What can I use from an E28 535is for an M30 swap in an E30?

[Pseudonyms]

I'm getting essentially whatever I want out of an E28 535is after I help my buddy do a swap into the car. I'm curious as to what other major components I'll need after I pull everything from the E28 (he's doing a non BMW engine swap so most of the things going into the bay and back to the diff will be custom)

I'll be swapping it all into a '91 318is and i haven't managed to find much documentation on M30 swaps into non-M20 cars. If anyone has any tips on this I'd really appreciate it!

Anyways, this is what I can get out of the car

• M30B34 with B35 head (Unsure if converted to Motronic 1.3. Do you have to do that when you do the b35 head swap?)
• Entire wiring harness
• G260/6 Trans, clutch, flywheel, pressure plate, shifter linkage.
• Driveshaft from E28 535is
• ECU (not sure of the model, i’ll double check)
• full M30B34 exhaust including headers
• E28 M30B34 rad and all the hoses

Is most/all of that usable? I know I'll have to change the driveshaft by mating it with a 325 driveshaft, but I'm just curious if all of that stuff will work in a swap.

Let me know what you guys think and feel free to point me in other directions. I know I'll have to get different motor mounts for the B34 than the B35 as well, does anyone know of people still currently making/selling B34 custom mounts for swaps?

I'd appreciate any help or insight you guys can provide! I never really considered this swap until all of this stuff fell into my lap for free. My plan is eventually to turbo it as well. I'll pull everything apart and refresh it/beef it up before I do that.

Thanks!

[wildstoats]

I'll be swapping it all into a '91 318is and i haven't managed to find much documentation on M30 swaps into non-M20 cars. If anyone has any tips on this I'd really appreciate it!

I did that exact swap a couple years ago now. I kept very good notes about the wiring to go from the e28 c101/c103 to e30 c101. When I get home tonight I can do a write-up. I've been meaning to put it on the web anyway.

Anyways, this is what I can get out of the car

• M30B34 with B35 head (Unsure if converted to Motronic 1.3. Do you have to do that when you do the b35 head swap?)
• Entire wiring harness
• G260/6 Trans, clutch, flywheel, pressure plate, shifter linkage.
• Driveshaft from E28 535is
• ECU (not sure of the model, i’ll double check)
• full M30B34 exhaust including headers
• E28 M30B34 rad and all the hoses

Is most/all of that usable? I know I'll have to change the driveshaft by mating it with a 325 driveshaft, but I'm just curious if all of that stuff will work in a swap.

Those are certainly the obvious things to grab and should all be usable assuming they are in good condition. Might be worth checking the diff as well. It's probably just a common 3.25 but if it's something unique it can be swapped onto the e30 with just a diff cover replacement.

B35 Head: Are you sure it has a B35 head? That would result in very low compression. Perhaps it just has the B35 exhaust manifolds? The most obvious way to tell if it has been converted to Motronic 1.3 would be to see if it has a 60-2 toothed wheel / crank sensor on the front of the engine.

Wiring Harness: Grab the whole thing including the main, fuel pump, and o2 sensor relays.

Driveshaft: I ended up just using the stock rear half with a custom shortened front. It's be holding up well thus far.

ECU: A car from that era should have an 059 DME. If you are adventurous you could open it up and see if it has a 24-pin or 28-pin EPROM socket.

Radiator hoses: On my swap the hoses on the front of the engine all went together like usual. The water neck on the back of the head led to some interesting routing though. I'll have to get my write-up together on that as well.

Let me know what you guys think and feel free to point me in other directions. I know I'll have to get different motor mounts for the B34 than the B35 as well, does anyone know of people still currently making/selling B34 custom mounts for swaps?

I used Funk's mounts for my swap but last I heard people were having trouble dealing with him (I don't even know if he's reachable these days). The nice thing about this setup is that the sheet-metal shifter console from the e28 matches up with the e30 hole exactly.

I'm sure there are more things I'll think of as the day goes on but I need to get back to work. If you have any questions just ask away.

[Pseudonyms]

I did that exact swap a couple years ago now. I kept very good notes about the wiring to go from the e28 c101/c103 to e30 c101. When I get home tonight I can do a write-up. I've been meaning to put it on the web anyway.



Those are certainly the obvious things to grab and should all be usable assuming they are in good condition. Might be worth checking the diff as well. It's probably just a common 3.25 but if it's something unique it can be swapped onto the e30 with just a diff cover replacement.

B35 Head: Are you sure it has a B35 head? That would result in very low compression. Perhaps it just has the B35 exhaust manifolds? The most obvious way to tell if it has been converted to Motronic 1.3 would be to see if it has a 60-2 toothed wheel / crank sensor on the front of the engine.

Wiring Harness: Grab the whole thing including the main, fuel pump, and o2 sensor relays.

Driveshaft: I ended up just using the stock rear half with a custom shortened front. It's be holding up well thus far.

ECU: A car from that era should have an 059 DME. If you are adventurous you could open it up and see if it has a 24-pin or 28-pin EPROM socket.

Radiator hoses: On my swap the hoses on the front of the engine all went together like usual. The water neck on the back of the head led to some interesting routing though. I'll have to get my write-up together on that as well.



I used Funk's mounts for my swap but last I heard people were having trouble dealing with him (I don't even know if he's reachable these days). The nice thing about this setup is that the sheet-metal shifter console from the e28 matches up with the e30 hole exactly.

I'm sure there are more things I'll think of as the day goes on but I need to get back to work. If you have any questions just ask away.

Thank you for everything! Looking forward to the writeup/documentation you have. According to the previous owner of the car it has a B35 head on the B34 bottom end because it was built for a turbo in its previous life.

Know anything about the E30.de mounts? I've heard of people using them as well.

Thanks again for everything. Appreciate it.

[slammin.e28]

Thank you for everything! Looking forward to the writeup/documentation you have. According to the previous owner of the car it has a B35 head on the B34 bottom end because it was built for a turbo in its previous life.

So you are going to follow suit and add a turbo?

I hope so, because that it going to be a dog without one.

[Pseudonyms]

So you are going to follow suit and add a turbo?

I hope so, because that it going to be a dog without one.

In my OP at the end I said my plan was for a turbo. I know it'll be slow without one. Gonna get it in the car and running right, then drive it while putting together turbo bits.

[slammin.e28]

In my OP at the end I said my plan was for a turbo. I know it'll be slow without one. Gonna get it in the car and running right, then drive it while putting together turbo bits.

Shit, somehow I missed that, lol. Carry on.

[Pseudonyms]

Can anyone give me insight as to what I should do for the conversion to the M30 harness since I'm going from an M42 to an M30?
Just curious and I'm not really sure what I should do about it since most people put M30s in 325's.

[marshallnoise]

Can anyone give me insight as to what I should do for the conversion to the M30 harness since I'm going from an M42 to an M30?
Just curious and I'm not really sure what I should do about it since most people put M30s in 325's.

I will be doing this on an m10 car so it should be similar. I think as far as the harness, you just need to match up the C101 plug from both vehicles and carefully go about the wiring from the engine harness to the chasis harness.

I also think you will need a 325i cluster due to the tach. Makes no sense to get an 325eone since the rev range would not match up; but it will work. So find an "i" cluster. Best to stay with the same year (or close to it) for your vehicle. I am looking for a 1984-85 325i cluster for my 1985 318i chasis. You should find a 1988-1991 325i cluster.

Of course...I would be way wrong. It has just been my understanding that the 4 to 6 cyl swap initiates a tach swap and in our case a cluster swap. If you had been swaping to an m60, then the 318i cluster would work with a V8 signal (which reads a 4 banger tach input anyway).

[Pseudonyms]

I will be doing this on an m10 car so it should be similar. I think as far as the harness, you just need to match up the C101 plug from both vehicles and carefully go about the wiring from the engine harness to the chasis harness.

I also think you will need a 325i cluster due to the tach. Makes no sense to get an 325eone since the rev range would not match up; but it will work. So find an "i" cluster. Best to stay with the same year (or close to it) for your vehicle. I am looking for a 1984-85 325i cluster for my 1985 318i chasis. You should find a 1988-1991 325i cluster.

Of course...I would be way wrong. It has just been my understanding that the 4 to 6 cyl swap initiates a tach swap and in our case a cluster swap. If you had been swaping to an m60, then the 318i cluster would work with a V8 signal (which reads a 4 banger tach input anyway).

Thanks for the insight! I'm still searching and trying to figure out exactly what I need to do but coming up blank.

Anyone have any leads? If I were to do an M30B35 swap into an M42 car would I just use an M20 car harness? Still trying to figure out how to tackle this.