# Best engine for B2 swap



## Giovanni21 (Nov 11, 2013)

Hello guys, i have a 96 Quantum project car, right now im doing the interior and re painting it, but as i am getting closer to the end of that process i am now thinking about the next step. Here in Brazil these were sold only with 1.8 and 2.0 engines, and they're pretty dull so i want to swap it , but i've been having a hard time finding more info on B2 engine swaps.
The options are somewhat limited where in my country, the engines that i can find here are the 2.2 I5 Turbo and the 2.8 both V6 and VR6, there are some other less exciting options aswell.

My question is , which engine is more suited to swap in a B2 FWD manual car? The 2.2 I5 seems like a good choice given that it was used in other B2 cars and is mounted in the same way as the 4cyl in my car, but its rare to find one, the 2.8 VR6 and V6 are cheaper and more widely available , but it seems like an choice that would require more intense modifications to the engine bay

Any information or suggestions on this topic are welcome.

Thank you all in advance


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## dougkehl (Nov 30, 2011)

My preference would always be for the 5 cylinder engine. I'm currently building a 20v I5 turbo for my Quantum Syncro Wagon and it currently has a 10v 5 cylinder in it and I love it. Plus because it came in the car it will be easier to mount it in the engine bay in terms of not needing to make any mounts as long as the engine comes with the mounts. The real problem I see with a 5 cylinder swap is that 5 cylinders use a different bolt pattern on the bell housing for the transmission. Some transmissions can accept both, some cant, for instance my 016 Quattro gear box that came factory in the car can't be bolted to a 4 cylinder, but the later 01E Quattro gear box I have laying around has both sets of holes for a 4 or 5 cylinder and it's virtually the same gear box. So just keep that in mind that IF you go for the 5 cylinder, make sure your trans can accept it first or make sure the engine you buy comes with the transmission. As long as you have a transmission that will work then this is the most straight forward swap for the B2 chassis. 

Also with the 5 cylinder being that it is a longer block, you may need to cut a hole in the front of your valance because if you have to service the timing belt or anything down the road that is on the front of the engine, you will have no access to the crank bolt if there is no hole there. B2 chassis cars with 5 cylinders came from the factory with this hole for that reason.

And I'm sure you know this, but you'll need a 5 cylinder radiator to go with the 5 cylinder swap because there isn't much space up front with the 5 cylinder.

The VR6 route is a possibility, but you'd need custom mounts for the engine, probably a custom oil pan, a modified exhaust manifold or header and I'm sure you'd need some sort of adapter plate for the transmission, but I could be wrong about the adapter for the transmission. Same with the V6 engine. Overall both of these swaps would require far more fabrication work not really to the engine bay itself, but just to the parts that allow the engine to sit in the engine bay properly. But as long as your skills permit it or have friends with the skills to make it happen, then these would be two really good engines to put in there, especially because they are newer and easier to get parts for. 

You can fit a lot of engines into these bays as they are quite large. Here's a dude with a VR6 in his.





There was another dude a few years ago that stuffed an Audi 4.2L V8 into one of these.


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## Giovanni21 (Nov 11, 2013)

dougkehl said:


> My preference would always be for the 5 cylinder engine. I'm currently building a 20v I5 turbo for my Quantum Syncro Wagon and it currently has a 10v 5 cylinder in it and I love it. Plus because it came in the car it will be easier to mount it in the engine bay in terms of not needing to make any mounts as long as the engine comes with the mounts. The real problem I see with a 5 cylinder swap is that 5 cylinders use a different bolt pattern on the bell housing for the transmission. Some transmissions can accept both, some cant, for instance my 016 Quattro gear box that came factory in the car can't be bolted to a 4 cylinder, but the later 01E Quattro gear box I have laying around has both sets of holes for a 4 or 5 cylinder and it's virtually the same gear box. So just keep that in mind that IF you go for the 5 cylinder, make sure your trans can accept it first or make sure the engine you buy comes with the transmission. As long as you have a transmission that will work then this is the most straight forward swap for the B2 chassis.
> 
> Also with the 5 cylinder being that it is a longer block, you may need to cut a hole in the front of your valance because if you have to service the timing belt or anything down the road that is on the front of the engine, you will have no access to the crank bolt if there is no hole there. B2 chassis cars with 5 cylinders came from the factory with this hole for that reason.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your reply , all that information is really useful.

I've discarded the possibility of anything V given that these engines would require a level of modification to the chassis that im not experienced with. Its clear that the I5 is the way to go, but since they are rare over here im juggling between the idea of either turbocharging the stock engine (2.0L 8v 114hp ,"AP2000" derivated from the audi EA827) , or go for the 1.8T 20V , but this one will probably give me even bigger problems with fitting the transmission.

On the other hand the AP engine family was the most sold in its time and most explored by tuners to this day here in Brazil, theres a huge number of cars using this engine running anywhere from 200hp to 1000hp, i really wanted to do something unique but after putting some numbers together i saw that i can pretty much get both my engine and trans built and buy the components for the turbo setup for half the money i'd spend swapping in an exotic engine, and i think that in the long run i will be happy that i chose to stay with the stock drivetrain

Im going to buy the first components soon, i will be buying on the first "gear batch" an perfomance intake manifold, turbo exhaust manifold and slightly more aggressive cams


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## Kwabena (Mar 29, 2002)

Well, please keep us updated on your build!


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## OldManJames (Oct 15, 2012)

7A if you want to keep it NA. 3B or AAN if you want Turbo. These heads are known to flow better than any VR6 motor stock and it is a direct swap. The hardest part is the wiring.


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