You don't ruin cars by engine-swapping them, regards Workshop Manuel

2026 UPDATE - The more things change, the more they stay the same. With MOOG and Marty engine-swapping MOOG's Falcon this week [CLICK HERE] there are so many people raging online about the horrors of putting an engine into a car from a different manufacturer

The Internet has been awash with random people claiming Marty and MOOG have "ruined" their E30 BMW by replacing the 125kW 2.5-litre six-cylinder with a 320kW 6.2-litre all-alloy LS3 V8. However, I would wager nearly all the people raging online haven't actually driven an E30 BMW, let alone well set-up LS-swapped one.

The same is true for MOOG's Falcon. Six years on from the LS3 E30 project the aftermarket world has changed a bit, but a few core truths haven't and one of the biggest ones when it comes to engine swapping is: sometimes the best engine for a particular car and project isn't from that manufacturer. 

I understand people feel strongly about putting a legendary Holden/GM engine into a Ford - like mixing cat and dog DNA - but the LS has a lot to offer in the Falcon.

The basis for a good engine swap is finding something easy to source, light and powerful that improves the car's dynamics in the way you want. In the E30 Marty wanted a well-rounded street car he could take to track days and skidpans, but also something reliable and docile enough to drive to the Slop Shop for lunch, or up a twisty mountain road on a sunny weekend. 

MOOG uses his XR8 Falcon mostly on skidpans and in drifting, so something light over the front-end that makes great power, but is also quick to swap and wouldn't take funds away from many of the other non-V8 projects going on at MCM at the same time. Everything with cars is a compromise, and this time that compromise is looking outside the home paddock for the horsepower. 

Because E30 BMWs have generous engine bays you can fit all sorts of cool engines into them, and this means personal preference comes into the discussion, because we all have our own preferences when it comes to motors. Some people love the rush of rotaries and turbo four-cylinders coming onto the power band, while others prefer the smooth torque and booming exhaust of a V8.   

BA Falcons are more of a complex choice as they had some awesome, and some terrible, mechanical parts in them. The 4.0 Barra (especially the turbocharged variants) are one of the greatest engine families ever seen in Australia, and easily one of the best 6-cylinder engines of the early 2000s. 

But MOOG's car didn't come with that. He had a Boss 260 5.4-litre V8, which is a type of Mod Motor only seen in Australia, and it comes with some problems that an LS fixes. 

The Ford 5.0-litre Coyote is an absolute screamer and yes it is related to the 5.4L found in early 2000s Falcons. But they don't bolt in without a lot of other work to swap K-frames and front-ends over to the (now rarer) later model FG Falcon parts. 

Coyotes are also VASTLY more expensive than almost any LS this side of a factory 7.0-litre LS7, which is a high-performance NA 7L from the C6 Corvette ZO6 and a properly exotic piece of kit. 

So, MOOG's "free" 5.7L LS1 is a pretty good option. 

While all manner of V8s have been swapped into E30s over the years the LS is potentially the most popular thanks to its small size, light weight, great power potential and ease of purchase. With most of the engine's weight low in the chassis and behind the front axle line the steering feel is still good and it retains the E30's wonderful sense of balance BMW endowed it with.

This also works in the Falcon, and the naturally aspirated alloy LS1 saves a chunk of weight over fitting a Barra, while also moving weight low and central in the chassis compared to the big, tall, heavy DOHC six.

The trick with LS swaps is to not go nuts with big camshafts or massive power outputs as the engines make so much torque you'll easily over-power an E30's chassis and trailing arm rear-end. I know about over-powering E30s because I did just that when I put a cammed 6.0L LS into a 1989 E30 more than 10 years ago. The theory was 1000kg & 500rwhp, but the reality is it was too crazy to be a street car and too slow to be a race car.

MOOG also wants to keep his Falcon nicely balanced, so it can get thrown around a skidpan smoking the tyres and putting on a show. Smashing diffs and axles out of it, or having enough power to run in D1 GP simply isn't needed and the expense is just wasted money.

The big takeaway from all of this is simple: nobody else is in MOOG's shoes with his timeline, budget and use for the car. If you're paying for your own car and it's your main project, then fine put whatever billet 5000rwhp Coyote or GMA V12 you want in it. But for this car, at this time, the engine swap works.