M30b35 rebuilt and installed at last

[talltorontoguy]

I've been working on this one for quite awhile and got sidetracked with moving back to Toronto in the middle of it. Engine was fully torn down and rebuilt with new bearings, rings, all gaskets & seals, rebuilt head. I used ireland engineering urethane engine and tranny mounts. I ordered mount arms from england which were a less expensive copy of the e30.de ones. The engine sits in position III. Mated to getrag 265 from E34. I used an E30 325e driveshaft without having to modify.

Also did an E30m3 5 lug conversion and an Mcoupe rack swap at same time. Thought I'd post a few pics. Final engine result needs a little tidy up including movement of power steering reservoir. Other than that it runs great, lots of torque, and the new rack spices things up.


Donor Car, 89 E34 5 speed. Crashed literally right outside my door so I bought it on the spot.






My E30 Engine bay "pre swap" complete with rusty battery tray, an M20, and a LOT of cosmoline.



Engine, tranny, subframe, and suspension removed



M30 Torn down and being rebuilt




Battery tray replaced, engine bay prepped and painted





Various parts sandblasted



Lightweight M5 flywheel next to standard issue M30 dual mass ... big difference



Engine about ready to go in



Engine in... woo hoo! Lots of wiring to do...



Wiring done and car back together...









And the finished product with the 5 lug swap (ignore bra, use it when I drive long distance on highway to avoid stone chips).



All done just in time for winter in Canada... sigh.

I'm refurbing a set of staggered style 5's (the ones in my avatar) for the car in time for next season.

A lot of people helped me on this build. Thanks to Bruno, Mike, "turbo Dave", and Tony especially. You know who you are.

Also thanks to a lot of people on this board for all their help, parts, and information!

It was a fun project...

Rod

[Shaheenem]

Awesome man!

Really clean install!

[Doughnut]

Nice work, with instalation of the e34 air box, how did you mount him in there? or do you just have it sitting there?

I've got a e34 air box laying around And I want to know the best way to mount it.

Clean install, great work!!!

[Doughnut]

Repost sorry.

[george graves]

Applause

[talltorontoguy]

Thanks for the comments. It was a lot of work and literally took months working on and off, but every part was degreased (I bought a tank) and cleaned / polished / painted as I went along. I ran out of time for some of the detail work on top of valve cover and side of intake, but I can do that later.

For the E34 airbox, I had to move the coil from its normal location to a spot on the strut housing. You can see it (it's an E34 coil) near the battery. The airbox just sits there for now, however I'm planning to make a bracket that connects up to the original coil location. For the inlet tube to the airbox it's just sitting behind headlight, I plan to make a hole in the splash sheild and poke it through it.

Just FYI, the E34 factory airbox (when installed right) is as good or better than a CAI.

Rod

[De //m3]

Great Motivation! I drop my m30 in tomorrow. Very Clean Install too, everything fits together well.

[speedhop]

Great looking install!

[kronus]

Nice! Cleanest M30 swap I've seen yet :D

You should put on the Style 5's from the e34 you bought.. I love those wheels.

[funcrew]

Donor Car, 89 E34 5 speed. Crashed literally right outside my door so I bought it on the spot.

I admire both your business acumen and your sense of style - nicely done!

[Funkmasta]

Rod, that looks REALLY nice, congrats!

The trans you are using should be a 260/6? Can you verify? I am not fully up to date on the specs of the Canadian models...

And Joseph, the intake box does not weigh much, so a couple flimsy brackets are enough to hold it in place. The shape of the box fits the contour of the E30 perfectly.

[talltorontoguy]

Joe - I think you're right. Nothing to do with Canadian vs US spec... I messed up on the tranny models.

Funny story on the donor car... the donor crashed at the intersection in front of a condo I was living in at the time. I was on my way home quite late at night and was about to pull in the parking garage when I noticed the police lights. Drove over and parked on the side, the driver was in the back of cruiser, the car was in the middle of the intersection surrounded by tow trucks. So I went right out in the middle of the street and walked around it and checked it out, how much damage etc and "woo hoo!" 5 speed.

Waited for the guy to get out of the cruiser, walked up to him and made an offer and he accepted. Worked out well! I have no shame... lol

For the Style 5's, I have a black E34 with staggered 17" style 5's on it from (I think) a 635. I'm going to use those wheels on the vert.

Thanks for the comments guys.

R

[xlr8rbob]

great inspiration for me to get mine done already.

well done sir.

[Doughnut]

Just FYI, the E34 factory airbox (when installed right) is as good or better than a CAI.

Rod

Yes, I was going to run a pod style air filter but the exhaust manifold is right there/ too close. My e34 air box has heat shielding on it too!

And Joseph, the intake box does not weigh much, so a couple flimsy brackets are enough to hold it in place. The shape of the box fits the contour of the E30 perfectly.

Cool, I'm going to put it in as soon as I get mine back from the exhaust shop.

Rod, what have you done for exhaust? did you chop up the e34's system to make it work??

[talltorontoguy]

I used the E34 exhaust downpipes but they were a pain in the ass. A local shop (friend) did the fabrication for me. In my case we had to separate the 2 downpipes so they could be angled correctly to clear the E30.de engine mount brackets and the floor of the car. Welded an O2 sensor bung into the downpipe. The downpipes hook up to the stock E30 exhaust. Will be changing that but had to get the car on the road.