My M52TU Swap

[Lawson509]

Its got the 2.8L in it

[Lawson509]

I have begun to wire in the LCM into the car and get the lights working. The headlights are wired in and it is pretty cool. I can flip my lights on one at a time through the computer. The tail lights have to be ran through the e46 brake light switch, so I will be wiring in that switch and mounting it tomorrow. The reasoning for the e46 switch being that it is a 4 wire switch which is resistance based and not on/off based. It runs a monitoring system through the DME that looks for a high resistance in the switch when off, not an open circuit. I also bought the AUX fan control module for the e46 since the fan is pulse width modulated to allow the DME to control the fan on its own settings. I got it wired in, but for some reason I am not getting any signal from the DME to turn it on. Could be something wrong with my wiring. Going to have to check that out.

Here are some photos of the differences in LCMs, brake light switches (the e46 switch doesn't have its bracket around it, hence its smaller), and the AUX fan controller.

[smitmk5]

love this build and the detail going into it. keep up the good work buddy!

[zxert]

Great work. Subscribed.

[Lawson509]

I ran a whole new set of wires to the trunk to operate the tail lights with the new LCM. Reason being, that the e46 runs individual wires for basically everything whereas the e30 tends to run a single wire off a fuse, through a controller and check relay, and a splice to the separate lights. Luckily I was able tuck the the new bundle in with stock wires running to back.

[Lawson509]

Something else I was working on was starting to tie up all loose ends with the wiring and get a new interior into my car. I absolutely hate tan interiors, which I have been stuck with on my car since I bought it. The tan interior that I had was crapy condition as is. A buddy of mine had a silver e30 sedan with black interior. He sold me: door cards, carpet, rear seat, rear deck, kick panels, left tail light, and leather shift boot all for $160. Not a bad price. Anyway we pulled it out a couple days ago and I pulled an all nighter tucking wires cleaning the inside of the car and swapping interior all while trying to help another friend build his 3" exhaust on his Alltrac. Got it all in though after fighting the carpet in and out. Got my new Procar seats in and they look great. I also blacked out my grills for fun.

[ahriley91]

I want to see this thing in person right meow.

[Lawson509]

When I started this build I was expecting to go to the NW e30 picnic, but I got tossed a really good job offer and I am moving to Redondo Beach at the end of this month. I won't be able to meet all you fellow North Westerners like I was hoping to. Another bummer is that I have only three weeks till this car has to be able to drive 1200 miles straight... :(

[Dozyproductions]

I drove from San Luis Obispo to the picnic in 08'. You'll be fine ;)

[Leo_328i]

When I started this build I was expecting to go to the NW e30 picnic, but I got tossed a really good job offer and I am moving to Redondo Beach at the end of this month. I won't be able to meet all you fellow North Westerners like I was hoping to. Another bummer is that I have only three weeks till this car has to be able to drive 1200 miles straight... :(

Congratulations on your new job! People should always seek to hire R3Vlimited forum posters due to their resourcefulness, creativity and practical approach.

[Lawson509]

Haha well thanks. The job is with Scat Enterprises. Maybe I can use them as a resource for putting together parts for my eventual turbo setup... :)

[Mr.SWISS]

I think it is worth the extra effort. First off, how many people actually have an OBDII e30 swap? hardly anyone. Second, I will have essentially two motors with keeping the dual Vanos and get an awesome power curve plus I will always pass emissions. Third, I will have traction control, which in the northwest is a must in the snow. I also will be able to turn it on and off at will. The main reasons I went OBDII is because it is a good challenge, a great learning opportunity, and nobody really has one.

Everyone has their opinions when it comes to swaps, I just think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

To me that makes it all worth it. I tore my hair out on my m44->M52 Z3 swap tying the 2 systems together. But I would rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. ;)

[Lawson509]

Interior mods

Hey guys. So I have been putting my interior together and at the beginning of my thread I started posting on a conversion of my instrument cluster. I haven't really touched it since I last posted about it. I started again and have made some progress. Here is what I started with and what I have so far. I will finish it tomorrow.







I also have been working on some gauge setups. I bought some plastic gauge pod cutouts from some guys off the forum. I can't remember the name of the company, maybe someone out there has better memory than me. Just like the instrument cluster I have been using Fusor 143 plastic epoxy and Fusor 114 "bondo" to shape the plastic and came out with this for my fuel pressure gauge, oil pressure and temp.

[Lawson509]

Other things I have been working on today were wrapping my headers and getting my A/C compressor in. The headers were a bitch to wrap while in the car. Even with a lift, I still had to take off the right side engine mount arm to get at them. They didn't turn out as nice looking as I would like, but I hope to turbo not to far from now, so I am shooting for functionality rather than looks.

[AirplaneBuilder]

Awesome Build, i would never have the patience (or skill) to do such a swap! what did you use to wrap the headers and what are the advantages?