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Vintage N52 Swap

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    Vintage N52 Swap

    So, although I’m updating my build thread at the same time, I figured people looking for N52 swap specific stuff might be interested too.

    For anyone who doesn’t know, I’m the guy with the rebodied E30. So, from a swap perspective it’s the same as anyone else doing the swap. There’ll just be some things I do different cause, well…….. I am sort of weird. Haha






    I’ve modified pretty much everything else on this car and I was prepping it to sell, but then I thought “it really needs more power”. So when I was hanging out at a friend’s shop I asked what was the swap to do. The M5X stuff has been to death, I can’t afford S54 and I’d really like to have the actual swap be relatively quick. The car itself sat for years before I did the chassis swap and I really like that it is available when I want to take it out and cruise. Having it offline for months at a time wouldn’t be good.

    They told me the N52 is the new cool swap and parts are still plentiful. As a matter of fact, they have already accumulated a lot of the parts to do a swap (including the development SendCutSend oil pan). So we struck a deal. I grabbed the parts they had and took it to a buddy’s shop and took over a corner.

    What I got:

    -N52 Engine
    -N52 X3 wire harness
    -S54 headers
    -Stock N52 headers
    -Custom oil pan, pickup tube, dipstick
    -Z4 engine arms
    -IVM module
    -N52 DME
    -Electronic pedal and pigtail plug





    Here’s the thing, the body is vintage and I don’t want to just drop in a new engine with the surfboard plastic engine cover. On the other hand, I like new tech and as I go, you’ll see that I’m sort of a paradox on some stuff. So, my recommendation is to just roll with it.

    I started a list of stuff to order to refresh some maintenance stuff on the engine, and while I’m waiting I came up with a vintage looking color for the block.






    While I was doing that, I also swapped out the plastic valve cover for an aluminum one that I wrinkle black coated (I also shaved some nubs and bumps) and I swapped the plastic “Mickey mouse” fitting for an aluminum one that I welded an AN fitting to so I could keep that tight to the front of the block. I braided AN line, so I will be using a lot of that. Lastly, I replaced the oil filter housing and welded a bung to add an E30 temp sensor for the gauges.


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    #2
    Reading up I saw that [mention]hoveringuy[/mention] did the S54 header swap and a set came with the parts package. The only thing I did different, was that I used the N52 stock manifold flanges and stub tubes.






    I Cerakoted them in titanium colored air cure. While I was doing that I had the oil pan powdercoated.






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    Last edited by adam.nonis; 04-22-2024, 07:51 AM.

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      #3
      Reading up it seems the N54 intake clears the stock brake booster, makes peak HP numbers and lets the engine rev, but doesn't make torque down low and puts the throttle body in a weird angle. The dual DISA manifold makes more torque down low, but doesn't clear the booster and doesn't rev out as much. I cut open the stock intake to take a peek and noticed that the runners are already sort of “trumpet” like.






      So, being a fabricator, I thought, “maybe I could make a plenum that would clear the booster and put the throttle body in a more advantageous position (at least for me). Only some dyno testing later will tell what the performance is, but maybe if it lands somewhere in the middle it would be cool.

      So I started to build a plug out of MDF that has decent volume (but not too big) and “seemed” like it would have good flow characteristics.








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        #4
        Next is making the mold for the plenum. This part is always so time consuming and I have undiagnosed ADD, so it's not going to be perfect.











        Some other things I did was to make an oil cap cap to try and make it more vintage looking.





        Also working on a coil pack cover that'll not be so big and bulky.




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          #5
          Wow, that airbox fab is incredible! Nice work!!

          What are your plans for making the wiring look more presentable for the valvetronic motor and sensor?

          Rippin' Proper | Youtube | Vimeo |

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            #6
            Whoa, that plug / mold, excellent work!

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              #7
              Originally posted by craz azn View Post
              Wow, that airbox fab is incredible! Nice work!!

              What are your plans for making the wiring look more presentable for the valvetronic motor and sensor?
              So, haven't finalized anything for the valvetronic just yet, but I will will be pillaging some rope to use as harness loom. You can buy colored rope in different sizes on Amazon, pull the core out and use it as a “sheath”.






              I like the sort of steampunk style that lends itself to this type of build. So I might just run the wires through soft copper tubing.


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                #8
                Looking good. That intake looks awesome!

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                  #9
                  Did I see this on Larry Chen's channel?

                  88' Seta 2.7i Zinno

                  https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/for...430-my-88-seta

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                    #10
                    Very Nice

                    88' Seta 2.7i Zinno

                    https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/for...430-my-88-seta

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                      #11
                      Originally posted by It's Soda Not Pop View Post
                      Did I see this on Larry Chen's channel?
                      Not that I'm aware of.


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                        #12
                        Originally posted by adam.nonis View Post

                        Not that I'm aware of.


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                        there is another guy with a volvo that's been swapped similar this one.

                        88' Seta 2.7i Zinno

                        https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/for...430-my-88-seta

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                          #13
                          Step one. Trimmed fresh out of the mold. Showing throttle body placement.







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                            #14
                            Plenum halves joined. Test fit. Now to the beautification process.







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                              #15
                              Nice work, you could probably sell those as an e30 fitment manifold. Curious how power output compares without the 3 stage intake.
                              318iS Track Rat :nice: www.drive4corners.com
                              '86 325iX 3.1 Stroker Turbo '86 S38B36 325

                              No one makes this car anymore. The government won't allow them, normal people won't buy them. So it's up to us: the freaks, the weirdos, the informed. To buy them, to appreciate them, and most importantly, to drive them.

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