Swapping an engine from one make of car into another is (despite what LS swap bros will tell you) always a challenge. You’re fitting something somewhere it was never meant to go. Never has this been more true than when Swede Peter Bjorck decided to swap a Lamborghini Gallardo’s 5.0-liter V10 into a Volvo 245 station wagon.
No, you don’t need to have your eye prescription checked. I did say Lamborghini V10 and Volvo 245 in the same sentence, and the results are staggering. Of course, getting to the point where one could enjoy those results required a substantial amount of reengineering and fabrication, all of which is shown in this video, condensing months and years of work into 20 minutes.
For the TL;dw crowd, the basics of the build (aside from the headline stuff) include a transmission swap to a BMW-sourced ZF six-speed manual instead of the mid-engine configuration normally used in the Gallardo and Audi R8. Swapping this transmission required Bjorck to slice off the stock mounting flange and hand-make a new one. The fact that he did this last bit without the aid of any CNC equipment or even a manual milling machine is unreal.
With the trans bolted to the engine, it was time to get both engine and transmission into the car. The transmission part of the equation wasn’t too hard, thanks to some aftermarket transmission mounts from a company called MK Motorsport, which offers tons of speed and drifting parts for old Volvos (because Sweden).
Getting the engine to fit in the chassis required a complete rethink of all the accessories. For instance, the factory dry sump pump fouled on the Volvo’s steering rack, so it got changed for an aftermarket pump, which was then mounted on the opposite side of the engine. The same is true for the water pump, which was traded out for an electric unit and mounted remotely. Even the alternator got moved in the name of clearance.
Essentially, what I’m getting at is that you’re unlikely to be able to replicate this swap in your garage and on a reasonable budget. That last part shouldn’t be a surprise since it includes the engine from a Lamborghini.
Still, these kinds of swaps that are actually finished to a high standard and driven provide tons of inspiration for mad garage scientists all over the world. And who knows what kind of amazing and borderline stupid engine transplants we’ll see as a result. Personally, I’m holding out for someone to put a Cosworth DFV F1 V8 into a Chevy Vega Cosworth, but that’s probably best to keep between you, me, and my therapist.
