m50 g250 swap... parts still needed

[ian325is]

Im not quite sure where to start so Im just going to start typing. Im new to the forum here but certainly not new to e30's. Im been working on them for the better part of 15 years and have done my fair share of engine swaps but never attempted the m50. Im typically pretty good at finding my answers on here myself but in this case I dont have the time so if anyone can point in the right direction or just answer what they can it would be of huge help.

first off my car

84 325e saved from being taken to the salvage yard been working on restoring this for about 2 years now and even had the body work ready for paint. I replaced my fuel press regulator from a used ebay one and needless to say it did not work properly. something catastrophic happened and it blew causing fuel to spray everywhere eventually catching on fire and melting my engine compartment. I think there is some salvageable items as it didnt burn for too long and was mainly up front. I would post pictures and will later but I cant stand to look at it right now


The plan

I have a wrecked (side) 93 e36 325is that runs and drives....hmmm right?... so this weekend being memorial day weekend I have a little bit of time to throw this together. I have a little cash to throw at it but unfortunatly its going to be a budget build to get this thing back on the road as I have no car right now. From my reasearch this is what ive come up with

m50b25nv
g250 trans
e36 shifter assembly (bolt in?)
e30/e36 drive shaft ?
e34 motor mounts

the questions

ive been reading that most people are using e34 535 motor mounts do the 525 work as well? Im looking for these so if you have some and are somewhat local I can drive... Im also looking for the e34 oil pan and pickup

does the e36 shifter assembly seriously just bolt in and line up?

what driveshaft is recommended? can I put one of the e30/36 shafts in without modification?

how big of a deal is it to slot and move the brake booster... Im not worried about the labor of doing it but does it still work right or does it seem jacked up?

If you havent figured it out im going to pull the m50 and trans together and mount it in the e30 as is. Theres a ton of things I wanted to do before I did this but im out of time and getting desperate so in it goes

I have a full shop of hoists and welders and plasma cutters so I can make anything I need for this but i would really like to do this with as much "ease" as possible. I know its not easy but bolt up parts will make my life easier. Ill stop there any thoughts are appreciated Thanks guys

[NLM Hollywood]

I can't answer all your questions as my 84 325e already had an M50 (M50TUB25) from a 93 325is in it when I bough it, but I do have E34 M5 motor mounts and E21 trans mounts (perfect for your swap) available (PM me if interested). I decided to go mostly track with my car and got the Condor Heretic package that includes all mounts/bushings. My car is running the S5D-250G tranny from the same E36 and as far as I know, the shifter assembly bolts right in. I know if you run the Getrag tranny you need to make some sort of angle modification so the shifter sits upright (quote from the RM article "Some people keep their E30 Getrag 260s but it requires fabricating a custom transmission mount and your shifter will be offset to the right by about 15-degrees"). My car is using the original E30 driveshaft connected directly to the E36 trans. There's plenty or good articles, but these two certainly have some of the info you're looking for:

http://www.akgmotorsport.com/usm50swap5.php

http://www.rmeuropean.com/bmw-e30-m50-swap.aspx

[mpowerful]

Im using stock e34 525 cylinder style mounts. Work perfect and instead of 50 esch they are like 8-10 bucks each.

[THEhomelessONE]

Throw away the POS g250 and pick up a g240 or zf 310/320. G250's are known to be weak, picked up the donor car with a blown 2nd gear actually. My g240 slapped right on to the m50, but I used a shifter arm from a euro model, don't have the part number maybe someone can post it up, or you can cut and weld the stock one, but the metal is hard to weld. Think I used the front driveshaft from an e36 318i auto. Used an e32/ix booster without the adapter piece, had to slot two holes in the firewall, used a carbide dremel bit.

[Nick_S]

I did a similar swap but used my existing g240. As long as the 250 is currently in decent shape you'll be fine, just drain and refill the fluid. This is probably the most straight forward swap you can. Pull the engine and trans and driveshaft from the e36, it basically bolts right up. I do believe you'll need a new CSB and mount it backwards...I can't remember exactly.

As far as the brake booster here's what I did. Shaved the fins completely off the manifold, took a ball peen hammer and slightly dented the stock one, didn't move it at all, I didn't even remove it for the whole swap. Now I under stand this is a slightly more "ghetto" approach but it doesn't hit and has had 0 ill effects in the 13k miles I've put on the swap. Since you're trying to it quickly on a budget, it's an idea. If you're not comfortable with wiring I'd recommend an adapter from Nando on here. Mine works perfect and looks great.