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    Best Donor Car

    Hey all I have been kicking this around but I'm going to go ahead and purchase an m30 variant. I am also going to pick up the manual that is sold here that will help dissect what is needed for the swap. I am curious in which car should I get the engine from? And which is the easiest to swap (if there are any differences). I have an 87 535 car local that I can get everything out of that was rolled. Looking forward to your suggestions and knowledge.
    sigpic87 325E The Honey Badger

    #2
    The e32 / e34 M30B35 is the easiest swap. If you use the e28 engine, you need to source an e34 sump and oil pump to swap it into the e30.
    My e30: OEM+ with M30B35

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      #3
      Ok roger that, I know where one of those are as well. That car is an automatic but I can use my 260 or 240 I have. I can get the hole car for 1k but the interior is trashed lol.
      sigpic87 325E The Honey Badger

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        #4
        B35's are easier just because there harness is the same as a late model e30 and you don't need to swap oil pans. However you can simply 1.3 motronic swap the b34 which is in that e28 and it will be plug and play it's what I did. Also the b34 is a way better motor for boost.


        1989 325is l 1984 euro 320i l 1970 2002 Racecar
        1991 318i 4dr slick top


        Euro spec 320i/Alpina B6 3.5 project(the never ending saga)
        Vintage race car revival (2002 content)
        Mtech 2 turbo restoration
        Brilliantrot slick top "build"

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          #5
          Originally posted by ThatOneEuroE30 View Post
          B35's are easier just because there harness is the same as a late model e30 and you don't need to swap oil pans. However you can simply 1.3 motronic swap the b34 which is in that e28 and it will be plug and play it's what I did. Also the b34 is a way better motor for boost.
          Right on, very good info indeed. I am not planning on boosting the m30, I would boost this m20 if I kept it but the m30 makes nice hp and torque easily (this is from the research I have done). I am looking for around 220-260hp. I figure this can be achieved with porting the head (just cleaning the casting flash no real material removal), good exhaust and a good tune. From my research these engines make around 220hp in stock form so 20-40 extra ponies should be easy.
          sigpic87 325E The Honey Badger

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            #6
            If that's your goal, then the M30B35 is a good choice. Bigger ports, bigger valves, higher stock compression and it bolts in - Garagistic mounts would allow you to use cheap e34 headers.

            A decent set of headers & a chip would see you in the range you want - add some headwork and a hotter cam and you'll be up around the 260 mark (that's what Alpina got from their version of the M30B35).
            My e30: OEM+ with M30B35

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              #7
              A b34 (8:1 c.r.) has 182 hp, b35 (9:1 c.r.) has 208 hp, euro m30 (10:1 c.r.) has 218 hp, Alpina, Hartge, and Schnitzer got 250-260 out of these with high compression and a bunch of other changes. I would guess that with the best engine management these days you could add maybe 10 hp to these numbers.

              You might even want to consider a low boost turbo motor because you can get good power pretty cheaply with a factory manifold which not many people want these days.

              The m30 sure gives a lot of options:)
              Last edited by Bearmw; 12-26-2014, 07:53 PM.
              Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience. -Mark Twain

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