Hey everyone, this is my first post here and it's with a specific purpose in mind:

I would like to get an idea of the costs involved of having a mechanic perform a swap on my 93 MX-3 from the K8 to either a KL-DE or KL-ZE.

The swap will include the costs of installing the new engine, fabricating motor mounts (if necessary), moving any accessory parts over from the old engine, installation of a compatible ecu, and any transmission work (obviously this is an older car they may need to sneak that in to be able to handle the load of a new engine), and if possible any fees involved in having them run it through the BAR process for recertification. I'm not looking to put all of the performance parts in just yet. I think I can handle that part myself after I get it through the BAR portion of certification. I have not done an engine swap before so if I am missing any pertinent details please let me know.

Note that I live in Southern California. Parts are much easier to price, but labor tends to be specific to that region. So if you have had a swap done, or have an idea of what a mechanic would charge and you live in S Cali, please let me know.

Final point before I start writing down some extra (but not necessary) information: I am aware that this is a very custom job. But I have spoken with others who say it can be done by more proficient mechanics.

Now for the filler material (TL;DR's are more than welcome to skip this section):
I'm an amateur mechanic. I started working on my first car (a 2001 Mitsubishi Mirage LS Coupe, manual transmission) performing the basics of spare tire changes, brake pad changes, replacing a fender, cornering light (pretty much just bolt on stuff). I'm pretty poor, so I did whatever I could and just left the rest to rot. Which was ok because a year later it took a hit from the side and was totaled (not my fault, I promise)

In my haste I purchased a 1991 Toyota Celica ST Coupe. That was a nightmare. Moving from stick to auto in an old engine that was well below its power, I had to keep the gear in 3rd just to get up to freeway speeds. It, like my previous possession, had its fair share of issues. It leaked, it had old parts, and needed some work. So once again I put my amateur mechanic hat on and did the work. Replacing a valve cover gasket, doing oil changes, changing out CV joints (got a little help from a mechanically savvy friend when those suckers wouldn't want to release), and a brake master cylinder. At this point I was capable of handling most jobs if I had the mechanics manual, some time to study up on youtube, and a paid diagnostic if I was unable to pinpoint the issue. But still there was so much that could be done. It was at this point that I started pondering possibilities. A coworker suggested dropping a Supra Engine in, and I'm sure there were some possible applications of the GT engine I could employ. However there was still the fact that it was an automatic, and changing that over I deemed wouldn't be worth the time and money. So I sold it to a friend (in agreement that I would continue to work on it if he provided the parts where needed), and bought a 1993 Mazda MX-3.

I wasn't shopping with the intent of buying a car I could do modifications to. I just wanted a sporty stick at an affordable price. And when I talked this guy down to 1300 for his 93 MX-3 I jumped at the offer. Being an amateur though, I've made plenty of mistakes, and when it was time to transfer the paperwork at the DMV I had forgotten a critical point: SMOG requirements. The previous owner did not have a valid smog report, being dated by several months, and I ended up having to pay for the smog. That wasn't the bad news; it didn't pass smog. After checking the EGR system and inspecting the timing belt (which is a nightmare to get to btw) with the assistance of my mechanically inclined friend, I gave up and diagnosed it at a smog shop. $100 later they came back with a "tired engine". The seals on the pistons were worn down and it would need a major rebuild (something at the time I was not prepared to hear). It would pass if I put a new Cat on it, so I get one, had it flanged, and bolted it on to pass smog.

The question was at this point "what now?". I have a car that will probably fail smog come next checkup. I could just sell it off at a discount to someone else. But the amatuer mechanic in me was so curious as to my options. Here I had a sporty-ish looking stick shift with some potential. It was rough around the edges, and needed a new interior thanks to the smoker who owned it before me. But the paint was new and the frame looks in good condition. So I poked around online and found that Wikipedia had a guide of difficulty for engine swaps. Two prominent ones that stuck out were the common KL-DE swap and the more difficult KL-ZE. I checked out youtube videos of dyno pulls(one with 300hp outclasses a current gen mustang GT in power/weight ratio), looked at different engine swaps and customization, called the BAR for engine swap requirements (Street legal, and I know you shouldn't heavily mod a daily driver, but it looks like a sweet ride), checked engine prices from JDM suppliers, and decided that I should entertain this notion.

I like working on my car. I love the things I can do. But the heart and the brain of those things still scare me. Plus I'm not the cleanest worker, and this kind of job calls for a guy who can pay attention to the small details of having clean cables, avoid Frankenstein hack jobs, and produce a product that will last. So I'm in the hunt for a shop that can do it. Obviously this kind of work will not be worth the increase in value in parts alone, and there's always the possibility that it will never sell once it's strayed this far from stock. Because I'm in it for the drive, and not the value or how well it performs on the track, I think I'm OK with that. So I should be ok with the markup that a mechanic will put on it as well.

So that's my auto story. At 24 I'm planning on doing some awesome things. And while I'm oddly compassionate about the cars I own, i'm very much a regular car enthusiast like others with favorites like the GTR, Mustang, and my new found love the Tesla Model-S. I'm open to criticism on my approach, and will always welcome a simple "good luck" on taking on this project. Thank you

 

You have a 93, buy a 93+ KLDE or KLZE engine, it bolts right up. ECU is easy, you can do yourself, its on the floorboard under the dash in the center. The ZE will have no EGR, meaning you will not likely pass smog, but some have been known to do it with running funny fluids in there gas. There are a lot of worklogs out there for this specific swap, i would dive into them and see what you come up with, it may be easier than you think.