"budget" swap

[87-325ic]

First, its only a Budget where it needs to be. corners will not be cut where they should not be.

by budget i mean as inexpensively as possible.

Our swap has hit an obstacle or two from the time we got home with the engine. (first we were robbed while away and lost the funding with which to do the swap. second, the person we bought the engine from has been a little hard to get to ship the rest of the parts [manifolds, dme, maf, etc..])


Now with my friends clutch constantly slipping in his 325es, and a nice hefty s50 and trans sitting at his house. we want this done.
money is obviously a constraint now since we both live on our own and must pay rent!

Where can we get by saving a few bucks... ?

For example.

Can we actually get away with the stock brake booster? how about a small shim on the mount, and shaving the intake manifold. will this actually work, or is does it only sometimes work?


driveshaft. its an 6/86 (i think) but 8 model year 325e. it has the bigger sized guibo/ driveshaft flange.
Can we use this driveshaft instead of scoring the e30 m3 one? i dont think sleeves will hurt the bolts/ flanges. too bad will they? can i swap the output flanges b/w trannys and driveshafts?

i will be doing my best to make the harness adapter.

and so on.



Give me some insight and ideas. help us get through this.

i realize that we would like to save money and do it "right" (new everything and a rebuild and pimped out suspension) but we cant right now. my friend just wants the motor in the car and it to be drivable and reliable. then comes the goodies and extra toys.


Help! ayudame!


thanks.

[FredK]

You can usually score a Porsche 944 booster for around $25-40 on Ebay or at the junkyard. I'd do that before I try slotting the firewall to move the booster over 1/2".

Yeah, you can use the 96mm late eta driveshaft if you wish. You definitely have the right idea--just use some shims.

[e30s52]

you can shave the intake manifold for the stock brake booster to fit with a 25mm master cylender

[golde30]

correct me if im wrong, but arent the tranny output flanges different on the e36 tranny and the e30? i bought an e36 m3 guibo in hopes to use it with my e30 tranny and driveshaft and the bolt pattern is alot bigger.

[mattdk318i]

On the booster just take it out and slot the holes 1/2'' to the drivers side.(with a pencil grinder) That will do the trick and it works fine. I know because i did it and didnt have a moments problem with pedal feel or stopping power.

[kolunda]

as matt said, slot the booster, you can re-use the same MC (I did on my 318), but you will probably require a different driveshaft, depending on what model tranny you use.

[BDSax]

its definitely possible. i did it less then most people buy their motors for.

[87-325ic]

thanks for the support everyone. i was worried i was going to get laughed at and made fun of here.

Would any of you care to go a little further into details of you suggestions.

Matt, you say the stock booster and MC will work, all i have to do is slot the holes a little and shave the manifold fins?

correct me if im wrong, but arent the tranny output flanges different on the e36 tranny and the e30? i bought an e36 m3 guibo in hopes to use it with my e30 tranny and driveshaft and the bolt pattern is alot bigger.

the Eta's came with much larger ones than the I's im hoping it will work out.
anyone know for sure?


any other places i can save some money?

what about exhaust, i know thats going to cost.
Given that the seller of the motor comes through and ships the headers, then i will have the s52 headers to start with. what can i do to save a couple hundered bucks here?
decent custom pipes and like 2 mufflers?

[FredK]

Yes it will definitely work. >5/86 etas came with the larger guibo. The 325i never came with a 96mm guibo, but the >5/86 etas did.

A custom single pipe exhaust can save you some cash. Try to get the OBD-I merge pipe (the section in front of the cat) if you use stock headers.

[e30polak]

thats really up to u, if u use stock headers, u need to space the motor a little highter on the mounts to have the first downpipe clear. if u r confident in ur welding, the exhaust could be fairly cheap, run a y pipe and single 2.5" piping all the way back with a big muffler in the middle, and one with a nicer tone at the end, and u r done. mufflers range from $30 glasspacks--->$5/600 stromung, AA, etc. magnaflow sounds nice on our motors for an ok price, but i went with vibrant performance, b/c i heard it on my friend's m3 and loved it...and know i love mine! either way good luck

[z31maniac]

Spend a hundred on the clutch for now so the car is still driveable, that way you aren't super pressed for time and money to do the swap?

Just a thought.

[87-325ic]

Spend a hundred on the clutch for now so the car is still driveable, that way you aren't super pressed for time and money to do the swap?

Just a thought.

it is a good thought. but i am not the one who does the thinking. or the spending. it is a friend of mine who is doing it.

im not really positive on what the exhaust will be right now, may end up with ebay headers if the seller doesnt come through with the extra bits.

as for the DS, what sort of spacers, and where can they be found? is it just a simple metal sleeve?

so really, the only money we need to spend for real is on the cooling system, and the exhaust, and well the diff.

as for the diff, this is off topic but still related, my friend drives an eta, and the diff is something ridiculously low, like 2.14 or something. its lower than ive ever seen listed before. How bad will it run like this until i can get to the 528e in a salvage yard here?


thanks for all the help!

[FredK]

as for the DS, what sort of spacers, and where can they be found? is it just a simple metal sleeve?

Yeah, a metal sleeve (plain bearing) such as McMaster PN 6679K15 at $2.69 each should work. www.mcmaster.com

as for the diff, this is off topic but still related, my friend drives an eta, and the diff is something ridiculously low, like 2.14 or something. its lower than ive ever seen listed before. How bad will it run like this until i can get to the 528e in a salvage yard here?

Um, I think 2.79 is the lowest ratio diff out there. It would work fine.

[matt]

I actually have a set of those bushings if you need them. $10? You actually need 6 of them since the guibo is thicker than one bushing.

They work ok, but using an e36 driveshaft works better.

[87-325ic]

I actually have a set of those bushings if you need them. $10? You actually need 6 of them since the guibo is thicker than one bushing.

They work ok, but using an e36 driveshaft works better.

thanks very much for the part number. how much extra play/ slop do they leave?

and i know i can find it somewhere, but will any e36 6 cylinder driveshaft work? or do i need the e36 m3 to mate it all.


As for the lsd he has, it is seriously lower than the 2.79. i checked it and its like either 2.14 or 2.41. its LOW. its an eS so perhaps it had an even lower gearing to make up for the 5k revs???