Engine Swap Planning Workbook

An engine swap is a hundred small decisions: mounts, transmission, wiring, fuel, cooling, exhaust and the rules where you live. Most swaps that stall do so because one of those got skipped. This workbook walks you through every system so you know what you're getting into before you buy the engine, from a DIYer who has done his own swap.

It's a 6-page workbook (US Letter PDF), in two versions: a fillable PDF to type into on your computer, and a clean printable PDF. Orange rows are examples for a made-up swap:

- The Swap: vehicle, current and swap engine/trans, donor source, budget, target date and a rules check, plus Why This Swap?, Deal Breakers and Measurements.

- Checklists with notes: 1. Fit & Mounting, 2. Transmission & Drivetrain, 3. Fuel System, 4. Cooling, 5. Exhaust & Emissions (including a reminder to check local swap rules).

- 6. Wiring & ECU Decision: compare four common paths (rework the donor harness, aftermarket swap harness, standalone ECU, carburetor) with upsides and downsides, then a wiring checklist and circuit notes.

- Parts List: 26 rows with system, source, cost, and have/installed boxes.

- Budget by System and Timeline: 14 budget lines and 11 phases with target dates.

- 7. Before the First Start: a careful first-start checklist, first-start notes, and a problems and fixes log.

Every step is written so you can plan it and do it on your own, including lifting the engine safely. It works for any engine and vehicle.

Instant download, for personal use. This is a planning guide, not engineering or legal advice: check your local emissions and inspection rules and verify specs against your engine's service information. Example values are sample data only.