Engine Swap is a GO!

I did what i planned a month ago last weekend, that is to move The Dog from the paint workshop to the engine workshop. I also finally got the chance to drive The Dog for the second time because the first day i bought my Charmant, it went straight to the paint workshop!

Before i get into telling you about the engine workshop, here's some photos of The Dog i took myself. Seeing The Dog in person, i can say that the paint work is remarkable, to say the least. All the panels are perfectly straight. Details are.. well.. detailed. Inter-panel gaps are kept at a minimum. It's easy to justify the premium price i paid for the paint with this result.


Finished taking pics, i jumped in the front seat, put in the key to the ignition, twist.. *starter motor yanking* and VROOM! Yay! I can't tell you how excited i was to hear my Charmant's engine running again! It's ALIVE everybody!

Unfortunately, i was already late for my appointment with the engine workshop staff, so i couldn't waste much time idling the engine. It was time to drive The Dog again!

I felt so excited driving my car again after almost a year not being able to do so. To feel it cornering, braking, accelerating.. is just awesome. The Dog felt a bit rambunctious, showing signs that its suspension bushings and linkage may need to be checked and replaced but that's later after i finish the engine swap. Also, the speedometer didn't work. Maybe the speedometer cable needs replacing also. Nevertheless, if i had to drive it daily the way it felt last weekend, i wouldn't mind at all. It would still drive well on daily runs.

After 30 minutes of drive, i finally arrived at the engine workshop. I won't disclose the name of the workshop just yet as i want to see how well they perform first though i won't be too worried about that. It's quite a well-known workshop, trusted by many national racers, covered many times by our auto magazines and so i believe they will do their job professionally. I am sure that some of you can tell by the pics i'll be showing you. For now, let's call it Workshop X.

My brother, Erick, was already there when i arrived at the Workshop X and had already talked to the workshop staff about my intentions. So it didn't take me long to explain what i had in mind and to finally get a quote for the cost. Basically, the work will be divided into two main jobs: engine conversion and total rewiring. We have finished the deal on the engine conversion pricing but the wiring quote had to wait as the wiring guy is a freelancer and thus the workshop staff couldn't decide on the price themselves.

With the final price agreed, they removed my 4A-GE from dad's car who came together with me and put it in a storage room.

Being inside the actual work space of the workshop, i was like a kid in a candy store. There were so many cool cars with crazy engines there that i can only drool over. To think that The Dog will be handled by the same guys who built these cars really got me relieved that i made the decision to put it there. Here's some of the beasts that The Dog will be playing together with for some time there..

A sample of few mind-blowing DXs there.. This one's got a 4A-GZE inside.


Close to it was this sleeping scary beast.. AE86 drift machine owned by none other than our very own Rifat Sungkar. Powered by a 7A-GTE engine, that's a 1.8L 7A-FE bottom end with 4A-GE cylinder head and, as if it wasn't enough, a turbocharger, this car will shred the ass in ass-phalt. LOL. Love the TRD Tach on the instrument panel!


This AE86, i believe, is also a regular participant in drift races. I am just not yet familiar enough with our local drifters to tell you whose ride this is. I can tell you, though, that this one's got a 3S-GE underneath its hood and a suede-covered dashboard.


Here's The Dog with the big boys..


I took more pics around the workshop and one of them is this..

A set of authentic Work Equip 03.. I stood in shame looking at these babies, realizing that my Axis OGs are just copies of the coolness that is in front of me, costing only a tenth of the real ones. This 15x8 set was attached to a Honda CRX and had 185 size tires around it.

Here's another sight that i just have to share with you.. Can anybody guess what car this is?

No? Okay i'll help you, it's a Datsun 120Y pickup. It's originally equipped with lame 1200cc engine on an FR configuration.. But look what's inside it now..

Blacktop 20v 4A-GE transverse mounted! Truly, your imagination is your only limit when it comes to engine conversion!

Here's more random shots that i took. You can see the inside of the workshop office on some of the photos, filled with bucket seats and sweet rims.

Next step is for me to finalize the price for the total rewiring and wait them to send me list of stuff i need to buy for the engine swap. They've already told me that i shouldn't use the original radiator and fan so they are already in the shopping list.