Another E30 M30 Swap Thread, this time with an 84 318i

[glnr13]

A half inch is a lot of space to make for the m30 haha

I'm running the e28 rad and supposedly position 3. Could be 2 but I ordered position 3 so I'm unsure. I only have 3mm clearance between the radiator and distributor.

[the imitator]

There was a guy on a separate site that had a few pictures of his removable core support, dont think its legal, but dang would sure make working on an e30 easier.
I went with an e36 m3 unit, its a half inch thicker, and I'm using position 3, it will be a squeeze, possibly a small grind but she should work! Once I go wasted spark, my distributor delete plate will open up tons more room too.

I understand their isnt a NEED for a bigger radiator, but the options are funky.

A. buy a used e28 radiator in unknown condition aside from cosmetic looks, who knows what kind of stop leak/acid water/portland reservoir filthy deposit/green goo shit, that wants to ruin my day.

B. Buy a brand new OEM unit for $150 plus shipping and still have plastic reservoirs.

C. spend an extra 50 bucks for a lifetime warranty and a modern day product.

I feel I did the logical thing.. lol spend that $$$!@#$%^:dot:

It's funny you posted about the radiator. I have a new core support ready to go in the car and I got to thinking about cutting it up to put in a 16" X 26" Griffen radiator.

Which Mishimoto did you get? The E28 one?

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[marshallnoise]

Im getting more and more excited, have a couple more items on the way too, 2.7 Lock to lock z3 steering rack, and a piece of shiny scrap metal from mishimoto ;)

It's funny you posted about the radiator. I have a new core support ready to go in the car and I got to thinking about cutting it up to put in a 16" X 26" (ignore this) Griffen radiator.

Which Mishimoto did you get? The E28 one?

Edit: I took more measurements and it looks like the better fitting one would be 15.5" x 22" x 3" for an LS3. Should cool the shit out of the m30.

[the imitator]

So sexy.

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Im getting more and more excited, have a couple more items on the way too, 2.7 Lock to lock z3 steering rack, and a piece of shiny scrap metal from mishimoto ;)

[marshallnoise]

So sexy.

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[the imitator]

To the point where I need to button up some very minor suspension items, adjust the ebrake, bleed the brakes, throw in a diff etc.

I decided to go with a 3.73 with the g265.. should be interesting, I havent really checked final drive ratio, if anyone can Chime in here that would be awesome! The g265 gets new seals, and a g260 output flange swap.
After I drop that package into the engine bay, I will purchase an e36 325i drive shaft as I need a longer front shaft to fit on my Z3 back half.

My wiring harness will be cake, its already done for me, I just need to a c101 plug to replace the square unit in my early model and we are a few plugs away from plug n play.

upon further inspection it also appears I'll need to drill and grommet a fresh hole on the passenger side of the engine bay, in order to feed the 0 gauge wiring to the trunk, On my e30, There is no provision for the relocation kit as found on other models.

Some rust to deal with too, a portion of the driverside floorboard, and a 3X7 inch area on the passenger side firewall behind the battery.

that should be all

[the imitator]

Camera was dead most the time, More parts are up, and everything fits.







yippy

[the imitator]

Minor updates.

We have the suspension up and floating, some minor buttoning up to do; Get the diff in, E-brake cables, rear and front brakes. The rear subframe was a hassle!! but we managed, and the front went it like butter,very few bolts to organize/track down.

Wiring is coming up soon, battery relocation, prepping the c101, Perhaps run a late model cluster with oil level sensor.

Here's the front up with the ground controls and new poly offset CABs.
I ca officially say this early model now has a 51mm strut conversion, and rear disc brake conversion. yippy?









The rear end wasn't AS smooth going in, the rear subframe fitting from a 1999 to a 1984 took some bad words, we didnt have a lot of give since I am using condor subframe mounts, so it took teamwork.

Here's a small video that shows the effort it takes to install the condor rear subframe mounts


Running brake lines before installing subframe


Making sure we are ready for the next procedure..

Confirmed.

[the imitator]

I'm very close to getting to such a part in my swap, I wouldn't mind running the early model style, but I also like the idea of using the late model and setting up the oil level sensor.

So I had to jimmy rig a puller for the trailing are bushings, which worked great, and the poly ones from Ireland engineering went in with little effort; They key was to press in the poly bits by hand, and then use a clamp with a washer and press the metal sleeve in, make sure to apply a lot along the metal sleeve, and the poly itself and the inside race of the trailing arm.





Also got the stock units pressed out using a 3 toothed puller, PB blaster, some cussing and a bit of beer and we had them out, the reason why they are together like that is for leverage when pressing the old suckers out.



New ones went in smooth with a tiny bit of soap and water, I pressed them in by hand and rubber mallet them in the rest of the way.

[glnr13]

well at least you're stocked up with your possible solutions.

i'm running the original m10 318i cluster. gas gauge works, temp gauge only works with the m10 temp sensor, and i haven't spliced the black wire in the glove yet so no tach/econometer. to be honest i don't even know which one is the right one to cut on the car side but i'm going to toy with that this weekend and figure out a more secure way to keep the ecu locked in since right now it's just in the glove box.

[the imitator]

Not yet! I'm getting close, I'm about to post up pics of pressed in bushings, we should be finishing up fairly soon.

I dont know what im doing yet, I have a motometer, and VDO late model cluster, and the early model one in my car.
Not sure which one I want to use either.

[glnr13]

are you up and running yet? just curious if you kept your cluster or are you dropping in a 6cyl cluster.

nice build, sub'd.

[the imitator]

I dont even want an auto vs manual discussion in my thread hahaha, we can make a new thread for that.

New rtabs pressed in, and about to pull the bushings out of my control arms

[LowR3V'in]

As old as these cars are do you think there's an automatic vs manual dyno out there?
stock vs stock just to see how much power the autos eat up.
We all know they like to completely fail with just a touch over stock power.

[the imitator]

I'll be honest I have no clue, there's a thread under mine that has such info.

here's a link

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=262721

Alright, I have a question about an m30 swap. I've found a completely rebuilt m30 for 250 bucks from one of my buddies with wiring harness and ecu to drop in my e30. The only problem is if like to keep my car automatic for the time being but I have no idea what steps I need to take to complete the tranny. What do I need to get as far as auto transmission and wiring and what work will I be doing wiring wise?