my m50 swap in progress... pics (no 56k)

[DanGillan]

no way 1k. not to do it even somewhat "right" some things along the way that you dont expect you'll need. maybe if you do your own exhaust and dont replace anything, just drop in a complete motor, do the bare essentials and weld up your own exhaust it may be possible, but that's hack and not a way i would reccomend doing it becuase you'll end up doing more work later anyway, but it will be harder becuase the motor will be in the car already. its worth spending the money, enough to do it right, but not more than you really need.

more than that... i payed $120 for a harness, and looks like a DME will cost me $200ish. DME is killing my fucking budget.

im taking the exhaust to a shop. its quicker and easier and not much more expensive, i'll probably bring them the cat and have them bend an exhaust with the cat put in.

[FredK]

Yes you could do a welfare swap for less than 1K. Some of the things might be suspect though. The gaskets don't go bad that easy, especially on lower mileage engines. You might need to change the valve cover gasket and rear main seal, but that's about it. Everything else is just maintenance parts like Dan already replaced.

If you had a welder you could do your own exhaust on the cheap. But otherwise this will cost quite a bit.

I guess the key is to get a complete as possible engine, otherwise you'll screw yourself buying everything separately. A harness and DME run around $200 - 250 by their lonesome.

[DanGillan]

nope. gaskets are pretty new. i bought the motor complete with a new head 10k ago, so no point taking the motor apart, i did new exhaust manifold gaskets, thermostat and housing with gaskets, plugs, belt, new coolant hoses, new intake manifold vent valve hose, new intake elbow, new e36 motor mount arms, new pilot bearing, and that's about it as far as motor maintenance, the whole motor only has 90k on it, and its non vanos so its solid as a rock, should last me a while.

yea the exhaust will be the most expensive part of the swap in my case, except the new parts order fromt the shop of course.

[SchnellerVert]

Getting to point of where it can be done for that. The most expensive part is probably exhaust and clutch stuff followed by new gaskets all the way around. You did add all new gaskets correct?

[DanGillan]

Fuck, every day i go to work in the morning, class in the afternoon and then work on the car at night, and pick up parts during my lunch break or late nights, this is one hell of a job to source and get all these parts as fast as im also doing the swap, and keeping up with all the work. its going quick and its worth the hard work. i started to grow out of my car, it wasnt exciting anymore, but after all this maintenance work and the motor swap the car should feel better than ever and i cant fucking wait to drive it.

[DanGillan]

wont be under a G, but still cheap

[SchnellerVert]

Car payments suck ass. Engine swaps for under a G rule, with added bonus of a newer and aftermarket parts supply.

[FredK]

Ya, I figured I might have to do something like that.

[Jarvis]

I guess I have a thumb up my ass because I still need to get a EWS delete chip

Just find the right wire in the harness, and cut it. Same effect as a delete-chip.

[FredK]

I think the AC requires one custom line and a hose from a 318is or something. Probably a good idea if you're gonna use the car for a little while before you go S50.

[FredK]

That's a lot of progress in just a few days!

I guess I have a thumb up my ass because I still need to get a EWS delete chip, and pretty much all of the swap parts except the oil pan. Haha.

[DanGillan]

they still fit from everything i've seen we put them on the e30 m3 24v and they cleared, you thinking they wont clear on my car?

that's awesome about your AC, frankly im slightly jealous, how did you run yours?

[permit]

OBD-II ones have a longer down pipe...it almost hits the subframe on e30s.

I stripped the AC because to run it in the e30, since its the m50 compressor requires custom lines.

Score, I still remain one of like, four people in the world with A/C on a 24v e30.

[DanGillan]

i know i cant wait to drive the car at this point. it wont keep me satisfied long. s50 is already breathing down my neck.

mani's are the same dimensions, just stainless steel tubular welded instead of cast iron, they weigh a little more than half of what the iron ones do, probably just about half the weight.

[325Projectz]

:up:

You're going to love that non-vanos with a fresh head! Especially with the 4:10.

How much lighter are those OBDII exhaust mani's compared to the OBDI's? Same dimensions?