Third-generation Camaros are no strangers to engine swaps, but they usually involve some variation of Chevrolet V8 power. This one went in a completely different direction. Sitting under the hood of this less-than-pristine F-Body appears to be Jeep’s legendary 4.0-liter inline six — the durable AMC-derived engine better known for hauling Cherokees through the woods than powering a Camaro down the highway. It is (very) likely one of a kind.
I had been casually following some local auctions, eyeing to buy a vehicle for this year’s Great Beater Challenge, when I came across something that was in the middle of a very strange engine swap. Before we get to the main event, we can take a look at the overall condition of the car.
It appears to have been repainted to a light blue at some point in its life and is wearing a mismatched set of various aftermarket wheels. The sizes are even different, with the front sporting 14″ and the rear 15″.
The interior is in poor condition, with the dashboard missing and seats unsecured. A damaged windshield completes the dire picture. We can see by the door jams that the original color was brown.
The interior shows off the odd steering wheel from this era. It features a bunch of rectangles inside the round rim. Someone is likely a fan of this style but it is not for me. Next to the wheel is a manual transmission.
We found the dashboard! In the rear, but not much sign of the rest of the interior however.
Enough teasing. Here is what we came to see. The third generation Camaro was available, at various times, with a four-cylinder as well as various V6 and V8 engines, but never an inline six. My first thought was that this does not look like any GM inline six engine, either.
Having owned a 1998 Jeep Cherokee, I thought I recognized the basic shape and ancillaries of that famous 4.0L engine. A bit of research later confirmed it. The basic architecture was based on the 1964+ AMC sixes modernized for a 1987-2006 run. These engines have a well deserved reputation for robustness, but also deliver very respectable performance. Stock power output ranged from 177-190hp with a healthy dose of torque. Despite this, I suspect this engine is likely not on too many people’s radar for a performance upgrade. Perhaps someone had a Jeep with body damage and a Camaro without its engine?
If you have the desire to own this strange engine swap concoction, it is currently available for bidding at Team Auctions. I will not be bidding, however.
This one ranks up there on the odd meter for me, along with a Jeep Wrangler powered by a Honda S2000 engine I recall seeing on eBay years ago. What is the strangest or least conventional engine swap you have seen or read about?
I recently saw some photos of a GMT400 pickup with a Volkswagen 1.9 TDi engine.
A powerful fuel injected 4.0 L inline six is exactly what this Camaro needed when it was new. This is a bit late, but I see a glimmer of logic behind it.
Or the Pontiac Firebird, it would have been a sort of nod to the Pontiac I6 used in the Firebird Sprint and Tempest/LeMans Sprint.
Looks like you need to be logged in to see the current price. CA$525 at 9:00am MST on the 25th with one day and 2hrs to go.
Reminds me a bit of Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift where they dropped the inline six from a Skyline GT-R into a ’67 Mustang Fastback. Not the swap you’d expect, but it worked. At least on film.
And the other way around seems to work as well. There’s a 1986 Nissan 300ZX turbo who was swapped with a small-block Chevy.
This reminds me of IOLA 1977.There was a 1968 Marina Blue Corette ragtop there with, get this, a Studebaker 170 c.i. flathead six cylinder that was fully detailed with side draft carbs. I may have a picture of it somewhere in my automotive archives. The car was wearing a full set of Keystone Klassics and was in impeccable condition.
I spent a few years in rural and impoverished America. Folks made do with what they had, and they had the tools, skills, and ingenuity to make things work. My favorite, though not as odd as this, was a mid sixties International Harvester C-series pickup with a Pontiac 400 V-8 and whatever GM automatic transmission that came with the engine.
That’s just what folks did when they blew the motor in their International and had a running Pontiac with a rusted-out frame lying around. And it probably wasn’t difficult to accomplish. Weld up some engine and transmission mounts, modify the driveshaft as necessary, a few wires were all that was necessary to make the engine run, and some flexi-hoses to the radiator, and Bob’s your uncle.
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Generally, good advice.
But some (not all) of the engine swaps listed above lead me to believe that there are a few people who need to have their fingers broken with their own wrenches.
Most unique swap I:be seen was a Suzuki Samurai Convertible with a 13B Mazda Wankel. I’d see him all over Miami, it was lowered with small diameter wide profile tires, racing seats, front and back doors removed and a crazy custom paint job. The Mazda engine sounded like it ran through straight pipes, like angry hornets and perhaps tuned a few notches to a higher output. Had a Wankel shaped emblem on the hood, so anyone could figure it out.
”least conventional engine swap you have seen” ? There are those:
Goldwing Flat-Six Engine into a Classic VW Beetle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUufzri7oFw and
1950 Jeep M38 with a Honda Goldwing Engine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emPaxWdtOHY and a lot of ”pratical” swap here to : https://www.youtube.com/@ppcmagazine
I think it’s actually a pretty cool swap considering the original powertrains, but the appearance and execution is so roached to the point it looks deliberate to call attention to its junkyard created nature,
I’m pretty sure it’s been discussed here before but it’s easily my favorite out there swap, coincidentally also a Camaro but with a Ford flathead.
I can’t find any reference to it now, but I remember reading about a guy back in the 1960s who swapped a 425 Buick engine into his Jaguar Mk X – he said it was primarily to have working a/c and power steering which didn’t blow its cover all the time. It was successful in both, and could burn rubber even starting in second.
He then swapped the XK six into a (Chevrolet?) pickup, which was equally successful – the lower torque was the same as the original engine, but it could rev 1000 rpm higher.
Is this a case of ‘buy an engine, get a car thrown in for free’?
That Camaro is so rough it’s hard to imagine the time and money it would take to make a roadworthy car out of it. You’d have to really love this generation of Camaro.
That’s not even a nice shipping crate for that poor AMC 6. And don’t even get me started on what I think of the third gen Camaro.Another 80’s GM mistake I worked on way too many of at the used car lot.
I’d think this to be a good “LEMons” entrant .
I’m extremely well acquainted with :Farm Fixes” like this, some are good, most are rough at best .
-Nate
That was my first thought too Nate. Lemons would give extra points for a wacky engine swap like this.
1981 AMC Concord wagon with a Ford 5.0. If you look close, there is a Cobra emblem added to the front Fender.
Sold! For $525cdn. Probably cheap enough for a Camaro parts car or a someone needing a Jeep engine.
I have two jeep engines, a freshly-built AMC 304 for my 1987 wrangler (along with an AX-15 transmission/NP231J transfer case), and the current AMC 4.2L carbureted engine, Peugeot BA 10/5 transmission, and NP207 transfer case that are in the jeep. My 1991 Camaro needs a drivetrain, and I’ll have a spare after swapping. Hmm…
Ooof. SO much methamphetamine abuse on display here. This is a series of poor decisions made during a manic episode, I suspect.