M52 into an m10 carb bmw e30

[Brinta]

Hello Everyone,

A small introduction :

I'm Sander from the Netherlands
42 years of age and been a bmw e30 fan since I was a youngster


In 2014 I bought my first bmw e30 delphin grey sedan 325e
And I always thought that the e30 should have came from the factory with an m52 engine.
So I let someone swap that into my 325e

Long story short.. I sold it and I regret it immediately haha.
From then on I said to myself.. Whenever I'll buy another e30.. I'll keep it and I want to do an engine swap myself now.
Done much research on this forum / YouTube and was like... Ok together with all the YouTube videos from spanner RASH... Piece of cake!!

Now around 1 month ago I came across a very mint conditioned bmw e30 316 1984 carb bmw e30
No rust.. Poverty spec aswell
No sunroof
No abs
No power steering
No electric windows
The only fancy thing it has is.. An oil level matic.

But ok.. Now comes my question

A few sentences ago I said I did alot of research😅.. And said piece of cake... But Hahah uhm... I never knew a carb engine e30 was way different then all the other e30s..

And now I got myself kinda in panic mod..should I sell this and get an 316i.... But on the dutch forum everyone says.. It's more important that U have a rust free one. Etc. Wich I sorta agree with

But.. what is worse... I really can't find any info on swapping an 24v into an m10 carb e30..

Except for.

-Replace fuel tank with an type 1 55 liter fuel tank wich has a swirl pot in it.
-U have only 1 fuel line... So u need to buy a fuel return line
-u have a mechanical fuel pump wich is attached to ur engine.. ..so u need to buy an electric fuel pump with level sender and place it into ur new fuel tank
-fuel filter next to tank

But now comes the part where im panicking..

The wiring...

On some forums I read... There could be a socket under ur rh seat... Just extend it and attach it to ur newly bought electric fuel pump...but I checked... There is none.

The only wiring I got is from the fuel level sender.. Wich are 3 wires : brown wire - green/brown wire and a grey/brown wire

The only other wiring harness remotely close.. Are near the door. That go into the trunk. For the lighting


How am I supposed to tackle this?

Should I buy a complete early type chassis wiring harness.. And just redo the complete harness and also convert my square c101 into a round 1?
Or is it as simple as... Run a 12v and a ground and solder it onto my engine harness?

I love to tinker with cars.. But more the mechanical parts..so sorry if I say something that ain't correct
Lol

I really hope someone can help me out here.
And please in small baby steps..😅

On e30 zone danthe had a write up thread on his m10 to m52 conversion.. But when I click it I get 404 not found..

Many thanks in advance
With kind regards
Sander

[82eye]

get a second 325i and pull what you need from that.

aside from the list you have already you'll need a 6cyl front sub, though you can make the m10 sub work with some modification, rear trailing arms, a medium case diff, 325i axles, 325i hubs, 325i rear brakes, calipers, discs, etc bunch of other stuff. the front struts and suspension will need upgrade to the larger 325i stuff for the extra weight.

[TobyB]

Agreed. The early 318 has smaller everything, from front struts to rear wheel bearings.
A rusty late 325 would be an ideal donor for everything from wiring harness to differential...

t

[Brinta]

Thank you for the quick responses🙏


Yeah before buying this car I was aware I needed all those parts.
That is like the fun part for me.
Just didn't expect the mechanical fuel pump thingy.
Guess I didn't do enough research 😅

Knew bout the rear trailing arms. Drums to disc's 51 mm struts etc

But.. Front sub is also needed?
Ok I'll look for that aswell

A late donor and I just get the whole chassis wiring harness and fit it in this one complete with c101 round plug?
Or just the fuel part?
Only thing is...the cheapest e30 here are still 6000 euro 😅

[Brinta]

Ok an update to my first post.. And solution aswell
Maybe for others aswell if they ever embark on this m10 carb journey

Thanks to DanThe from the e30zone

My car is so early... That I don't have any pre wired loom under my rear seat for an electric fuel pump

He told me to check fuse 11 at the fuse box
And if there is atleast 1 metal contact plate
.. Wich there is... Then atleast u have 1 wire going from the fusebox towards the square c101... To pin 7...wich is the fuel pump relay

So that part is ok
And I don't have to deal with that

The only thing for me to do now is :
-get an 55litre fuel tank with 1 hole
-buy an electric fuel pump with level sender
- attach 1 ground wire from electric fuel pump to the chassis
-attach 1 live wire from electric fuel pump towards the front of the car and into my fusebox in the engine bay... Underneath fuse 11...in the blanked side(no metal contact side)
-inside fusebox.. Attach a red/violet wire in the empty white plug.. And wire it to pin 7 in the c101 plug chassis side
And I'm done...


Many thanks to DanThe for the solution
This wasn't found anywhere on any forum.
Only a few had remotely the same problems.. But they all had a pre wired socket under the rear seat.. They just had to extend towards the fuel pump


The only thing that is left is.. Where should I get my ground from... Seat belt bolt good enough.. Or is that dangerous?