^blacksburg!? man I miss it there
BTW, looking good. 4dr > 2dr definitely
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Nice! I just (mostly) finished a similar looking build. Red '89 four door with S52. I love it, especially the fact it's a plain old looking four door! Good luck!Leave a comment:
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Building an 85 M3 4 door
Doing a similar swap on my 85 325e 4 door
picked up a 97' s52 with Trans last year.
Look forward to following your thread.Leave a comment:
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Well Underway!
Finally made some significant progress.
Spent the last weeks pulling together all the parts needed to take the S50 from naked long block to fully functioning motor. Oh, and cleaning parts. A lot.
Since the motor had been in a tracked car, and had 120K miles, I figured I'd go at the rod bearings. Typically the first place to lose lubrication when oil pressure drops, and an pretty easy project when the engine is out of the car.
10 of 12 bearing shells were damn near perfect, and I thought I had wasted my time replacing them... until I pulled the shells on cylinder 3. Looks like the top shell wore through the coating and well into the material beneath - as seen as the bronze color at the top of the shell on the right. Doesn't look like much, but made me happy I replaced the bearings.
Got the motor buttoned up with the e34 pan, and am now in the process of plugging on all the accessories, hoses, and related business to make this log block into a fully functioning motor.
(better pics to follow)
In the meantime, I got busy with the chassis.
Pulled the M20 and trans today - nothing new here other than the pain in the ass bracket that braces the motor against the subframe - presumably to keep it form sliding forward if the mounts tear - was just tall enough to keep the hoist from working nicely. Put the motor back down, removed the offending bracket, and it came out SUPER easy. Hooray for load levelers - I can't imagine trying this without one.
"The workshop"
Shadetree Mechanic - needed more shade
Just a little leveling, and it was out!
I can see the ground!
More as it comes!Leave a comment:
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SWAP Thread: '91 325i Sedan - S50b30us
I've had 4 E30s, and I have loved the fun handling of all of them. I've had 2 E36 M3s and I loved the motors. I had an S52 M Coupe, and it was juuuust riiiiight... except it had too few doors, and too many miles.
I wanted a 4 door M Coupe with a few less pounds, and less "irreplaceable" sheet metal so I could actually park it and not worry. Trailing throttle oversteer, decent torque, and enough horsepower to get into trouble. As we all know, there is only one way to do that...
...and thus was borne the "M Crap!" The handling and motor magic of an M coupe, but at 1/10th the budget. Hopefully. Maybe. Probably not.
In any case, this will be my swap thread, with pics, details, and questions for you experienced swappers, if and when I run into issues. I've read the threads, the wiki, and this forum for months as a lurker... I think I am ready. I hope I am ready...
The high-level plan:
From the E30 - Chassis: 1991 325i sedan - 225K miles- Stock wiring harness, for the connector
- Stock late model radiator and expansion tank
- Getrag 260 from same, with White325is brace
- 3.73 LSD (already installed)
- Stock Booster (will relocate to clear manifold)
Not from the E30
- S50b30 - US
- 413 DME
- Vanos M50 harness
- e34 pan and tube and dipstick etc
- S52 exhaust manifolds, welded ports
Motor has 120K, but known maintenance history for the last 30K miles. It was tracked, and didn't have an oil pan baffle, so I plan to change the rod bearings and bolts, since I have to have the pan off anyhow. I am going to leave the rest of the motor as is, and slam it in.
Phase one begins today:
I need to put all the accessories on, clean 'er up, and get the bearings checked and measured and ordered up.
I'll keep the thread updated over time as I get things done, to help keep me motivated, and to maybe be a reference for others down the line.
The car, as it sits now:
Process pics to follow
Leave a comment: