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IrelandWesten Champlin's 350Z upgrade uses the engine Garret said no to
A failed junkyard-engine plan sends the crew toward a supercharged V8, a difficult fit and an increasingly exasperated phone call.
Westen Champlin
Story of No. 49 on the daily chartNo. 2 on the Cars chart
Why this story? One of the most watched videos since yesterday, with 859,496 views.
Swapping A 700HP V8 Into A Japanese Car
Video summary
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- 0:00Lemon, the Nissan 350Z drift car, needs an engine after running without oil.
- 5:52The crew checks the junkyard V8's compression using jumper cables and wrenches.
- 10:48A flywheel-mounting mismatch sends the replacement plan toward Garret's supercharged LSA.
- 12:35Westen calls Garret, who explicitly tells him not to touch the engine.
- 17:01A hammer and cut-off wheel make room in the firewall for the replacement engine.
- 18:38Driveshaft installation leads into another clearance problem between the throttle body and supercharger housing.
Westen Champlin calls it "forced upgrades." His battered Nissan 350Z, nicknamed Lemon, has blown its engine after drifting without oil. The replacement plan eventually involves a supercharged V8 belonging to Garret, who gives a remarkably clear answer when asked about using it: "I'm not joking, this isn't a bit, don't touch it."
"Anyway guys, we're putting an LSA in the 350Z," Westen tells the camera.
That workshop detour is at the center of "Swapping A 700HP V8 Into A Japanese Car," which drew roughly 860,000 views since yesterday. The horsepower promise is in the title; the hands-on story is about getting an engine into a car that keeps finding reasons not to accept it.
Initially, the crew has a different V8 lined up: a junkyard engine they unload, strip and test with an improvised arrangement of jumper cables and wrenches. It gets pressure-washed and painted Chevrolet Performance Orange before a flywheel-mounting mismatch derails that approach.
Garret's supercharged engine becomes the substitute, despite his objections. Viewers have picked up that thread, asking for a build where Garret chooses the vehicle and gets his own way for once. Others reckon Westen owes him a car in return.
The swap itself requires more than lowering the replacement into place. Tall valve covers meet the Nissan's firewall, prompting Westen to reach for a hammer and cut-off wheel. Once the engine sits on its mounts, the crew connects a custom driveshaft to the transmission, only to encounter another interference problem: the throttle body hits the supercharger housing. An on-screen note makes a point of clearing the parts supplier, explaining that switching to the LSA created the mismatch.
Published on Trari
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- Channel
- Westen Champlin
- Subscribers
- 6,060,000 ▲ 30,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 9,133,307
- Channel views, pace per day
- 2,190,994 (on a normal day: 1,130,863)
- Video published
- November 6, 2026
- Video views so far
- 1,260,254 (2 days online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 859,621 (on a normal day: 975,972)
The numbers
The engine-swap video attracted a substantial audience since yesterday. Its first-day response was broadly in line with the scale of Westen Champlin's regular uploads.
💡 Test your knowledge
What engine layout did the Nissan 350Z originally use?
The production Nissan 350Z came with a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6.