Final costs between M and S?

[Bimmerfanatik]

Ok, so I know the M50 swap is cheaper than the S50 swap, but by how much? There has to be at least two people out there as anal as me that have kept strict track of how much they've spent.

Over the next few months I'll be purchasing swap parts, so I want to decide early on which direction I'm heading to buy parts accordingly.

One other thing - can someone make a list of parts I'm gonna need regardless of whether or not I do an M or an S? I'm doing one or the other, so the parts that can be used for either I can buy first.

Thanks guys!

[Brew]

The only difference is the motor itself w/ engine harness and accessories. All of the other swap parts are the same. Same e34 oil pan, same trannys bolt up to each one, same brake booster clearance issues, etc.

[nickmp0wer]

i think it would be a waste to do a m50

[MattE30]

i think it would be a waste to do a m50

Why

[Bimmerfanatik]

i think it would be a waste to do a m50

Why

I agree. I've been in an m50 swap e30 and I was more than impressed. And it was a STOCK m50!

The reason I really need to make the decision is because I need to put it in for paint/body, and that's a decent chunk of change. I've gotta eb able to afford both, so that's why I need to know if it's significantly more.

What I may do is put in an M50 and build an S50, then put that in. But maybe I'll just go straight for the S50 :)

[nickmp0wer]

i just think it would be better to save up a little more money and put a better engine while your going to all that work and spending that money anyways

[Bimmerfanatik]

i just think it would be better to save up a little more money and put a better engine while your going to all that work and spending that money anyways

I agree, but the S50 swap is looking to be about 8 grand total. Then I'm looking at at least 2 grand for a good PJ and body work. If I can just do the body work and put an m50 in for 3-4 grand, I'd save myself a ton of money. Then all I'd have to do is buy the s50 itself, put it all together, and swap it for the M50. Basically a "direct" swap if I understand correctly - just gotta put the e34 pan on the s50 and swap the harnesses, buut if I get the THR adapter, just unhook the M50's harness, pull the motor, put the s50 in, and plug that in. Right?

[Bryson]

figure an m50 is 1 grand, an s50 is 3 grand. It's two thousand dollars cheaper to do an m50 than an s50 ;) it is the EXACT same motor swap

[Bimmerfanatik]

figure an m50 is 1 grand, an s50 is 3 grand. It's two thousand dollars cheaper to do an m50 than an s50 ;) it is the EXACT same motor swap

Ok, so those are general ballpark figures for the motors, what about the rest of the swap? Should I be figuring as much as $5000 to do the swap, aside from the motor itself?

Where are the areas to save money by buying used, not by shortchanging quality?

[Bryson]

you could have the swap done anywhere from 1000 to 5000 for labor, it just depends where you go.
places to save money are re-using your transmission/driveshaft and clutch setup. Used parts save money, but are not necessarily worth cutting the cost. Most items should be purchased new save for the oil pan and radiator/cooling system if it's up to par

[Bimmerfanatik]

you could have the swap done anywhere from 1000 to 5000 for labor, it just depends where you go.
places to save money are re-using your transmission/driveshaft and clutch setup. Used parts save money, but are not necessarily worth cutting the cost. Most items should be purchased new save for the oil pan and radiator/cooling system if it's up to par

Fuck labor costs :) This is all my work, my friend. I guess I should be more specific. How much will the OTHER parts (not including the engine itself) add up to? So the COST of the parts to swap to an m/s50?

So basically the oil pan and accessories and manifolds are all I can buy used, correct?

[Addissimo]

Okay- Here is what I spent:

$800 - 1993 525i engine with harness and accessories shipped
$350 - 1993 325i Transmission with flywheel
$200 - 1995 M3 AFM & chipped ECU - REALLY good deal from a friend
$180 - Clutch
$160 - 2.93 LSD - DON'T GO FOR THIS GEAR SET
$80 - New cooling hoses
$60 - Replaced rusty ignition coils
$60 - Metal impeller water pump
$50 - K&N Cone filter
$50 - e36 engine mounting arms
$40 - e28 engine mounts
$40 - z4 ssk
$25 - Spark plugs
$20 - Metal thermostat housing
$17 - Thermostat

$2082 total - Here are my thoughts on the avenues I went:

-Stick with the stock e30 tranny and 3.73 LSD... maybe drop down to a 3.46 or something along those lines. I really dislike my tranny/diff setup right now. Its slow to go, and it has ok highspeed cruising revs ( about 4200 @100mph) I miss the overdrive on the e30 tranny.

-Its worth it to go with an e34 engine... you save about $200 on the oil pan, and you dont have the head ache of trying to find one used.

-Go for the ix booster rather than the e21 booster. The e21 booster isnt strong enough to lock your brakes up (my friend and my experience anyway.)

-Try to get your engine with AFM and ECU, chances are you'll save alot of money there than if you were to buy them separately.

Thats all I can think of right now. I really enjoy my m50 swap thus far, even with my shitty gears I'm substantially faster than I used to be, I can only imagine what its like with real gears and a single mass flywheel. If you want a crazy fast car go with the s50, but I think an m50 is good enough for most of us.

-Addis

[Bimmerfanatik]

Addis, perfect post. A complete breakdown of the parts you bought, what they cost, and even reviews of how you'd do it differently, or things to change.

My plan is to buy a wreck/parts car, either an e34 or an e36 M - the e36M being a huge stretch financially, but if the car has useable/sellable parts, I can help balance the cost by selling parts off it. Vaders, etc, etc. However, the other idea I had was to buy a cheap e34 with a blown motor and buy the s50/harness/ecu seperate. That way I save on the parts end, can sell off parts from the 525i, and still get my S50. But...that's a longshot. We'll see.

Anyways, I just bought a 3.25 LSD for my eta for 168 shipped, so I'm thinking I'll use that for the swap car, even though it's a bit lower than you recommended. I do a lot of highway driving so maybe that's better for me. And with an s50, I'm sure it won't bother me too much :)

[Addissimo]

The 3.25 with the e36 tranny will be good- so no problems there. If you're going to buy a parts car, go for the e36 m, that way you'll have the s5x and a plethora of parts to sell/use. Take into consideration that you can get $1200 for a good set of vaders (with rear seats), and $400 for various body parts, then you have brakes, suspension, wheels etc... you should almost be able to pay the car off and still get the engine/tranny/ecu for about a grand depending on the cost of the parts car... That would be the route to go.

-Addis

oh, and if your planning on doing paint/body work, do it before the engine swap- that way you can paint the engine bay :)

[Bimmerfanatik]

The 3.25 with the e36 tranny will be good- so no problems there. If you're going to buy a parts car, go for the e36 m, that way you'll have the s5x and a plethora of parts to sell/use. Take into consideration that you can get $1200 for a good set of vaders (with rear seats), and $400 for various body parts, then you have brakes, suspension, wheels etc... you should almost be able to pay the car off and still get the engine/tranny/ecu for about a grand depending on the cost of the parts car... That would be the route to go.

-Addis

oh, and if your planning on doing paint/body work, do it before the engine swap- that way you can paint the engine bay :)

Haha, of course I'm painting before the swap :) My car is getting COMPLETELY stripped - to the bare chassis, even further than Jordan went, subframes and all, and going on a wood frame to the paint shop. Undercarriage is getting painted/undercoated again (it's got no rust now, better make sure it stays that way) and the rest is getting prepped and painted. Then comes the reassembly...

I do agree the e36M would be the best option, but I gotta find one. I'd also never be able to come up with the capital to buy one in the first place, so I'd have to go in on it with buyers for the other parts beforehand.

3.25 with the e36 tranny? No M20 tranny? AFAIK I can't use the e tranny anyways, so I gotta get one one way or another...