Key Takeaways
Unconventional engine swap. Bruce Mowrey replaced a BMW X5’s V8 with a carbureted Ford inline-six.
Cost-effective solution. Mowrey avoided thousands of dollars in repairs by using a $700 engine and transmission combo.
Creative engineering. He adapted the BMW to work with the Ford engine using innovative-but-simple techniques.
Unique driving experience. The car is slower but reliable, offering a vastly different driving feel.
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AI assisted, editor reviewed
Many shadetree mechanics have been flustered—flabbergasted, even—by German automobiles. They’re just so… precise. And finicky. Bruce Mowrey chose to address this by swapping out the 4.8-liter V8 from his 2009 BMW X5 that was gifted to him. In its place now sits a familiar but unexpected power plant: A 240-cubic-inch Ford inline-six that’s more than 50 years old.
Mowrey caught people’s attention, including my own, when he posted a Facebook video of the Bimmer with the hood popped. It’s been viewed more than half a million times now, and understandably so. I’ve seen all kinds of engine swaps at this point, but never one like this.
“We drove it around a little bit, and if you had a long red light, it would start smoking when you took off,” Mowrey said of the car, which was in rough shape when he got it. “We found out it had bad valve stem seals …
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Author: Caleb Jacobs
