crazy swaps - general question

[weaksauce]

a turbo kit, tuned and running will be miles cheaper than the cheapest swap to get it just as reliable.

that being said, i am about to start up a project to swap a ls1 into a e36.....

i was going to do an e30, but the e36 shell fell into my lap....

[LowR3V'in]

Bare bones low power turbo setup will be at least $1,500 us.
A mix of china and lucky ebay/craigslist finds.

I can do a junkyard m50/m30 and more with that kind of money.

[Wh33lhop]

Did you seriously just call a cheap turbo kit reliable?

[george graves]

Those cheap turbo kits are very reliable once you replace all the parts?

[Jean]

Hell yeah! Throw an American boat anchor at it! Or you could sell your e30 and pick up a Camaro.

Dumbass.

[weaksauce]

Bare bones low power turbo setup will be at least $1,500 us.
A mix of china and lucky ebay/craigslist finds.

I can do a junkyard m50/m30 and more with that kind of money.

theres the rub. YOU can, but from the sounds of the oiginal post, this guy might want to stick with bolting on parts for his first endevor.

The motor mounts alone ar $300 to buy. then you have a M30 or M50 from a wrecking yard. Another $250
you won't just drop it in without freshening it up, right? So spend another $300 on gaskets etc
so you're at $850 before you buy a driveshaft or a transmission, oh wait, you want software for that thing too? Theres another $150. motor mount bushings? $40, radiator $75

see where i'm going? I cheap swap is still not cheap unless you buy a donor car and sell the shell when you're done.

[JoeyBones]

not that i've looked into EVERY detail of an m50/m52/s50/52 swap, but can you not use the tranny from that car too? I bet you could bargain a yard into including the ECU/harness and possibly lowering price to combine with the transmission... at least when i bought it all from one guy with my honda he was happy to negotiate to get the full sale.

[LowR3V'in]

Either way getting it turbocharged just for the sake of making 1psi
is going to be much much more expensive then a m50/m30.

A turbo manifold costs about the same as the motor or more.
is 666 the only guy who sells m42 manifolds? They cost more then the car.

Stock clutch to save on money? They were at least $300 last I looked
I think you are leaving out allot of things in your calculations.

you won't just drop it in without freshening it up, right?

You won't just drop it in without freshening it up, right? :o

My first setup cost about $1,500. Ultra cheap, everything ebayed,
welding and bead rolling at home, stock clutch, fmu. 5psi was the limit. (180hp?)