School me on the M42

[AndrewBird]

I'm contemplating swapping an M42 into my MG, but at this point, don't know much about them. They seem like a fairly decent engine and in stock form, should provide enough power to make my MG pretty fun. And if I want more power, there is always the Downing Atlanta SC kit. :evil:

But anyway, what is a good source of info on these things? I know they also came in e36's. What are the differences between e36 and e30? Is one better then the other? Any major design flaws that make them a pain in the ass?

[z31maniac]

Good luck finding the Downing Atlanta SC kit, as far as I know, it's been out of production for years.

There's a pretty good amount of info right here on this site if you'll search.

Noob.

[Dj Buttchug]

if not here try m42 club. Its dedicated only to the m42 cars.
If you end up going through with it I have a gangload of extra parts ill be letting go for cheap.

[Mike The Bavarian]

the m42 is a solid motor. some things to check for are the profile gasket, timing chains, guides, tensioner,sprockets. another thing to look at is panshift. the bolts on the oil pan are known to come lose and the pan will shift along with the gasket and the motor will suck in air and then...well. goodbye m42. They're also really picky with vaccum leaks.
the motor makes about 130hp in stock form. people have boosted them to about 15psi on stock internals. the dual mass flywheel makes the car accerlerate slower then it should. you can replace the flywheel with one from a 325 fairly easy. I'd suggest you go to m42 club. anything you need to know will be on there, like what everyone else said.

[AndrewBird]

I've done quite a bit of readying over the last few hours and think I've figured most things out. I definitely decided I want an e30 M42, not the e36 version or the M44. I read about the lighter flywheel and timing chain stuff and will rear more into that if and when I decide on this engine.

What is the average asking price on these motors? Seems like $3-600 is about right?

Since I would be putting this in my MG, I would be removing the PS and the AC and a lot of the vacuum lines, basically just cleaning up and simplifying the entire motor.

Does anyone have the overall dimensions of the engine? I'm worried about it being too tall and wide. If someone could measure from the bottom of the oil pan to the top of the motor, that would be great.

Thanks!

[Mike The Bavarian]

http://www.m42club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4284 there's some info in there, I believe

Also, $300-600 is generally asking prices for them.