Hello everyone!
I realize that this is my first post on these forums, but I've been reading them for quite a while now. I've done several engine/transmission/interior/steering/suspension swaps on e39/e38/e46s, but this is my first e30 build.
My friend Jeff recently bought a 1989 325i saloon with about 187k miles and a 4 speed auto. The car was a 1-owner that lived its whole life in North Carolina. The interior was extremely nice and doesn't show a lot of wear, but the paint on the exterior has evidence that it sat outside in the southern heat for much of its life.
Jeff bought the car with ideas to do a complete custom build over time, but for now, it will start with a M54b25/320z 5-speed swap, Zionsville Quick Ratio 2 steering rack conversion, and a bit of a suspension refresh. Eventually, it will get the S54 to match his other car, a 2006 e46 M3 ZCP. The goal is to do all the prep work with the M54 so that the S54 swap will be mostly plug and play in about 5 years or so. Things like the 5 lug conversion, brake upgrades, wheels, suspension, etc. will happen over time. He is a true E30 fan and plans to make this a stunning resto-mod.
First of all, I would like to thank several people involved in just getting us some great parts packages, as well as some really great advice. Zionsville Autosport put together a package of parts for the engine and transmission conversion excluding the engine and transmission themselves, and also a quick ratio 2 steering rack conversion kit. All were spec'd for the M54 in an e30 chassis, which from what I've seen hasn't been done too often at the same time. I've seen many threads on the e36 steering rack swap and the M54 swap, but not typically together, meaning the power steering lines are different.
Jordan (from here and bimmerforums) has been very helpful with his DIY thread and general help with all things BMW. I know he's not active with e30s anymore, but his build was an inspiration.
Andrew325is supplied the plug and play wiring harness including the CAN bus controller and a few things to eventually convert it to a S54 harness when that happens. Thanks!
Tuttle Motorsports has also been very helpful in getting parts for the swap and very good advice. They're also good friends of mine :).
Our good friend Steve for lending his mechanical know-how and muscles :). You'll be seeing him in several of the pictures to come.
And we can't thank Brian (Redshift) enough for letting us use his shop to do the swap over the next few weekends. He's a truly good friend of ours and such a great guy.
So, this past weekend we started on the engine/transmission/steering swap.
Here's the car that is going under the knife:
Trust me, the inside more than makes up for the outside paint :). The body is in very good condition, other than the dings in the front right fender seen in the picture, so when it comes time for paint, it won't be a nightmare to take care of it.
Steve beginning to drain the fluids:
Driveshaft removed:
Front Control Arm Bushings have had it. New ones, along with control arms, are on order and should be here by next weekend if they didn't already arrive.
Diff is a 4.10 LSD that came with the car currently. We got a 3.25 LSD, but we may try out the 4.10 for now and see how it does. If it's keeping the revs too high on the Interstate, we'll swap it.
Almost no corrosion on the car at all, but some of the wiring is showing its age and that has led to some corrosion on them:
Here I am doing what I do best... reading the forums to see how to do stuff, LOL. We've done so many e39 S62 swaps now that we do them without looking anything up other than torque specs, but this one is all new.
Riding a bit low I think :)
We have separation:
And there you have it. End of Day 1:
Now the real fun begins. Day 2 was mostly separating the M20 from the subframe and getting the subframe cleaned and prepped for the new steering rack and eventually, the engine.
Engine and ZF rebuilt transmission sitting in a corner waiting to be sold:
Years of caked on oil had stripped the paint from the driver side of the subframe and when we removed it, we were left with bare metal.
Steve and Jeff bolting on the new e36 tie rods to the e36 rack (don't worry, they aren't struggling as much as it looks like Steve is :)):
Old engine on the right, new on the left. The M54b25 came out of my 2003 525it/5 that I swapped a M54b30/420g 6-speed into. It has 172k miles on it and has been maintained well before removal. It will need a couple of things before we install it in the car, but should last many years for Jeff if he wants it to.
A bit of paint to keep it from rusting:
And installing it back into the car after bolting up the e36 rack
We needed to move the car out of the shop during the week so Brian can use it for work, so we reinstalled the subframe and connected the steering linkage and rolled it to the driveway. She's riding a bit higher than I remember, LOL:
So, that's it for now. I'll be updating the thread over the next few weekends as we progress along. I'm sure Jeff and possibly Steve will add some input as well.
I hope you all enjoy!
I realize that this is my first post on these forums, but I've been reading them for quite a while now. I've done several engine/transmission/interior/steering/suspension swaps on e39/e38/e46s, but this is my first e30 build.
My friend Jeff recently bought a 1989 325i saloon with about 187k miles and a 4 speed auto. The car was a 1-owner that lived its whole life in North Carolina. The interior was extremely nice and doesn't show a lot of wear, but the paint on the exterior has evidence that it sat outside in the southern heat for much of its life.
Jeff bought the car with ideas to do a complete custom build over time, but for now, it will start with a M54b25/320z 5-speed swap, Zionsville Quick Ratio 2 steering rack conversion, and a bit of a suspension refresh. Eventually, it will get the S54 to match his other car, a 2006 e46 M3 ZCP. The goal is to do all the prep work with the M54 so that the S54 swap will be mostly plug and play in about 5 years or so. Things like the 5 lug conversion, brake upgrades, wheels, suspension, etc. will happen over time. He is a true E30 fan and plans to make this a stunning resto-mod.
First of all, I would like to thank several people involved in just getting us some great parts packages, as well as some really great advice. Zionsville Autosport put together a package of parts for the engine and transmission conversion excluding the engine and transmission themselves, and also a quick ratio 2 steering rack conversion kit. All were spec'd for the M54 in an e30 chassis, which from what I've seen hasn't been done too often at the same time. I've seen many threads on the e36 steering rack swap and the M54 swap, but not typically together, meaning the power steering lines are different.
Jordan (from here and bimmerforums) has been very helpful with his DIY thread and general help with all things BMW. I know he's not active with e30s anymore, but his build was an inspiration.
Andrew325is supplied the plug and play wiring harness including the CAN bus controller and a few things to eventually convert it to a S54 harness when that happens. Thanks!
Tuttle Motorsports has also been very helpful in getting parts for the swap and very good advice. They're also good friends of mine :).
Our good friend Steve for lending his mechanical know-how and muscles :). You'll be seeing him in several of the pictures to come.
And we can't thank Brian (Redshift) enough for letting us use his shop to do the swap over the next few weekends. He's a truly good friend of ours and such a great guy.
So, this past weekend we started on the engine/transmission/steering swap.
Here's the car that is going under the knife:
Trust me, the inside more than makes up for the outside paint :). The body is in very good condition, other than the dings in the front right fender seen in the picture, so when it comes time for paint, it won't be a nightmare to take care of it.
Steve beginning to drain the fluids:
Driveshaft removed:
Front Control Arm Bushings have had it. New ones, along with control arms, are on order and should be here by next weekend if they didn't already arrive.
Diff is a 4.10 LSD that came with the car currently. We got a 3.25 LSD, but we may try out the 4.10 for now and see how it does. If it's keeping the revs too high on the Interstate, we'll swap it.
Almost no corrosion on the car at all, but some of the wiring is showing its age and that has led to some corrosion on them:
Here I am doing what I do best... reading the forums to see how to do stuff, LOL. We've done so many e39 S62 swaps now that we do them without looking anything up other than torque specs, but this one is all new.
Riding a bit low I think :)
We have separation:
And there you have it. End of Day 1:
Now the real fun begins. Day 2 was mostly separating the M20 from the subframe and getting the subframe cleaned and prepped for the new steering rack and eventually, the engine.
Engine and ZF rebuilt transmission sitting in a corner waiting to be sold:
Years of caked on oil had stripped the paint from the driver side of the subframe and when we removed it, we were left with bare metal.
Steve and Jeff bolting on the new e36 tie rods to the e36 rack (don't worry, they aren't struggling as much as it looks like Steve is :)):
Old engine on the right, new on the left. The M54b25 came out of my 2003 525it/5 that I swapped a M54b30/420g 6-speed into. It has 172k miles on it and has been maintained well before removal. It will need a couple of things before we install it in the car, but should last many years for Jeff if he wants it to.
A bit of paint to keep it from rusting:
And installing it back into the car after bolting up the e36 rack
We needed to move the car out of the shop during the week so Brian can use it for work, so we reinstalled the subframe and connected the steering linkage and rolled it to the driveway. She's riding a bit higher than I remember, LOL:
So, that's it for now. I'll be updating the thread over the next few weekends as we progress along. I'm sure Jeff and possibly Steve will add some input as well.
I hope you all enjoy!
Comment