E21 S54 Swap Build

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  • Garageaholic
    Freestyle Fabricator
    • Dec 2005
    • 5204

    #1

    E21 S54 Swap Build

    So I started a 10 day build thread back in September of 2016, but for some reason all of the photos have disappeared from the original "10 day build" thread.



    Anyway for some of the newcomers, I'll recap and catch all the rest of you up with my latest status. I usually post mostly on instagram (fmacaluso82) all the latest photos daily.



    Intro: Start with bone stock 1980 E21 320i FI M10





    S54B32 101k miles from 2001 M3 w/ ZF S5D-320Z-HCH 5 Speed Trans

    Complete E30 Rear Suspension with offset TA bushings and S3.15 Medium Case, rear disc

    BMW Style 4 16x8 ET20 with 10mm spacers up front, none in rear. on 215/40/16 Sumitomo HTR

    Full GC Coilover E21 350/400 suspension with modified rear trailing arms

    80A Poly bushings all around, new bearings, brakes.

    New Windshield

    Custom length Garagistic Driveshaft

    Braum Racing Seats Pair with 4pt harnesses

    4pt roll bar

    M Tech 1 coarse steering wheel.





    Exit Criteria: Fully Functional E21 with new drivetrain, suspension. I won’t have any HVAC, no P/S, heat, No power anything. No creature comforts. Without a roll cage (yet), this will be a near race ready e21. Making custom mounts, exhaust, shifter, program ECU, harnesses…etc. All that jazz.



    Thanks to Garagistic LLC and all of their help with resources, tools, and facilities last year. I was able to get the car road worthy in 15 days!!



    Once I painted the car red with elasti-paint, I had moved back to Binghamton, NY and resumed the project.

    On to the pics! You'll see a lot of different stages since September.



































    Here's video of me driving it around PCH in Huntington. Needed to completely bleed the clutch, which is why I missed a couple gears. But whatever, I know I'm an amateur!







    Skip ahead about 4 months - Late May 2017....I ended up painting it red to help suppress any further rust that I planned to cut out, got some 16x8 Style 4 wheels, filled and redrilled, and got a decent 500 miles put on the car.



    I traveled back from SOCAL to Binghamton, NY where I currently reside and was able to pick up where I left off and get this car proper.



    Plans:

    Tucked Custom Euro bumpers

    Golf Yellow Full Repaint

    All Rust Repaired

    Fix Wiring issues and intake manifold

    Beef up the rear end Differential mount - Go with Garagistic Secondary Diff Mount for medium case diffs.

    Completely redo the dual exhaust -







    Yes, it's VERY messy but remember, I swapped this complete in 15 days!



























    Decided to stay with the AlphaN tune and cut out the stock intake trumpets and dress them up a bit. This will require an oil catch can, individual trumpet filters, and a filter on the intake of the ICV.



























    Last edited by Garageaholic; 12-31-2017, 01:52 PM.
    Recent Rebranding!!
    Visit Garageaholic for all of your E30 Swap Needs!
    E30 SM62/S62
    E30 M60 V8
    E30 M30 Big 6!




    Check out this E36 N54 Swap Build
    Instagram.com/garageaholic
    Youtube.com/garageaholic
  • Garageaholic
    Freestyle Fabricator
    • Dec 2005
    • 5204

    #2
    Got a couple youtube videos of painting it from Primer to Golf Yellow, then another taking the paint booth apart when painting my brother's Comanche.



    Recent Rebranding!!
    Visit Garageaholic for all of your E30 Swap Needs!
    E30 SM62/S62
    E30 M60 V8
    E30 M30 Big 6!




    Check out this E36 N54 Swap Build
    Instagram.com/garageaholic
    Youtube.com/garageaholic

    Comment

    • prada88m3
      Wrencher
      • Dec 2010
      • 211

      #3
      F i r e! !! ! !

      Comment

      • TimeMachinE30
        No R3VLimiter
        • Jun 2014
        • 3749

        #4
        Cool.
        ACS S3 Build / Dinan 5 E34

        Comment

        • Garageaholic
          Freestyle Fabricator
          • Dec 2005
          • 5204

          #5
          Worked more on the intake velocity stacks this weekend. Bought these things from speedmaster. Fits S54, S65, S85 and S65 intakes perfectly



















          Sanded the entire car down with 1000grit. I actually found that dry sanding the single stage U500 paint was easier than wet sanding. I plan to then sand with 2000g, then 3000g, before a 3 stage polish.



          Don't worry, lol. I did burn through a couple of times. so that sucks!

          Decided to skip to the end on a spot of the trunk just to see/feel what the end result would be. Man, it's smooth!
          Recent Rebranding!!
          Visit Garageaholic for all of your E30 Swap Needs!
          E30 SM62/S62
          E30 M60 V8
          E30 M30 Big 6!




          Check out this E36 N54 Swap Build
          Instagram.com/garageaholic
          Youtube.com/garageaholic

          Comment

          • Garageaholic
            Freestyle Fabricator
            • Dec 2005
            • 5204

            #6
            Update:
            I'm wetsanding the entire car down tonight with 2000grit, then 3000grit, then rear end rebuild ( diff rebuild, gearing change, diff mounting to body, second diff mount, inspect e30 subframe and TAs).
            If my wife doesn't go into labor this week that's the plan!


            Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
            Recent Rebranding!!
            Visit Garageaholic for all of your E30 Swap Needs!
            E30 SM62/S62
            E30 M60 V8
            E30 M30 Big 6!




            Check out this E36 N54 Swap Build
            Instagram.com/garageaholic
            Youtube.com/garageaholic

            Comment

            • Staszek
              R3VLimited
              • May 2006
              • 2533

              #7
              How do velocity stacks do vs a traditional intake? I would think the heat would be bad for the intake. Just asking because I am working on an S54 for my swap as well.
              Euro Delivery Thread///E30 Project Klaus///COTM August 2021

              Comment

              • Garageaholic
                Freestyle Fabricator
                • Dec 2005
                • 5204

                #8
                Actually to be honest I would rather have done a stock intake- but I went velocity stacks because I physically couldn't fit a stock intake! And because of that, I have to figure out what to do with an oil catch can. No big deal. Yes it will pull hot air in the intake. so i am thinking about making a custom cold air type intake later down the road.


                Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
                Recent Rebranding!!
                Visit Garageaholic for all of your E30 Swap Needs!
                E30 SM62/S62
                E30 M60 V8
                E30 M30 Big 6!




                Check out this E36 N54 Swap Build
                Instagram.com/garageaholic
                Youtube.com/garageaholic

                Comment

                • parkerbink
                  R3V OG
                  • Jun 2004
                  • 10134

                  #9
                  Cool build!

                  [IMG]https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z.com-vbulletin/550x225/80-parkerbsig_5096690e71d912ec1addc4a84e99c374685fc03 8.jpg[/IMG

                  Comment

                  • potatomash
                    Wrencher
                    • Nov 2014
                    • 203

                    #10
                    Love it


                    T U R B O - M 2 0 - B U I L D

                    M U S C C O O

                    Comment

                    • Garageaholic
                      Freestyle Fabricator
                      • Dec 2005
                      • 5204

                      #11
                      Thanks!!
                      Well as you may have gathered since my last post, I DID have a child a couple weeks ago. A Daughter! Her name is Ryann and understandably my project took a backseat for a little while. I should slowly pick up with it in a couple more weeks, so standby!!
                      6lb-8oz 20" Long
                      Ryann Avery Macaluso



                      In the meantime, I might take a few pics of my garage and some filler posts of tools that I recommend for any type of work like this on the cheap. Thanks again,
                      Recent Rebranding!!
                      Visit Garageaholic for all of your E30 Swap Needs!
                      E30 SM62/S62
                      E30 M60 V8
                      E30 M30 Big 6!




                      Check out this E36 N54 Swap Build
                      Instagram.com/garageaholic
                      Youtube.com/garageaholic

                      Comment

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