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

[DanGillan]

Day 4: (pics at bottom)

I stripped the AC because to run it in the e30, since its the m50 compressor requires custom lines. Andy welded up the OBDII manifolds in like 3 seconds flat. i removed the o2 sensors from the manifolds and used an o2 sensor bung in their place. did maintenance items on the motor (exhaust gaskets with the manifolds, tstat and housing, plugs, belt, e36 motor mount arms, etc....) and pressure washed the engine bay one more time (its still not pretty) Got the booster in today as well as the rest of the parts i ordered, all i need is the ECU, if anyone has a non vanos ecu please PM me, thanks!!


the stripped of everything un necessary engine bay...



the junk that came out...



the new manifolds...



OBDII nice OBDI suck...





-Dan

[Bimmerfanatik]

Good luck with the harness - that thing is the cleanest, nicest harness I've seen - uncut, ready to go. Plus, it's an e36 harness, which should make the install a bit easier/cleaner.

Don't lie dan - you style your hair before leaving the house, regardless of whether or not you're working on cars - at least you've got hair to style, unlike me...

I still can't get over the low mile, e34 non-vanos m50 out of an auto touring. That's the PERFECT engine - one I had been looking for! Oh well...

Nice pics. Keep them coming. I was always convinced that if my engine shit the bed I'd go M50 in a crunch like this - I know it can be done and for relatively cheap. I do have to applaud you for that laundry list of new maintenance parts you bought - you may be doing it on a budget, but you're doing it right. Nice work man.

If you need any help, give me a shout - I'd like to check this out.

PS - rode in Alex's euro s50 touring - talk about e30 heaven... ;)

[E30_pilot]

Day 3:

OUCH!!!

Keep us updated with all the details,might be considering
doing the swap also ;)

[DanGillan]

Day 3:

Only had about an hour to work at the shop, we dismanteled the m20 and found some interesting stuff floating around in the block area... :)








I kept the oil pan, head, intake manifold and a couple other small parts to sell off and put the heart of the m20, the thing that fucked me over... the block into the dumpster, where an m20 belongs.




I also picked up the wiring harness today, and the necessary items to make the wiring adapter, and have tested all my pins and used addissimo's chart, a few things were different, but its all labeled and ready to be sodered and wrapped into a nice plug and play engine adapter. easy as pie. i just finished labeling and testing, ill put that together tomorrow, its 12:30.... i have class at 8 :(.



tomorrow the power steering comes out and gets replaced with new tie rods, lines and resovoir, all the AC components come out, cruise control comes out (stopped working a while ago, didnt use it ever anyway), and the new SPAL electric fan gets wired up :) the driveshaft will get a new guibo and center support bearing as well. i hope i can get all that done tomorrow night. ill keep updating, ill be staying busy, hope to have it running this weekend, next the latest as long as my booster's shipping doesnt hold me up :(... thanks,


-Dan

[BimmerToad]

Killer price. You'll enjoy the outcome.

[DEV0 E30]

yea, a friend hooked it up very well. and damn straight. i just got a ride in an s50 e30. i know this m50 is not enough, but once this gets running, i can buy a high mileage s50 and take my time rebuilding it while i enjoy this m50.

Perfect plan dude.

[E30-323ti]

yea, a friend hooked it up very well. and damn straight. i just got a ride in an s50 e30. i know this m50 is not enough, but once this gets running, i can buy a high mileage s50 and take my time rebuilding it while i enjoy this m50.

A non-vanos M50 is the perfect base to go FI from, nice meaty rods!!

[DanGillan]

$200? Impressive. You'll be quite happy with that motor until you can get an S50, then all hell breaks loose.

yea, a friend hooked it up very well. and damn straight. i just got a ride in an s50 e30. i know this m50 is not enough, but once this gets running, i can buy a high mileage s50 and take my time rebuilding it while i enjoy this m50.

[Ray Smoodiver]

Sweeet, looks good Dan.

[permit]

$200? Impressive. You'll be quite happy with that motor until you can get an S50, then all hell breaks loose.

[DanGillan]

Hooray for non-vanosness.

hooray for picking up a complete running m50 from e34, all accessories and wiring harness for $200. im in a rush and on a budget. swapping in an s50 will be very easy after completing this swap.


forgot to mention, ill be ditching the iron manifolds and using the modified OBDII manifolds. nothing like free:)

[DanGillan]

i did want to give up the e30, but this will rejuvinate my love for the car, and i sorta decided to keep it and fix it more this summer anyway, so im getting everything mechanical fixed during this as well. the plan is to finish this work which should leave the car in 95% perfect mechanical condition, and do body work and paint this summer when im working full time and have some money to pay for it. this will include a couple necesary body mods, then if there's any money left in the car budget, the basic modding will begin on the m50. i really do owe the m50 swap to blowing the m20 though, i wasnt planning on doing it, but i priced out both options for fixing the car, and not only was the m50 swap cheaper than fixing my m20 but also obviously a better solution in every possible way.

[permit]

Hooray for non-vanosness.

[rwh11385]

oh shit, this from someone who felt like growing out of an e30 for a jeep... (haha, i feel in the same boat... no mo fuh raze)


I know a more gutsy e30-m50 would be a fun daily, i just am too cheap to comtemplate it. forunate your engine fucking up encouraged your work

[DanGillan]

i woke up like that :) hungover and unshowered.