First time swap

[speedhop]

After much duress I finally decided to jump into the e30 crowd...this will be my first e30 (I pick her up this weekend, 1990 325is black/black). I have been wanting one for the past 2 and a half years but decded now was a good time.

Anywho...enough of personal add.

I have been planning on what I will do with m extra waffleswaffleswaffles and one of priorities is making it go, faster...much faster (along with stopping and turning). I have been reading threads on e30tech, bf.com and here like it's my job, sucking up all the knowledge I can before I do anything.

I have goals of 300+bhp on daily driver. I love the low end torque and the reliability of the NA but don't have the means to do a m50/52 swap and I want to do it myself (i live in an apartment).

Questions/Decision/Explanation time:

If it were you, would you turbo it and forfeit reliability or would you bribe some poor soul to help you do the swap?
I can turbo now...and rebuild the engine later. Or I can put shiny engine in now and turbo later. Or I can never turbo and be happy with NA.

Furthermore, does anyone have any experience with salvage/junk yards or dismantlers in the LA area? Where did you get your engine?

Please excuse the ridiculous questioning. I know there are lotsa n00b questions floating around. I pride myself on not asking dumb questions but fuck it.

ANY help is much accepted and appreciated. TIA

-Ryan

[So Live]

If you dont have the workspace turbo the m20. if you dont haave the know-how to design and build a proper turbo kit, do the m50/52.

[B3M2W5]

I would say 300+bhp daily driver NA M50 or M52 is pushing it a little. You wouldnt need lots of extra add ons and by the time your done with that and you have put the money in to tires, wheels and suspension! You would be better off just starting with an S50 or S52 and going from there. Your going to start with much more power and be able to ad greatly to that power and with some really good parts and achive around 300 hp NA.
Plus the S5X's are the way to go i wish i would have found one but Im working with an M50 Vanos and once you do a chip, intake and exhaust theres really not much to do after that unless you want to tear it down and cam it or stroke it.

[speedhop]

I would say 300+bhp daily driver NA M50 or M52 is pushing it a little. You wouldnt need lots of extra add ons and by the time your done with that and you have put the money in to tires, wheels and suspension! You would be better off just starting with an S50 or S52 and going from there. Your going to start with much more power and be able to ad greatly to that power and with some really good parts and achive around 300 hp NA.
Plus the S5X's are the way to go i wish i would have found one but Im working with an M50 Vanos and once you do a chip, intake and exhaust theres really not much to do after that unless you want to tear it down and cam it or stroke it.

I say 300+bhp after I turbo the m50/52. I appreciate the input...i know it's difficult to squeeze xtra hp out of the NA.

For reliabilities sake I would go with the swap...but like I said unless I bribe someone with no how and garage space it seems a little too "difficult" unless anyone has any bright ideas!

[B3M2W5]

Bright Ideas, nope havent one of those for a while. The last time i had a bright idea was when i bought this engine and look how that turned out, hahahaha. Its not bad if you have a garage if you dont just buy one that already has a swap and go from there haha.

[speedhop]

i've been checkin craigslist and evilbay for m52 (the engine I want)...not a ton of luck. Any other suggestions on where to find some cheap good engines...those two words are never in the same sentence

[atomic]

it would also be cheaper to get 300whp out of a m50/s50 m52/s52 than getting it out of a m20. Doing a turbo is way more expensive than the motor swap and alot more complicated as well. That is, the only other way that can net you close to that with a m20 is to juice it then you will have problems soon enough that way as well since the motors were not made for that much juice without serious mods to the engine and drivetrain. So......... I will tell you a buddy of mine had a 150 shot(wet) on a stock m20 and it worked for about 2 weeks before sending all the internals everywhere !!!!!!!!!! Good luck with you endeavors......

[madjurgen]

funkmasta

[PiercedE30]

i have 2 m52's and an m54 at work..........muhuhaha....lol
all taken out of vehicles, sitting in the warehouse. one of the m52's has 16000 miles on it and one has 50,000. we have a m54 that JUST came in yesterday that has like 30,000 on it.........long story behind that car, such a shame.

[speedhop]

i have 2 m52's and an m54 at work..........muhuhaha....lol
all taken out of vehicles, sitting in the warehouse. one of the m52's has 16000 miles on it and one has 50,000. we have a m54 that JUST came in yesterday that has like 30,000 on it.........long story behind that car, such a shame.

it's like the christmas i always dreamed of!!

16k mi and 50k mi...more info kind sir...

i think i'll just have to start this whole process of swappy goodness:pimp:

[croatan]

Try this, http://car-part.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi

[speedhop]

This is the FIRST time I've done/will be doing a swap (swap cherry popped). I conned a buddy into letting me use his garage!

Is it highly recommended that someone who has done swap/rebuild do this with me? I have always fixed my previous cars on my own...within reason. I will have everything needed to pull the engine, no welding capabilities...not that i'd need it.

Whatever the case...it's either I do it or I spend big bucks on having mechanic or shop do it and I want the experience.

What have people spent on labor cost? (i'm waiting for quote from Andre)

Should I do it alone, bugging everyone on here with all of my "n00b" questions? I found the DIY on the m50 swap but is there anything more comprehensive?
OR
Should I pay mechanic to do it?

I would REALLY appreciate some input from those who did the swap on there own, which I know from reading is almost everyone here!! HELP!!!

Sorry for all of the ridiculous questions.
Thanks a bunch!

[FredK]

It should take around 25 hours of labor. Any custom work or maintenance will add to the total labor cost. I think people have paid between $1500 to $2500 in labor costs.

Prior to my first engine swap, the most difficult job I had ever tackled was to change the clutch in an E36. Ya gotta start somewhere! Anyway, I learned A LOT doing my first swap.

I think it would really help if you had a buddy that has already done this swap to look over your shoulder, that way you can get the project done in a few weekends max, and not lose motivation partway through.

Good luck with whichever route you choose!

You will probably need a welder or someone to weld in reinforcement plates on the front subframe. It is made of thin sheetmetal (relatively speaking) and the mounting holes are known to crack if the car is driven hard. Turner Motorsport sells the reinforcement plates fairly cheap, so it's probably a good idea to install these things.

[smonkbmw]

I have a s52 cammed m52 swap. I wanted 300hp also. I can tell you this though. If you havent drove this small/light of a car with that much power you should wait on making numbers of what kind of power you want/expect. My car makes more than enough power to get me in trouble. Also it is fast enough to deal with all the turbo hondas that are popping up in the area. Get yourself a m52, drop it in however you can, get yourself suspension etc. Then just learn how to drive. Youll understand what i mean better after all that :)

[speedhop]

I have a s52 cammed m52 swap. I wanted 300hp also. I can tell you this though. If you havent drove this small/light of a car with that much power you should wait on making numbers of what kind of power you want/expect. My car makes more than enough power to get me in trouble. Also it is fast enough to deal with all the turbo hondas that are popping up in the area. Get yourself a m52, drop it in however you can, get yourself suspension etc. Then just learn how to drive. Youll understand what i mean better after all that :)

If you don't mind me asking...how long did it take you and how much did you spend? Sounds like a sweet setup :up: