SEMA 2021: Our Favorite Engines and Swaps

Engine swaps have been at the heart of hot rodding since the very beginning. From swapping a flathead V8 into a Model A in the early days to the current Hellcat and LS swaps, we've seen it all. But every year at SEMA, we see something new, creative, or just plain neat. Here are a few that caught our eye at this year's show.

We absolutely loved this '66 Nova. While swapping a big block into a Nova is nothing new, this one's unique. The wild looking injector steals the show under the hood (and through it), but look closer and you'll notice something missing. Where's the radiator? It's in the trunk. Water enters and exits the block through ports in the side, so the front of the engine is uncluttered and really does look like a true drag car that's meant to run only one pass at a time. Bonus points for the immaculate detailing all over the car.

The age old hot rod recipe of "big engine, small car" has almost unending combinations. We love stumbling across something that we never would have thought of, and this Mini Cooper is way outside the box. A stock Mini with the turbocharged engine feels pretty fast, so we're sure this thing absolutely rips with double or triple the horsepower.

Speaking of big engine in a small car, the Shelby Cobra is one of the most famous examples out there. How do you make an already outrageous power to weight ratio even more out of control? How about a Hellcat Hemi swap? This might make Ford loyalists cringe, but we're sure one trip around the block in this thing would change your mind.

This is the swap that started it all. The performance aftermarket that we're celebrating here at SEMA was built on the shoulders of Ford's flathead V8. By now, this is not clever or outside the box, but this particular example is so well done that we had to include it here. Bryan Thompson's '34 Ford truck is a SEMA Battle of the Builders finalist, and we can see why. Everything that isn't black is chromed or polished. We love this little truck.

Okay, bear with us here. This is not an engine swap, but we're betting that it's going to be. Chevy pulled the cover off the new C8 Z06 at this year's show, and it's a knockout. This is the first time in history that the Corvette has had an engine all its own. It's also the highest horsepower N/A engine in history. The 5.5 liter LT6 makes 670 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque, and the flat plane crank and dual overhead cam configuration makes it absolutely scream up to the 8600 rpm redline. Yeesh. So what's it doing in the article? There are already rumors of this thing being offered as a crate. Just imagine this engine in a vintage muscle car or hot rod. Will we see a few of these swapped by next year's SEMA show?

We just have to include the new 632 monster crate from Chevy Performance. Chevy set out to bring the old-school big block into the modern age, and the result makes 1004 horsepower with modern fuel injection and updated heads. 1000 N/A horsepower is impressive, and the fact that this thing carries a GM part number and can be ordered up and delivered to your door is mind melting. We can't wait to see the creative swaps that will include this giant.