What would you have differently, knowing what you know now??

[e30serg]

No, I got another 89 though, this one is a zinna 325is with a ZF/OBD2 S52.

Nice! I think the 89 "is" was the best year. Ellipsoids, nice sound system with tweeters, plastic bumpers and integrated third brake light. I've pretty much made my '88 look like and '89. Got a build thread?

[dinanm3atl]

Really have enjoyed my cars. Can't think of something that I said "Wish I didn't do that". I read this forum a lot before so most of my swap was all new parts. Did new sensors, clutch, bushings and such.

[butters]

Don't buy an engine from a junkyard unless you plan on a complete rebuild.

Plan on a complete rebuild.

Buy a wrecked E36 and part it out to offset the cost.

Don't do it at all if you're "on a budget".... you better have plenty of cash flow, or else trying to skip certain things will bite you in the end.

[Mr.SWISS]

Yeah, a king's ransom indeed! Worth it though, still pretty rare. I just have to get off my ass and install it You still have your e30?

No, I got another 89 though, this one is a zinna 325is with a ZF/OBD2 S52.

[cmybimmer]

- Probably would've went with another brake booster setup..
- Not delete my heater core

[e30serg]

What would I have done differently?

• Performed a detailed inspection on every single used part that I purchased from various other people.
• Purchased brand new knock sensors (the piece of mind is worth the couple of hundred bucks)
• Double checked that the @!*^&%~!# CPS wire was routed properly and not rubbing against the water pump pulley where it would end up shorting against the block and causing 5 AAA tows and countless parts replaced trying to chase down an intermittent misfire/no start that would ONLY appear when you were at least 10 miles away from home. Argh.
• Invested the money on learning how to weld properly (custom exhausts are expensive!)
• Removed all that rubber/foam insulation on the firewall.
• Cleaned my engine bay.
• Remembered to disconnect that !~^%$~!# clutch line from the transmission before trying to pull the motor.
• Spent the extra time locating the parts that I REALLY wanted instead of going with a stop gap solution to hold me over (e.g. 3.46 diff instead of 3.73, Eisenmann exhaust instead of Magnaflow)
• Moved out of this idiotic state and lived somewhere that actually lets you modify cars.

Nice list! I went ahead and bought all new sensors. I didn't feel like chasing down sensor problems later on. The removing all the foam insulation bit is interesting. does it really get that much in the way? Can I get a ride sometime?

[e30serg]

^^+11000213!!



they seal very well in my motor. Just make sure your surfaces are nice smooth and clean... and flat. If they are distorded is not the gasket's fault. I did goop up both sides of the oil pan gasket for safety.

Hmm. I'm starting to freak out a little too. The motor's still on the stand so I just may replace all the VR gaskets. I did rebuild the engine and cleaned the hell out of everything. The ones I'm most concerned about are the front and rear crankshaft seals. Lots of stuff to take off just to replace those.

[e30serg]

Use a lift, and drop the old engine on the subframe, then put the new engine in on the subframe from the bottom.

Hey Farbin! Exactly what I'm planning to do. So much easier than going in from the top! Already have the ramps and dollies I'll need.

[e30serg]

Sweet! Even though you paid a kings ransom I wish I would have kept it now!!!


Glad to see old SN's again.

Yeah, a king's ransom indeed! Worth it though, still pretty rare. I just have to get off my ass and install it You still have your e30?

[trackjunkie21]

Victor Reinz gaskets are shit, and that's a fact. Every which one I have bought never aligned properly with the bolt/screw holes and leaked.

[Mr.SWISS]

Mr Swiss! Yup! Still got the moonroof! I was just looking at it the other day, seeing what needed to be done to get it fixed and installed. I ended up getting a Porsche booster.

Thanks everyone for your replies! Keep them coming! I'm already planning to remove the pan again and using some rtv on it. I would hate to have to remove that thing once it's on the car. I'm also replacing every gasket, seal and sensor. I rebuilt the s52 so it didn't seem right to slap on used parts back on it.

Sweet! Even though you paid a kings ransom I wish I would have kept it now!!!


Glad to see old SN's again.

[e30serg]

Mr Swiss! Yup! Still got the moonroof! I was just looking at it the other day, seeing what needed to be done to get it fixed and installed. I ended up getting a Porsche booster.

Thanks everyone for your replies! Keep them coming! I'm already planning to remove the pan again and using some rtv on it. I would hate to have to remove that thing once it's on the car. I'm also replacing every gasket, seal and sensor. I rebuilt the s52 so it didn't seem right to slap on used parts back on it.

[xwill112x]

Make sure the used parts you buy for it arent garbage...Especially the iX MC.

[gianluca1505]

hello guys
i'm Gianluca , from Italy and I made the same work on my bmw z3. I have only one problem : i don't understand the electric cable of my s50b32 engine. do you understand the maps of circular connettor of that engine ? do you know the number of PIN what are? please can you help me ? ciao gianluca

[giantkeeper]

Since this was resurrected - Only thing I wish I had done that I did not do for this project is shave and repaint the engine bay.