Need a New Car? Nope, Just a New Engine!
Engine Repower is a new service that gives car owners the option of replacing their old, worn out engine with a rebuilt engine of the same vintage instead of simply buying a new car or repairing specific problems. When a first saw this page, I was very interested, as I am a proponent of keeping your car as long as possible to reduce wasteful manufacturing processes, even in the face of promises of lower emissions made by newer cars.
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Here’s what Engine Repower has to say about their service:
Technology and auto manufacturing have advanced dramatically in the past two decades. Cars and trucks last longer. Paint is better. Bodies are more corrosion resistant. Interior materials are more durable, and even suspension and other components last longer. So when an engine “dies,” it does not have to be the end of your vehicle. When a car or truck suffers major engine damage, the first response and reaction of many consumers is to buy a new or used vehicle. Sometimes disposing of your current vehicle might make sense, but often it’s simply not necessary.
Obviously, being an advertisement, they are very high on themselves, but they do make some good points. When cars die, it seems it is most often due to accidents or blown engines. Very rarely do cars rust so badly or generally devolve to a point of undrivability before the engine begins to have trouble. Also, one of the biggest issues with emissions from old vehicles is that those vehicles have fallen out of spec and are no longer getting the best fuel economy or releasing the least emissions.
The Engine Repowering Council seems to focus on domestic vehicles, but using their find-a-shop feature, it’s likely that you can find someone to rebuild an engine of almost any make. These engines almost always come with warranties and, in my opinion (as someone who has worked at a shop in the past), will be rebuilt as carefully as anything else coming from that shop. So, if you’re considering this, pick a shop you know and trust, and that offers a good warranty.
While the service is certainly not ideal (you can’t just put a newer, cleaner engine in an old car), the ability to put life and reliability back into an old car is about as close as you can get to recycling and reusing in the automotive world.
Image source: motoringfile
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There are two comments I’d like to address:
1. You can’t put a newer engine in an older car
Actually you can. The critical thing to keep in mind is that
the new engine needs to have fuel, electric, and mechanical linkages. The actual operation of the engine is controlled by the computer and sensor suite on the engine. There is no requirement to interface with the organic electrics of the chassis past this point. I’m putting a new engine in my ‘88 Bronco II that was never put in that vehicle. It hit 250,000 and blew a head gasket.
2. With regard to claims of th economics of swapping engines versus swapping cars. There was a study done about a year go (which I apologize but was unable to find in google handily) that demonstrates that you can save over $40k by keeping a vehicle and doing the maintenance on it through its normal 20 year life (and they’ll actually go much farther than that). With that sort of savings, which means you’re not paying somebodies Porsche payment, you can buy your own Porsche
People need to change thier cars not only due to the engine.. but also due to the other parts such as the transmission, driveshafts, wheel bearings, suspension, rear diferential…
Engine is easy to rebuild.. and this service has been going on since the early 1900’s.. its called an engine overhual
swap an ls1 into it
You guys spend too much time inside, on the internet, if this is a new & good idea to you.
Engine re-building has been around as long as engine building, itself.
This article is unbelieveable.
Are you about 7 years old?
rRepowering cars has been going on since the first automobile was designed more than 100 years ago.
I have been driving my 1939 Ford pickup for 16 years and am on my 3rd engine.
eee the jalopy journal and the H.A.M.B.
I’m a bit confused. What’s new about this? I’ve replaced dead engines before in my cars instead of just buying new cars.
Uninformed public = great entertainment. Thanks for the laugh!
Um, you can install a newer engine in an old car. I used to do it regularly. I usually suggest taking everything. Engine, transmission, A/C pump, computer, harness, even the radiator and A/C condenser if it fits. If not, the old ones can be reused or custom ones made.
One of my favorites was stuffing a ‘89 chev tuned port injection V8 into a ‘85 shaguar XJ6. Better economy, emissions and power! What a great swap.
Now, you’ll have to find a genius shop that knows how to swap over a computer, and expect to pay a grand to someone to rewire the thing…Probably another grand to make mounts, weld up a new driveshaft, etc. But if you love your old car, it’s soooo worth it, especially if you have something really old and not original.
It’s not just about having wheels, it’s about driving something different. And it is greener to recycle an old car then buy a new one. Any idea how much carbon it takes to make a car?
Now, where do you get a new engine/transmission?
The junk yard. You wouldn’t believe how many people wrap their new car around a pole. Most new cars are written off if they deploy the airbags. Find something with under 30K and you are laughing.
Obviously hasn’t driven a Toyota. My Celica has 300 thousand clicks, the rust is so bad the seats almost drag on the highway, but I have yet to have any engine or mechanical trouble in the slightest and has only required regular oil changes - ever(I have put on 100 thousand since purchasing it). It runs better than certain brand new Ford models. I would buy a replacement body for the engine if I could that sucker is so reliable. The body is too bad to continue driving it, but I didn’t want such a great engine/tranny going to waste, so I plan on building a go-cart with it this summer. I already got my next Celica to replace it.