1987 325e sedan M30B35 swap

[tschultz]

Your dad has some of his throwing star covers on in the wrong direction.

I haven't heard good things about VR gaskets in general, especially headgaskets...

You have gone through a lot of work to refresh this car with a great attention to detail. When will you refresh the interior and suspension bits?

[CorvallisBMW]

Glad it was an easy fix!

[lukeADE335i]

Have never seen a gasket crack like that - maybe over tightening the manifold? Or just some dud gasket material?

[st.petebiodiesel]

For the past month or so my cars idle has been a little less then smooth. Every few seconds it shudders and shakes the entire car.
Last weekend my brother and I B35 swapped his 635csi and I was amazed at how smooth his resealed junkyard motor ran.
My first thought was maybe my cam timing was off. So I checked it today.
Still clean under the valve cover after 5k miles.



I made sure the balancer was at TDC and the cam gear dowel was in the lower R/H corner.(which is kinda hard to see with just the valve cover removed)
The top bolt was dead in the center of the head indicating that the timing was spot on.

Then I started putting everything back together and noticed a cracked intake manifold gasket, eureka!

Why after only 5k miles did this gasket crack? I used a Victor Reinz upper and lower gasket set, which at the time I thought was a reputable brand. Perhaps I should of used some gasket sealer as well.
At least I know what my problem is and it is a relatively easy fix.

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[wworm]

oof. Thats a beaut

[st.petebiodiesel]

One of the 3 LKQs near Tampa, for some reason has been on a e28 buying spree. (Usually it's mostly e46s and a few e36s)
I couldn't help myself and I happily found another M30 G260/6 with a flywheel.



For those of you not counting I now have 2 g260 transmissions and flywheels, even though my G240 is still holding up great behind my M30 ( I think stock tires help with that). It is nice to have extra driveline components when embarking on forced induction in the near future.

A bit of a side tangent, I took my Father's euro M635csi to my first cars & coffee.

The car is a 1985 M6 in a special order paint to sample by BMW petrol blue ( a Porsche color) only one in the world.

This is the car that got me into cars when I was a kid. My Dad bought this car when I was 5. I learned to drive stick in this car. The chassis has over 400k on it, but miles don't really matter to us. We rebuilt the M88/3 when I was a senior in high school and has since accumulated 55k.
I'm really tempted to find a S38 or a M88 for my e30, they just sound so awesome.


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[CorvallisBMW]

Not sure about reverse-mounting the m106 manifold to make it top-mount (have to consider the WG too), but bottom-mount definitely fits. Just need to fab a custom motor mount arm to clear the snail.

[lukeADE335i]

Nice work. Good simple solution :)

[st.petebiodiesel]

Check out my M106 Turbo manifold adapter. It adapts the K27 flange to just a regular T3 flange.



I tapped the holes for the 3/8”-16 studs, next I’ll weld the studs permanently to the plate and grind both surface flat.
I also have to grind out the outlet to a smooth transition from the circle to the rectangle T3 flange.
I am really happy I made the M106 manifold work without having to find a K27 turbo.
The M106 manifold can be installed upside down in a top mount configuration. Which is what I would prefer, but space constraints might only allow for it to be mounted as a bottom mount.



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[st.petebiodiesel]

I bought some 3”x5” 3/8” steel plates to try to fabricate an adapter.

The X’s will be countersunk fasteners.

Trying to figure out what Turbo to run. Leaning towards a HX35 or a H1C.

I want something that is not internally gated, since I’ll be using the the M106 wastegate port for an external wastegate.
My goal is only 350 whp so a smaller Turbo without an intercooler.


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[st.petebiodiesel]

Not sure why you were heavily criticised there - you just pointed out that some of the delete kits are expensive for what they are?! Props to you for sorting out your own path (which is basically what hot rodders do traditionally!) Did your plate ever crack as some seemed to think it might?


Looking forward to seeing a turbo strapped onto the side of your M30 sometime soon :D

There is zero chance of that plate cracking, it’s through bolted to the steel pedal bracket behind the firewall. Only one of the bolts for the master cylinder is just through the aluminum plate but it has a huge washer on the nut side to distribute the load.

I bought a cheap T3 flange off eBay to try and figure out how to make a adapter for my M106 manifold.

Thinking this maybe?

Using one existing K27 flange hole and drilling and tapping 3 new holes for studs.
Obviously I would route out the manifolds circular outlet to better match the T3 flange.

Or maybe I’ll get a T4 flange and see if it fits better.


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[lukeADE335i]

Not sure why you were heavily criticised there - you just pointed out that some of the delete kits are expensive for what they are?! Props to you for sorting out your own path (which is basically what hot rodders do traditionally!) Did your plate ever crack as some seemed to think it might?

I think if I ever go the V8 swap, I'd just run Ergen Motorsports' mini-booster setup under the dash - that one is far from cheap, but is a bolt in fit. I have been having evil thoughts about an M70 swap!

Looking forward to seeing a turbo strapped onto the side of your M30 sometime soon :D

[st.petebiodiesel]

Anymore info on that master cylinder? the e12/e24 booster needed to go away on my turbo m30 to flip the throttle body. I am using an e30 booster, but this would be even better! thanks!

I would not recommend going boosterless unless you absolutely have to. Yes it is a very effective braking system, but only delete your booster if absolutely necessary. (Like a V8 swap.)
For stock brakes use a 17mm master cylinder from a 1975 VW Rabbit.
For larger brakes use a 19mm master cylinder from a 87 Porsche Carrera without ABS.
Here is my heavily criticized thread.

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=361146

Take what you want from this thread, but my friend with a M62 e30 and same brake setup made a panic stop at over 80mph when someone pulled out in front of him and saved it. He did flat spot the tires (ABS delete) but he avoided a accident.


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[JDUTHIE24]

Anymore info on that master cylinder? the e12/e24 booster needed to go away on my turbo m30 to flip the throttle body. I am using an e30 booster, but this would be even better! thanks!

[wworm]

Cool.
I like your style very much. Seems like you know what you're doing. I've got a good friend who lives in st pete and if I ever get out there I'd love to come check this one out.