What would you do with this?

[Bimmerfanatik]

So it's official - the car is in my posession. Now I have to decide what I should do with the M50 in it.

First option - swap it into my beater, wail the hell out of it, rebuild later.

Second option - rebuild now, put it in my euro when it's finally finished.

If I rebuild, I want to do something better than stock, but not crazy. I know the block and head are the same for the M/S's, so I was considering sourcing S50/52 internals and building it that way. I'd rather do that than use custom pieces.

What's everyone's take? With such high mileage, I couldn't just swap it in as is for any long term period of time. But, I could throw it in until the fall, when the car comes off the road for winter. Either way, I gotta decide what to build it with. But it seems all I'll be retaining from the engine itself is the block and head.

[Addissimo]

If the engine runs and the compression checks out, throw it in your beater for now... get an idea of what you're doing, then pull it during the winter and rebuild and re-swap into your euro. The second time around should be a lot cleaner.

-Addis

[permit]

I say rebuild it now. Then save up for a turbo down the road :twisted:

I guess swap the intake cam-->exhaust and buy a new intake, that would suffice, some new software as well.

Edit: and a light weight flywheel.

[joshh]

No point in rebuilding it if the thing is in good shape.

[Bimmerfanatik]

No point in rebuilding it if the thing is in good shape.

Cept for the high mileage....but I may run it to get all the bugs worked out with the swap, then yank it and rebuild.

[Brew]

I'd rebuild it. You're going to spend at least $1000 on other parts necessary for the swap, so you might as well have a good motor. There are a few great options with the non-vanos m50, here's a great thread on bimmerforums with some very informative posts: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...ge=2&pp=25

[Bimmerfanatik]

I'd rebuild it. You're going to spend at least $1000 on other parts necessary for the swap, so you might as well have a good motor. There are a few great options with the non-vanos m50, here's a great thread on bimmerforums with some very informative posts: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...ge=2&pp=25

Thanks for the link Brew. Besides the motor, wiring harness, ecu, motor mount arms, radiator (which is brand new, btw), what else do I need to pick up? I want to slap this together as cheap as possible - it doesn't have to be perfect - merely a test bed. The exhaust I know I have to get fabbed, but besides that, the e34 pan (which someone I think is tradingh for the cruise system out of this car), the driveshaft I need (still gotta get a solid answer on that) and some other parts, I should be good. We'll call this the "budget M50." By no means perfect - but it'll work. Help me out guys.

Brew, you used the 260 - did you use your driveshaft? I'm trying to "simplify this", so don't flame or tell me to read the massive thread. Just the bare minimums to get it going.

[Brew]

I'd rebuild it. You're going to spend at least $1000 on other parts necessary for the swap, so you might as well have a good motor. There are a few great options with the non-vanos m50, here's a great thread on bimmerforums with some very informative posts: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...ge=2&pp=25

Thanks for the link Brew. Besides the motor, wiring harness, ecu, motor mount arms, radiator (which is brand new, btw), what else do I need to pick up? I want to slap this together as cheap as possible - it doesn't have to be perfect - merely a test bed. The exhaust I know I have to get fabbed, but besides that, the e34 pan (which someone I think is tradingh for the cruise system out of this car), the driveshaft I need (still gotta get a solid answer on that) and some other parts, I should be good. We'll call this the "budget M50." By no means perfect - but it'll work. Help me out guys.

Brew, you used the 260 - did you use your driveshaft? I'm trying to "simplify this", so don't flame or tell me to read the massive thread. Just the bare minimums to get it going.

READ THE THREAD BITCH!

With that out of the way, yes- I used my stock driveshaft. You'll need to fabricate a transmission mount bracket, too. You are also going to need a brake booster. I'm using the e21 piece with a shortened shaft and it works fine, but others use an ix booster with a remote resevoir. E28 535 motor mounts, e36 motor mount arms, e36 throttle cable, e34m50 dipstick.

And I'm sure you know this, but you should definitely do some maintenance on the M50 while its out of the car- water pump, thermostat, belts, coolant hoses, etc. Also make sure you check the oil pump nut, as they have a nasty tendency to back off.

[ColdAccord]

clutterbucker has a lot of ish for the m50 swap. he was about to do it but it fell through. pm him

[Bimmerfanatik]

READ THE THREAD BITCH!

With that out of the way, yes- I used my stock driveshaft. You'll need to fabricate a transmission mount bracket, too. You are also going to need a brake booster. I'm using the e21 piece with a shortened shaft and it works fine, but others use an ix booster with a remote resevoir. E28 535 motor mounts, e36 motor mount arms, e36 throttle cable, e34m50 dipstick.

And I'm sure you know this, but you should definitely do some maintenance on the M50 while its out of the car- water pump, thermostat, belts, coolant hoses, etc. Also make sure you check the oil pump nut, as they have a nasty tendency to back off.

I DID READ THE THREAD BITCH - COMPLETELY - TWICE! :)

Cool, the stock driveshaft for the 87 es should work as well I assume? I'll have to see what you did about the tranny mounting bracket. I'll prob grab the e21 booster. Got the e36 motor arms, need the e28 mounts, got the throttle cable, and need the dipstick. I'll send clutterbucker a message :)

Definitely all up on the maintenance shit - I'll replace all that stuff on the engine stand. I did remember reading about the oil pump nut, but I appreciate the reminder - it's good to reiterate something like that ;)

I know this is a fairly involved swap, but simplifying it is working out ok. That short list you threw out is what I was looking for Brew. Once I get it in and running I can finish up the small stuff.

One last time: I KNOW THIS IS NOT AN "EASY" SWAP - I'm merely simplifying it for the purposes of tossing it in the beater. I just know someone is gonna flame me and go off about how I can't just slap this together and it takes time and planning and blah blah blah. I'm not new to engine swaps, and I've done my homework.