BMW engine conversion

[finch]

Funny how i was thinking about a 1jzge to E30 swap a couple days, but as soon as i though of the sump and vvti, gave up on the idea. not that i have a e30 or anything like that anyway.

why? is that bad thing?

yeah, with the exhaust. i wanted to get twin pipes out the rear, but that would be really difficult - ill find a way!!

[finch]

my mate has the 2.5L in an E30 -- soon to go turbo, motor has just been rebuilt due to huge Cam wear! goes alright with just the 2.5L bottom end - 2.3L head and Lotus forged pistons! wierd combo but when the turbo goes on should be quick!  only thing with these cars is lack of room down the car for exhausts.. 3inch would scrape out big time!

only thing to watch that i know of with these things is the rubber mount from gear box to tail shaft!

that will be rad!!

thanks for the tip on the "mount from gear box to tail shaft" ill look in to that.

[Ronin 09]

just run twin 2.25s under the car - they fit fine. That's what I had on the E30

[Mazinger]

some engine swaps are really easy compard to others. felt this one eould be pretty hard to do.

maybe droping in an s2 into the e30 would be easier. heh

best of luck

[Parag0n]

Theres an RB20DET powered E30 323i here in canberra, been that way for a while too.  Aparently the hardest part is the engine mounts

It was featured in a magazine but i can't remember which one

Ahh yes, that car was in Zoom had an RB20 in it.

[Ronin 09]

Drop in the E36 M3 motor in there... there are a couple of workshops around Aus who have done it... I'll try and dig up the websites

[Craved]

that will be rad!!

thanks for the tip on the "mount from gear box to tail shaft" ill look in to that.

yeah it's just that they are solid rubber and do crack.. if they crack apart the tail shaft will go flying (mates had a big gash in the tunnel from it happening), can source these with steel reinforcement within the rubber for better strength! it's like a uni joint! might be a good idea if still using these to run a U support like race cars use to stop it dropping and digging into the ground!

[Ronin 09]

Some local BMW sites that may be of interest:

http://www.bmauto.iinet.net.au/

http://www.bavariacars.com.au/

not local, but good ones:

http://www.kormanfastbmw.com/

http://www.activeautowerke.com/main.cfm

http://www.bmpd.com/index.shtml

[Dahtone Racing]

a guy has a workshop down the road from my place he has transplanted E36 M3 running gear into his E30 325i.

the thing hammers, its insane.

[finch]

thanks everyone for all the response!!

and thanks for the links.

with the mounts... i had problems with the solid rubber engine mounts (probably just age) but i will defionitly look at getting them upgraded - thanks

shite.... a e36 m3 in a e30. that would hammer, probably a bit pricy for me though

[Ronin 09]

with the mounts... i had problems with the solid rubber engine mounts (probably just age) but i will defionitly look at getting them upgraded - thanks

I think you should look at custom engine mounts, as I broke two (can't remember which side, but was the same) engine mounts, both were less than 2 years old. It is the torque of the bigger motor they can't cope with

[Craved]

which part of the mount broke? i have seen 2 E30 323i brake the mount from the cross member on just standard power.

you could get the 2.5L block from the 325e.. which are cheapish, then put the 323i head on it and rebuild.. still 2.5L and they do go hard!

[Craved]

hmm just something else to mention... my mates beemer just tore the tail shaft in half! pretty nasty, looks like the diff blew and locked up, shredded the tail shaft.

[Ronin 09]

which part of the mount broke? i have seen 2 E30 323i brake the mount from the cross member on just standard power.

I think it was the passenger side rubber engine mount

[finch]

you could get the 2.5L block from the 325e.. which are cheapish, then put the 323i head on it and rebuild.. still 2.5L and they do go hard!

i actually thought about that couple months ago.... would be a good idea, then get it turbo'd later, he he

sorry to hear about your mates bimmer blowing the diff and screwing the tailshaft, i will have to get a better diff though, its got the stock one (non LSD) dont know the specs, but ill definitly upgrade....

thanks for the advice Ronin 09,

[Craved]

yeah he's saving up for a turbo for it atm, but with this little set back it may be a while! have you got any ideas where to get a lsd for the E30?

was gonna get an M3 diff but it'll take our suppliers about 3 months to get it from germany so we cant really wait that long!

[finch]

email this guy, [email protected] , its a european parts place in melbourne, they have helped me out a fair bit, not to pricy. dont know, they will probably have to order it in aswell though, other than that cant help you sorry.

unless you try and get in contact with the NSW bmw club, they might be able to help you out

http://www.bmwclubnsw.asn.au/

[Craved]

true.. cheers for that, i'll have a chat with them!

[Duncan]

mates don't let mates drive 3 series BMWs.

Get them into skylines

[Ronin 09]

I had three factory LSDs in mine -

factory 3.45 'small (housing)' diff - early E30s had this

3.7X 'big' diff

3.9X 'big' diff

There are a heap of LSDs that fit from various 3 and 5 series, I have a mag that lists all the ratios back at home in Melb (I'm in perth) that lists the ratio and car they're from. The E28 5 series shares the same diffs.

Hope that helps