E30 engine bay width?

[jalopi]

Sup bros, just wanted to know if someone could do me a solid and measure their engine bay width for me. I know I measured mine a while ago, but I can't find the paper I wrote it down on.

I'm thinking about doing an... unconventional engine swap to the e36 I just bought. Its engine bay width is roughly 26.5" and I know how much clearance I need based off of the size of the 302 in my e30's engine bay

Just let me know, thanks ahead of time

[e30_302]

Between the frame rails?

[jalopi]

yep, i'm trying to figure out if a 351w will fit in there

you order your block from woody yet?

[JGood]

27"

[jalopi]

goddamnit... so they're basically the same (i measured the width of the radiator, seemed to pretty much line up with the rails)

[IronFreak]

tube it brah.....

[jalopi]

unfortunately my welding skills aren't quite up to par with yours, otherwise i'd consider it

it could still be made to work with shortening each header runner from the head flange by about 3/4", not sure if i wanna go through all that effort though as i'd also probably have to rock a cowl hood too

maybe i'll just stick with the 302 block / 5.3LS idea

[IronFreak]

is the 351 really that much bigger? bigass lopey cammed monster gives me wood.....had a buddy in highschool that restored a Ranchero with a 351 Cleveland....It was titties.

[jalopi]

on my e30, i had about .5" of clearance between the header collectors and the frame rails. after doing some math with deck heights (8.2" vs 9.5), i figured that the 351, at the header collector flange, is roughly .9" wider on each side. the intakes are about an inch taller and the intake mounting surface is also about an inch higher

cam lope unfortunately be too crazy, turbos tend to not like them :p

[e30_302]

yep, i'm trying to figure out if a 351w will fit in there

you order your block from woody yet?

Yep it should be here in about 2 weeks.

[IronFreak]

Rotate and flip headers......dumps out the fenders behind strut tower.....Do it.....you won't.

[jalopi]

nice. just out of curiosity, how much did he charge for shipping? trying to do a dollar comparison of another ford build (with him supplying) vs a LS build

[jalopi]

Rotate and flip headers......dumps out the fenders behind strut tower.....Do it.....you won't.

lol that was pretty much my first exhaust, only in front of the towers



actually this pic paints a pretty clear picture of how much space i had at the collector.



this thread has pics of the clearance for my turbo manifold

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=338536

so i could probably make it work with enough modification... i dunno. not sure if it's worth the extra liter (347 vs 408 )

[IronFreak]

Ls 5.3?

[jalopi]

yup, i refuse to pay $4k for a used longblock that's been beat to shit for most of its life