Hello guys, first off I am new to the forums and technically new to E30s. Although I have been a car enthusiast for my whole life, most of my cars revolved around VWs, Audis, and some Nissans and Fords that my dad had.
I recently purchased my first BMW E30 325is '89 model coupe. The car is very clean but the only little big problem is that for some reason they swapped out the engine for a 2.7ETA.
Frustration kicked in pretty hard but thanks to my good buddy Klug, I noticed that not all is lost.
So the head was recently rebuilt but obviously I quickly learned that its useless for power. I verified compression and it seems like piston #5 has some hurt rings. Compression across all pistons was between 180-185 but piston 5 was 130 (dry), did a shot of oil and it went right up to 180-190 so that confirms piston rings.
I got myself an i head and i technically have everything from the top end of an i engine that I need and I also have an original M20b25 long block but the engine had the oil pan blown off so the main bearings and crank we toast. The block it self doesnt look bad at all. I also have the rods and pistons out of the 2.5i engine and they all look pretty good when it comes to the pistons but I would need to verify the rod conditions with a machine shop and see if they are usable.
So my question is, I have a couple of options:
Option 1: Swap out piston rings on the 2.7ETA bottom end and do a whole overhaul of seals and everything on that engine and just slap on all the top i head and just run it like that?
Option 2: Use the ETA engine block internals (Crank or rods or pistons if needed depending on the "ideal" combination) and just use all the i top end parts. Ideally use the best parts of what I have from both engines and build a stroker?
Option 3: Use one of the two blocks and have them cleaned at a machine shop, get new main bearings and use the ETA crank, which of the two rods would be my best bet to use per length? And get aftermarket pistons? Use all the i head parts.
Any suggestions?
I recently purchased my first BMW E30 325is '89 model coupe. The car is very clean but the only little big problem is that for some reason they swapped out the engine for a 2.7ETA.
Frustration kicked in pretty hard but thanks to my good buddy Klug, I noticed that not all is lost.
So the head was recently rebuilt but obviously I quickly learned that its useless for power. I verified compression and it seems like piston #5 has some hurt rings. Compression across all pistons was between 180-185 but piston 5 was 130 (dry), did a shot of oil and it went right up to 180-190 so that confirms piston rings.
I got myself an i head and i technically have everything from the top end of an i engine that I need and I also have an original M20b25 long block but the engine had the oil pan blown off so the main bearings and crank we toast. The block it self doesnt look bad at all. I also have the rods and pistons out of the 2.5i engine and they all look pretty good when it comes to the pistons but I would need to verify the rod conditions with a machine shop and see if they are usable.
So my question is, I have a couple of options:
Option 1: Swap out piston rings on the 2.7ETA bottom end and do a whole overhaul of seals and everything on that engine and just slap on all the top i head and just run it like that?
Option 2: Use the ETA engine block internals (Crank or rods or pistons if needed depending on the "ideal" combination) and just use all the i top end parts. Ideally use the best parts of what I have from both engines and build a stroker?
Option 3: Use one of the two blocks and have them cleaned at a machine shop, get new main bearings and use the ETA crank, which of the two rods would be my best bet to use per length? And get aftermarket pistons? Use all the i head parts.
Any suggestions?
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