Thinking about a S38 now... Prices?

[george graves]

Why do I keep reading about S38's needing rebuilds..

No one is saying they all need to be rebuilt - but just like the s14, 200k on that motor is a lot. And when you do have to rebuild it....

The motor re-build will cost me $8-10k

That's the rub. Awesome motor, but the least bang for the buck IMHO. M60 is where it's at.

[Alpina]

to those concerned,,

if anyone is thinking.. and making his own judge WHY my motor is rebuilt..

the answer is simply,,my own mistake

the engine was running on ALPHA-N,, and i opened the airflow ,,, way to much ,, so one day flatout close to topspeed,, 5million cubicfeet of smoke appered in my rearmirror

and after opening the engine.. 2 pistons had meltet

[digger]

unless its an S38B38 why waste time with one, the S50B32 and S54B32 are better engines and more plentiful. forget about the M60 it does have enough power for the effort IMO

[7800-RPM]

4 or 6 cylinders FTW

[golde30]

s54 territory... best bang for the buck, 6spd readily available...

[E30 Wagen]

I'm actually getting more interested in a M54B30 swap. I'm starting to care more about saving weight and keeping the car balanced as well as it fitting easily under the hood. With a 6 speed I think it would be great fun in an e30 and I bet pretty fuel efficient. It's not all about power but I'd like to find a cheap one to rebuild with some performance parts to at least surpass s50/52 power and torque. That would be relatively expensive but in the long run still less than a s54 pulled from a likely abused m3. The condition of the s54 in this video scares me about them:



The period-correctness and power of the s38 has a strong appeal, but I agree the insane cost and fitment problems just doesn't make sense.

[DesertBMW]

I'm actually getting more interested in a M54B30 swap. I'm starting to care more about saving weight and keeping the car balanced as well as it fitting easily under the hood. With a 6 speed I think it would be great fun in an e30 and I bet pretty fuel efficient. It's not all about power but I'd like to find a cheap one to rebuild with some performance parts to at least surpass s50/52 power and torque. .

When you put down all of the options on a paper and you average everything out, the M54B30 is what tops the list. Reason:

1: weights similar to M20
2: it makes same power as S52
3: it has a torque curve similar to V8, starts early and stays flat
4: they are cheaper than S52 now
5: more of them out there, ones from 5 series are less abused
6: easy fit, similar effort as M50 to fit one.
7: electronics and wiring, easy now that I figured out the MS43
8: looks clean and modern inside the E30 bay

Here is mine, I am working on a swap writeup.

[AwakenNoMore]

^ Is it just me or is there quite a bit of room between that intake and the brake booster? If so then that's awesome.

[Jb325is]

I paid $1500 for a similar high mileage S38B35 and the G280. The motor re-build will cost me $8-10k and the transmission rebuild $3k (if I can find someone to do it + parts). I believe now that if I were looking to put a ///Motorsports 6 in an e30 I'd upgrade to a more recent ///M set that didn't need a build.

Do you have a parts/labor breakdown? I keep seeing quotes like this, I've been putting together a parts list for my s38 and it's just not adding up to all of the astronomical rebuild prices I always see. Are you replacing everything in the head or something? I'm about to do a bottom end only rebuild on mine, with CP 12:1 pistons and some other small upgraded parts from VAC and I'm at $2300, including machine work.

[Roland H]

S38s can be rebuilt cheaper than $8000 as long as there was no major mechanical failure and it's just a tired engine. The S38 listed in the OP probably doesn't need a rebuild, but it will definitely need to be resealed and readjusted for sure.

I think I'm $3500 or so into rebuilding mine which includes parts labor and machining. I reused the old pistons, rods, etc. Just new rings, bearings, gaskets, valve guides, seals, timing chain and tensioner stuff, etc etc etc.

I also have a set of motor mounts that will bolt an S38 into an E30 if anyone is interested:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=285504