab at 'muricans who keep ruining RX-7's. To take their beloved Vette and do the exact same thing.

I feel like if the vehicle is going to be stored or parked then restore it. If driven often or daily, then resto-mod it that way it will look classic but function modern

4:32 I'm gonna have to correct you there. I had a stock 1600 as my first car also, and drove 45km to work every day as an apprentice mechanic on the Sunshine Coast. That thing sat comfortably on 85mph every day and would pull 80mph in 3rd gear while passing cars. 'Keeping up' with traffic was never an issue... However, pulling up was a different story 😁 The car evolved over a few years into my rally car, with a ported & 3mm over-bored L18 on Hitachi SUs (required for the rules) 4.8 diff gears and 5 speed. I still drove it to work every day, but moved closer to work. I still miss that car!

Each to his/her own, whatever makes it special to you is all that matters. At the end of the day, it's" my car, my way" and that's what makes the car scene so unique!

The romance of old cars does not meet the reality. We remember the old cars fondly but drive one now and you will realise how far cars have come.

My '73 240Z (bought in 1996 and my first car) is powered by a Haltech-managed L28ET. I still have the matching numbers L24, which is slowly being rebuilt to original and kept in storage. But if the 2.8 turbo L-series ceases to be a viable engine, then I'll be open to using anything that's suitable. You have to be a bit pragmatic if you want to keep these cars on the road :)

The motorcycle engine swaps in little cars always made sense to me

It doesn't get more Australian than a Barradore. Ford & Holden rivalry should be a bit of fun, some folks take it far too seriously

The local car show with a yellow v6 Camaro, yellow wire conduit and a cold air intake under the hood, a giant stuffed tweety bird in the passenger's seat, tweety bird floor mats and air freshener, vanity license plate....some count as a "custom" build....🤮

Having to be lucky enough to drive a mates MGB at the tender age of 14, I thought, one day I'll get ones of these and it will great. Fast forward 40 years and the reality is a bit disappointing, so thanks to MCM I have a blown MX-5, and it is, great!

All three of you started with Datsuns! Pretty interesting. I have an S12 hatch and I have a strange affection for it despite driving it only around 80 miles so far. It needs lots of love. My first cars were all Subarus and I'll always be a huge lover of the 90s Subaru models especially. Personally, unless a car is incredibly rare, in good shape, mostly original, then go ahead and mod it. I'm happy any time someone saves a car and keeps it on the road, modded or restored, instead of just parting it out or especially scrapping it.

Not everyday when I watch 3 guys having a mass debate

In my 20's all I wanted was 60's and 70's muscle with modern mechanicals. I wanted the look but with the speed and handling of modern (which i found out is not really possible). These days if it's something a bit special. So not a VB straight 6 but something that came out with a bit character and excitement, be it an old German sports car, Aussie iron or whatever I prefer it the way it was just with some subtle improvements to reliability. If its got a carb then yes you need to warm it up. That's what makes it special. If I wanted an old car to perfect then I may as well just buy a new corolla. But that's boring. I get the resto mod scene. Al's car is definitely a sweet thing. And I love the engineering that's been put into it. Same with the Hako. But I would also love an original as well. All that matters is what makes you happy.

Great episode guys. Ultimately, it comes down to whatever your preference may be. I would like to yank the 4AGE out of my original 1985 Toyota Corolla GT-S 3-door coupe and throw in a 2GR V6 in it. With an aluminum long block, the weight penalty is practically none and with 311 hp in stock form, it would almost triple the power it came with from the factory. However, the ultimate swap would be the 5.0 out of the Lexus IS500 with 472 hp. Now, THAT, would be a true sleeper, but then again, it's my car and my money, so I wouldn't care what anyone else may think or say. That's the beauty of this hobby of ours, we can look at something and appreciate the time and effort that someone else put into their project, especially if it, like Al said, improves the car.

Scott nailed it. Its your car. To expand on that, all the work we do to our cars to make these weird swaps is shit we have learnt along the way. Bending, welding, cutting, planning, wiring. Hell ive met people who had to be taught how to hold and use a hammer. If we as a community stop seeing the builds as "oh i wouldnt have done that" and more "oh shit how did you get that to sit like that in there?" and admire the workmanship and time. We could take over the world. Saying that, if you put an LS in ANYTHING, youre wrong.

I brought a genuine Trd rally motor from Japan for my ep71 starlet , went to put it in and just pistons to rebuild it were nearly as much as a whole donor b16a civic at the time ….it’s been over ten years with the Honda power plant now and I’ve never looked back . Sometimes it’s just going fast for not much money and old motors just can’t do it for cheap sometimes .

I'm installing a VQ35 into a 04' RX8 since it was on its third engine rebuild. It's the right motor since it actually fits pretty nice and I had all the parts to assemble the motor laying around. In NA trim it should make more power than the RX8 and last for quite awhile. (Haltech 750 Elite ECU running it also ❤️)

Great vid Scott and thankyou for not ruining it with 30000000 ads. My Dad always had Fords until getting a fully optioned V6 Madza 626 in 1997. He had a XY Fairmont l6 (purple) when I was very young then got a white ZD Fairlaine V8 and then into a metallic blue l6 XD Fairmont. As such I am a Ford man through and through though I have never owned a Ford but have owned a HT / 3xHJ 1 HQ and a 2dr LH lol. (all great cars BTW. Well not the HT. For some reason seeing a SBC in a 32 Ford makes my blood boil. If I ever win lotto I'll buy every 32 chev on the market and fit them all with a 351 Clevo just to see how the other side like it. Al's Crown is awesome but the hood bulge is just wrong to me. I hate it. Mentioning Bruce Garland brings back some memories. What a unit that bloke is. If you ever get invited to one of his Christmas parties, Don't miss it. Fun Fun Fun. cheers. It's my dream to one day build a twin cam 245 Hemi and put it in a Centura with all the modern teck that can be found and run by Haltech of course. As an aside, that purple Fairmont had to be resprayed under warranty by Ford after much heated argument between Dad and the dealer. When he picked it up there was a pair of pigskin driving gloves in the glovebox that had an amber button at the wrists. He was told by the bloke at Ford that those gloves came standard in the glovebox when purchasing a XYGTHO Phase111. Most were removed by employees at Ford and not many people actually got them. He still has them gloves. I wonder what they would be worth if that story is true. cheers.

Correction - Rob's corvette is not 3 rotor, it's 2 rotor swapped. His ORIGINAL FD3S is the 3 rotor swapped car. The 4 rotor is basically a tube-chassis car and teh C5 is a 2 rotor while he plans to do a 5 or 6 rotor (can't remember, David Mazei is doing the 5 maybe?) in the C8

Restomoding is such a good path for older cars. I'm 100% on board with going that direction with pretty much any car. Maybe extremely rare classics excluded.

Great topic for which the correct answer is, "it depends". There are so many variables at play that its impossible to come to a single point of view. It would be a crime to some to "trash" an original one owner low mileage always been in the garage classic of some sort by changing anything - in the eyes of some. Restomodding though makes perfect sense to me and there are some epic examples of this all over the interwebs. Much of Al and Woody's work for example, utterly brilliant if aspirational for the rest of us.

In my opinion, it’s only worth doing a ‘restoration’ if it’s a valuable old classic and rare car. Basically if it’s the sort of car that you’re gonna (or could) enter into a Concours competition, restore it. If not, do what you want.

The best conversion I saw was in the early 80s Street Machine magazine where a columnist called Brian Plankman ripped the 351V8 out of a Phase 3 Falcon and replaced it with a 186 Holden Red Motor with a set of home made extractors made out of galvanised pipe fittings and a 3 speed gearbox. A few things to note, he was a semi fabricated persona created for entertainment, I believe he may have been a real farmer , or at least owned a handful of acres west of Sydney over the Range, and he hated every vehicle except 6 cylinder Holden Utes. Also, back in those days a GTHO was only worth $500-1000 more than a GT, which was only worth $500-1000 more than a mint V8 Falcon, which was only worth $3-4000 because Ford was still building brand new bigger, better and faster V8 Falcons.

Big fan of working with what you got, and possibly even more importantly, what you like! I'm a huge fan of Subaru engines, I want to put them in some cars they don't normally belong in. I love the SR20, so I want to put it in another car I love even if a K swap would make more power. I got a free 1st gen Subaru Impreza and I found an 8.0L V10 engine for $150, I decided to combine them! Cars should be about passion and fun, not just replicating what has already been done, unless that's what you want!

Always love the content.. and really love when you being on the OG’s from the ol skid factory on!

I have LS/ 6sp swapped my 3rd gen transam firebird and there are very few people that would prefer the original 305/5sp

I am a big believer that car manufacturers should re make old model cars with modern tech and engines.

Hell Yeah !!! The Master Debaters !!! Super excited to see Al and Woody on the show. It's always a treat to listen to Scotty and learn from you on various topics. Can't wait to see you on the Skid Factory again or doing something with Benny over at BCW.

I have a 260z that i rebuilt then just bought a 260z with a Small Block Mopar 340 V8! fits great hoping for big numbers and great cruiser.

The FD is probably the best looking mass produced looking car for sure.

The mk1 & mk2 escorts here in the UK are worth big money these days but that doesn't stop probably half of them being engine swapped, most common conversion is probably the yb cosworth engine from the Sierra and then ford Ztec engines with big cards and cams and then f20's from the s2000 and even the swapped ones go for big bucks

Entertaining chat, lads. @haltech Appreciate your commitment to producing content, and genuinely interesting content at that!

I had an XM Falcon, matching numbers, original paint, yadda, yadda. It'd had a small handling drop at some stage, tiny, barely noticeable, 1.5 inches, you had to know them, compare axles to sills, I just added Koni shocks, all corners. I did ask Matt Egan to lay some lines, at one time, he refused, said some you leave alone, same further lowering, suspension guy said no, same reason. But engine was fumey, through road draft tube, and boiled on highway. Stood for 30 years, on blocks, so sludge in block, so engine rebuild needed.... put bigger cam, bigger valves, from 221, but no extractors, rejetted stock carb bigger, had engine painted original sage green, red rocker cover, so total stealth. Surprisingly quick, cruise at 70 mph all day, run up to 100+ no drama at all, taller diff ratio from new, 3,2, not 3.7. Brakes left as is, poor, but pulled her up no dramas, you just couldn't ride 'em, drive like it's modern, no brakes, when needed. I messengered for years on a brakeless track bike, so felt fine to me, but practically lived in the right lane, more stopping distance, left, you'd leave your stopping space, advised and then some more, some one would slide into it, most annoying, most people drive too close, yes modern brakes are great, but how are your reflexes? On the crazy conversions front, how about twin stage, turbo supercharged, quad overhead cam 27 litre, Rolls Royce Meteor tank motor, into a chopped ZA Fairlane, still in progress, not mine, Lord Gonz's, Gonzlab engineering. Going to go to Lake Gardiner, being built to DLRA rules..He street drives another ZA, 6/71blown 347 stroker Windsor in that, has another still, eventually gonna be a gasser, to be called "Skullfukker", street one is the "Borough Shaker".

For me as a classic car restoration person. It depends on the car is it a collectible car with full matching numbers, then it would be a full but and bolt to complete original. If it's missing the engine and gearbox then put new modern better engine but restore the body.

My first car was also a Gazelle notch then got the JDM with the mighty FJ20T. Miss it heaps!! Going to buy it soon from the current owner ;)

Really great video format with good opinions from three different types of enthusiasts who all bring different stuff to the table

You three (especially Al) have hit the nail on the head. You can put whatever you like in any car, but why do all this work to fit something ridiculous into a car that's not really any better that what it came with. At the same time, you have to do it to the right car. If you wanna cut up a Torana or a Valiant Charger to dump a Barra or whatever in there, fine, but don' go doing it to a car of significance like an XU1 or an SLR5000 or an E49 R/T (the 265 Hemi is only 6 cylinder worth keeping in any car). Time and a place springs to mind here

As a Holden lover I agree with Al about Holden sixes. There day was over mid 70's. Stock didnt want to rev over 4500rpm. they came from a time when reliability and ease of working on were priority's. I got my dads VK commodore with a 3.3L and at best could be described as tolerable till we couldn't get unleaded fuel then it became a not nice car to drive. rebuilt it with a 308 and brakes/diff from later models kept costs down and its a fun weekender but still prefer My Territory (or my wifes Mazda 3) as a daily.

Three of my fav car dudes 😁🇭🇲 & My first car was an HZ with a 202 I wanted a v8 sooo bad 😅😅

In some of the examples shown, the reason for the swap was: “The original engine is blown up and the car is not worth buying an expensive replacement, so let’s just put something fun in it.” This was the case with Chris’ LS Lamborghini and Rob’s Rotary Corvette

Im all for an engine swap. Ive had a 327sbc swapped nissan patrol. Put a barra turbo in my brothers patrol. My other brother had a 304 swapped patrol that then got engine swapped again for a 6.6 duramax. Im currently doing a ca18det into a datsun 1200 coupe and a ej205 into a brumby

Cool topic and a great chat between mates!

I've seen the twin turbo LS Lambo, at the Greendale pub, on Australia day 2014, regoed, but on club plates. Diabolical quick, smoked 'em up, all the way up the hill, total power skid. Sounded great too!

i would love to have a live Q&A bullshit session with scotty

Personal preference is what it comes down to. Forget the negative comments and do what makes you happy.

Cars are like music. There is no right or wrong, its just taste. This is why people feel so strongly about cars and engines. Because it comes down to personal preference, and if your truly honest with yourself thats what its always been. Everyone has had their own success with their own ideas. So they rally behind them. People have their own dreams and so they rally behind them. Cars are art. its always subjective. Even in racing, this combo wins one year, another the next. There is NO clear right or wrong here. So that leads to alot of talk and arguments. Because humans.

RD28 Turbo into 1980 280ZX. Current daily driver 1000k to a tank, will run on used veg oil. No worries! Great video guys!

Making a car a forever car is good for the environment. Making it have better emissions is too. Using parts you already have is good for the environment too. Hotrodding is greener than buying new cars all the time.

Great topic.....Hey Al I remember those old red 6's spent many years hotting them up. EH panel van then a 4 door LJ. Have a TJ Jeep Wrangler 2001 year model as a project was looking to transplant the old 6 cyl 4.0 that so reminded me of those old Hoden red motors. (non x flow head and even though it was injected with wasted spark ign you could see where the dissy went) Plan was to transplant a 5 litre Windsor from E series or AU but could not find one at a reasonable price. So now it is Barra swapped :)

I have seen a 1998 Mitsubishi mirage with the 3.8 from a 380vr in it and it absolutely flew on the track and is one of my favourite swaps

Resto-mod the world. Keep them around as long as we can. There’ll be a time in our not too distant future where it’s going to be so expensive to drive combustion engines, we’ll consider ourselves lucky when see anything special on the roads.

The whole conversion thing for me comes down to costs v rewards and your personal budget and what will work best for you. If u have the $ absolutely go for a conversion, a swap is always way more expensive than staying with the og no matter what engine you use. But if your on a tight/tighter budget then stick with the original, any engine will make good power if you do the right things like with turbos e.g. There's guys out there pushing 1000hp out of 8 valve Gemini engines lol even a dirty old 202 can make decent power. Personally I've stayed with the buick v6 in my vn due to my budget, would love to do a barra swap but realistically that's a 10-15k exercise with everything. It's cost me 5k to date to turbo the v6 + a stock rebuild on the engine with arp head studs and it should make about 400 whp @ around 18 psi and if I shift the t5 right that's gonna be 11.90s if not quicker, stravjet on yt has 230rwkw or 308rwhp in his vn and it's gone 11.90s but in an auto so with 100 more hp I shouldn't have a problem. Cars still a while off though, gotta build the exhaust, vt brakes, make some leads, get it tuned (might be going haltech gm sport ecu) So for me it depends on budget, u could go conversion in either option but a conversion means your car could be on blocks for 3 yrs whereas turboing the og engine u could have that done and enjoying the car in less than a year and at a quarter of the cost. That's my 2 cents 👍👌

Probably a conversion I have the most trouble with, is one that combines two of my most favourite things... The Datsun 1600, with a rotor. I love them both to death, but if ever the thought enters my mind of putting a fat 13B Bridge into the 1600 I have in the garage, I get quite nauseous. Don't know what it is...personal opinion, yes. Love of authenticity, maybe. It just goes against everything in my psyche. Having said that...a Barra converted LC 2 door is up there alongside sacrilegious blasphemy as well! I love that you've promoted the NA SR into 1600 conversion, though. Absolutely up my alley, and exactly what I plan to do. Quick, tidy, economical, great sounding resto mod. No one needs 600horse in that kind of car, it's just stupid. 250 odd, with ITBs and a 6spd...just perfect! 👌

I actually had a Datsun 1000 with a mildly worked A15 and 4 speed, and I used to love driving it. It had a kind of British sports car feel , eg MG or Austin Healey , about it - it was quick ENOUGH for me anyway, I dont know if it time would have changed that feeling either.

1 awesome/controversial conversion you guys missed was castlemaine rod shops Ferrari v12 powered lc torana 2 door, thing is sick 👌

After all the hate, arguing, points, counter points, etc. it's your car. Do with it whatever makes you happy. (Hopefully not crush it.)

I have a 1978 Triumph Dolomite Sprint. Even here in the UK they are hens teeth (only 22000 built, of which around 600 survive) and a tidier than average car will make £20k. When I bought mine in 2012 it was NOT tidy at all, nor did it run and it was the less popular auto model, but was only £375 which gives you some idea of the state it was in! The original powerplant was revolutionary but seriously flawed, on a good day it could show you 125+ BHP, good numbers for 1973 England but no longer. Mine has the running gear, including the 4L30E autobox from a 2000MY Vauxhall Omega 2.2 16v. (Holden Comodore to you guys) Only a bog stock 147bhp which doesn't sound like much, but the car is is only 1050kg kerb weight. it's quite quick enough for the daily driver it is and it gives upwards of 42 MPG at sustained 80 mph highway speeds. And, of course, it's 100% reliable! I get a bit of flak from the more conservative members of the owners club, but generally most folk smile when they see/hear it coming! More importantly, I LOVE it! Which is why I built it. Every time I walk away from it, I look back and think "I did that!" and I smile! PS, A 66 Goat is at the top of my lottery list, no engine? No worries! I'll take it! I reckon an injected and managed big block Chevy motor should do (Pontiac cast conrods are too fragile) turbo 400 trans, powergrip axle power steering and power disc brakes, keep the exterior stock and shiny (but NOT red) and some decent seats (US 60s so called "bucket seats" are spine wreckers) Oh and 15" American Racing rims! PPS, What's a Barra?

Really enjoyed this gents! Thank you.

On the saltiness over swaps, I think allot can be attributed to either the sound (Which I somewhat agree with) or preservation. I think the thing that most don't see or consider is how much is original. How much was rust, how dead was the matching numbers engine, how hard is it to get another before even considering the reliability / performance / efficiency side of swapping. IMO, if something is original, in good nick and even semi rare, keep it stock. If your looking at engine change anyway, or massive rust / damage repairs and respray anyway, it's a blank canvass. But then each to their own and your still free to do what you want to your own stuff (for now, see subscription unlock car features, eg heated seats or auto drive etc)

I like both....im not serious like Al and Woody but, I like modifying my old 1986 Mustang notch but, I also modify my more modern DD, my 2014 Mustang GT. Reality is, the 2014 would destroy the coupe, even thought the coupe has HCI, before I slapped a big supercharger on the 2014. The 86 is a lot better version of the Fox Mustangs I had in the 80s and 90s, however, even though it's a junkyard rescue and made with JY parts, keeping it cheap. It's a connection thing; we all had these back in the day.

In my thinking restoration vs modding comes down to rarity and historical significance. I would never mod a 50's or 60's Farrari , Shelby etc. , now a pedestrian model that was built millions of that you intend to drive mod that all you want.

It's an unusual and contentious topic, my outlook has always been keeping the engine in the family, if you can put a better or bigger engine from a Nissan in a Datsun then go for it, similarly Toyota engines in a Toyota, however a rotary Daihatsu Capachino would be really cool as well The main point is making the car better as long as you aren't going down in cylinders then it's cool with me

What about a rotary BRZ? I just lead the build on one and we got to drive it for the first time! We call it Rotaru or the 13BRZ.

Woody, you need to 2gr swap the Crown and find a turbo or supercharge for the beast.

Just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s good…or rare. If it’s your car do what you want with it, that’s what makes the car world so great. However, if it is old and genuinely rare and a icon then it becomes different story. You would pull apart and modify a F40 Ferrari or even a genuine GTHO. But say a 62 Impala, go for it.

I like shock value, the more it upsets people the more i like it haha Ive done ls swaps into not only kingswoods but also a landcruiser, i put a rb30 into an early hilux

350 chevys lasted for ever. Change the points every year. And recondition the carby every 10 years. Never had a problem. And you can maintain it yourself.

I'm a fan of restomods and modified cars, there are some swaps that almost seem boring as it's the go to swap that everyone and their grandmother does... but it's that popular for a reason. I might have commented something in my life somewhere being negative in some way, I can't remember but it's not impossible, but generally I don't think I usually leave negative comments. I might mention other ideas, maybe that could be taken as negative to some? I'm not really skilled enough to build cool cars myself though, I got a lot of ideas I wish I could do, and a lot of them make no sense what so ever, as it would likely have been cheaper and easier to go with something more standard. And I love engine swaps, but also love the idea of modernizing an old engine, to the point that if I was rich, I'd likely go poor throwing money at people to engineer new heads and internals and such to make old crap engines modern. :P Like making the 301 Pontiac engine, which I had in a Buick Century once upon a time, into an engine that no longer is better suited as a boat anchor, making it so revving it won't break it because they skimped out on balancing the crank to save money, etc. Or somehow make the 5.7 350 V8... but the Olds diesel one, into something powerful... Things of that nature, silly and waste of money and time really... but interesting.

I'd agree the FD is the best looking car and timeless but I'd probably choose a first gen NSX over an FD.

Great conversation this. I think Al captured it best in the Hako vid. If it's your car you can do whatever you want to it, regardless of what the internet might think. I get the complaints when it comes to a rare car though. I'd prefer to resto-mod something that's a fair way from original tbh. I'd also like to get an old Holden and do an eighties version of a hot six....with modern ignition system. Weird I know.

I think my personal opinion about this is "why would I put a 2jz (or whatever, but I always get 2jz or LS as suggestions) in something that requires a ton of modification, complete redo of the fuel system, add computers, new transmission, turbos, weeks of custom fabrication, tons of troubleshooting, and replacing all the other components when I can just throw an engine in that fits and works and bolts up to everything with maybe different motor mounts."

Awesome that the k48 was mentioned

I’m glad that the guys covered the idea of someone appreciating the models of cars their parents had. I find it crazy that XFs are desirable-ish. Poverty car when we had it.

I've got an Kouki S14 engineered with a 6.0 LS, primary use is weekend cruising. I'd have done the SR20 up with a VE head but I really don't want to have to wring the neck out of a 2L every time just to have fun; because your definitely going to be loud and speed cam bait. I'd rather have usable torque at all times to make life sweet. People on the net would say it's a boring conversion I've no doubt. Being in AUS it's not common to see that combo engineered (road legal), it took a lot of effort!

Would love to pick up another SF Forester to swap a V8 in to. Was my first car, turbo'd the single cam EJ which lasted all of 3 months after the fact. sold it off to fund the next project but now I've got a ton more knowledge and skill to back a full on build like this. I just want a 600-700whp freeway cruiser to play with. Have never owned anything V8 power and what better way than to combine my love for Subaru's with it. Have built and experienced 500-850whp EJ's and would love an engine that does that with relative ease.

The only ones I don't like are when there is a "like for like" option that is same price range and potential. 350 vs 351... 302 vs 308, as you'll note, it used to be done solely for ford vs holden rivalry/hate... never was on board with that.

Matching numbers is more or less a 'boomer thing' when you get fellas that have a shed full of old cars and turn up to a cars and coffee in their late model landcruiser... because it might rain I understand the idea of collecting things, but the sacrifice there is you're keeping them in a box and not touching them, whereas the enthusiast car owner does want to go for a drive, do their thing and enjoy the process of both owning and using the car. There's a budget and practical reasons to change it from stock, not everyone has the tools, time and cash to make their car exactly stock-ish and with all original parts. Having owned a lot of older 'JDM crap' and still own one, sometimes those parts just don't exist for love or money. So a car sitting around for parts is practically littering in a way and if you have to go aftermarket to make them work (every S13 owner ever) then that's just how it is to keep them on the go. Plus, having owned 70's cars being old myself, I really don't miss tuning up carbies, maybe not making it on time and other random 101 things that always are worn out, frayed, bodged and fiddled with on the side of the road just to make it home. Sometimes, you just want to get home at the end of the day! Ultimately, you bought it, you live with it and just do what you want with your own property.

I enjoyed this piece, thanks.

Love the Barra wish they didn't cost 3k here in the states. My wife wants a gen1 mustang and I want to build her one with a 500hp to the tires Barra.

I like restomods and am open minded enough that I have no issues with engine swaps that improve the vehicle. The one thing that I have been looking for is some information on putting modern steering columns into old vehicles. I'm not looking for paddle shifts or cruise control but I am wanting to have tilt and reach adjustments and lights and wipers on the column. Does anybody know who can do this sort of work?

a good topic , nice to hear youre points

I think it's all about making it yours all the bits and pieces add up and I believe anything is nice I'm a Datsun man aat heart series 2 bluebird with SR20 conversion r31 breaks and struts but I have love for any thing that is clean and you have spent money on

Loved the discussion.

These types of discussions just work

I'm modifying a 2 door Mk.I Ford Escort to EV. Wanna know the kicker? It's an XL and has the wide trans tunnel... Sorry guys. My first car was a Mazda 808 Wagon, had a B3 1.3l, swapped that for a B5 1.5l when I cooked the B3, then a 12a from a mate when he was swapping to a 13b, then I went 13b as well, then a turbo... Kind of regret the turbo tbh, made it completely undriveable in the wet and thirsty as a bricky at knockoff time.

to really set the world on fire, what about a TD42 powered Skyline?

I love my old car here in jamaica its my first car a 4g92 Mitsubishi lancee glxi it like an evo fir me

I really like this style of videos. Would you upload this as a podcast?

What a great show. And information

Great video fantastic conclusion 🎉

Awesome video!

In the end it comes down to, its your car, do what you want with it. That being said, the LS in this or the Barra in that is kind of getting old. I do say to people though, A car is just metal & paint, unless it's a "one off, special edition" etc