Running a V8 in a 510... Pros & cons?

[scooter stuff]

I'm posting this purely out of curiosity....

[Draker]

Seems like it would be too front heavy and it would handle poorly.

 

If anyone could execute it well... you could.

[flatcat19]

Which V8 may change the level of hate. 

[datzenmike]

L16... 250 pounds. Chev small block.... 535 to 575 pounds or did you mean a Hemi... over 700 pounds.

 

Better would be the 215 aluminum block/head Buick/Olds V8..... 325 pounds and has been done.

 

Best would be a V6. I hear Nissan makes one that's about 245

 

 

Add hp but not weight to the front unless just drag racing in a straight line. 

[scooter stuff]

I'm so tired of our customers asking "why don't you put a V8 in that thing!"

[EastBay521]

I like the idea of the 215. when they pop up around here they are usually pretty cheap

[mrbigtanker]

Dude all these guys say the same shit, do a google search on BRE or Brock's green 510 which I saw few years ago at SEMA. It was in there but it's a NASCAR truck motor putting down 800 hp..it can be done it has been done and why not.

[scooter stuff]

I'd kinda like responses from people with experience.

[DaBlist]

LS in a E30 yes, 510 no

[datzenmike]

I'm so tired of our customers asking "why don't you put a V8 in that thing!"

 

V8 swaps are sooooo redneck. Chev V8s should be in Vegas. Fords in Pintos. and so on. Japanese tin are too light to add twice the engine weight no matter how high a hp you can 'get out of it'. The car comes closer and closer to being undrivable. Brocks V8 510 was an experiment, a should I do it? If it was so great where is it now? What good is it for other than a SEMA trailer queen? Is it realistic or even practical to try to make one like it?

 

No I haven't done one. I don't have to shoot myself to know i wouldn't like it.

[thisismatt]

I have experience in turning a running, driving 510 into a completely stripped 510, to be later sold in parts.  Does that count?  If so, a V8 in a 510 is retarded.

[pablo]

I have experience in turning a running, driving 510 into a completely stripped 510, to be later sold in parts.  Does that count?  If so, a V8 in a 510 is retarded.

i don't understand this analogy

[flatcat19]

i don't understand this analogy

 

 

With 33 posts, you're not expected to. 

[MikeRL411]

i don't understand this analogy

 

Translation?  "No".

[datzenmike]

he said anal ogy

[freetheoranges]

With 33 posts, you're not expected to.

[btd19m]

get a 720 they bolt right in. ;)

[Son_of_a_Datsun_Guy]

Best V8 swap I've ever seen in a 510. 

 

 

 

Owned by a guy named Jared. Know him personally, and the guy that build the car, Luke Idhe (Lucky's Speedshop). It is an incredible car, but I would not try to duplicate it in my own garage. The time, effort, engineering, tools, materials, and processes that it takes to make a car like a 510 handle 500+ hp and torque is huge. It becomes a ground up rework just to make sure you don't twist the frame. Not to mention the tubbing you'll have to do to make a the running gear for a motor like and LS (or any V8 worth actually using) makes the whole project nearly impossible to do on your own time. (Unless you own a custom car shop, which is how this car came about.) 

 

 

You'll get a one-of-a-kind result, even if you fuck it up -- it'll just be one of a kind for all the wrong reasons -- but it's the kind of project that will end up sitting for so long anyone will lose interest and it'll just get parted out or rusted out. 

 

I regard Jared's car as something of a Unicorn in the 510 world. Something that should be admired and revered as a somewhat magical beast. But most attempts at recreating something similar will end being a donkey with an ice cream cone stuck to its head. 

[Son_of_a_Datsun_Guy]

I also don't even want think what kind of $$ and man hours went into building that car. 

 

Anyone who thinks this kind of build is anything but a SEMA level project, with SEMA level skill and effort behind it, doesn't understand cars and probably should never be allowed to work on one themselves... 

[KoHeartsGPA]

I think I've ran into Pablo in town, beautiful dime!

[scooter stuff]

Yes, Pablo's dime is one of the nicest in town! He also has a sweet 521.

[pablo]

Yes, Pablo's dime is one of the nicest in town! He also has a sweet 521.

 

 

I think I've ran into Pablo in town, beautiful dime!

 

thanks dudes!

[edekalil]

Only one i ever saw with a v8 was set up to run a 1/4 mile drag strip.

[Bubbamatt]

I haven't seen a discussion about a 510 V8 swap in a while.  The common complaint is that it will make the car nose heavy and only good as a trailer queen........not so. It is possible to install a V8 into a 510 and still have a daily driver and a fun autocross car. My car now has over 50,000 miles on it with a Ford 5.0 and Corvette rear end.  Front to rear weight bias: front 51% rear 49%, which is better that the stock 56% front bias. 

It is not an easy swap, but it does make a fun car to surprise the odd Beemer and Porsche on the freeway. Here are some pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The car is run at the San Diego Qualcomm SCCA solo meets mostly ever month. We need more San Diego 510 participation at the events as I am usually the only 510 running. These cars are meant to have fun with, not just to look at them.  Come on down, have some fun!

 

Matt Guzzetta

 

 

 

 

 

[mrbigtanker]

Matt right on. Bitchin. Case closed.