Confused and needing help

[IrishBeamer]

I've just bought my first project car, my first car in fact, a 1988 E30 316i Euro Coupe.

I had plans to do a 4-5 year build which included a 5 lug conversion, e36 M3 brakes, koni and H&R suspension all to be toped off with a S50B32 swap once the rest was sorted.

The S50B32 may have to wait as today I sourced a M50B25, complete with

vanos m50
with e36 mounting arms and an e34 sump,
non ews ecu,
modified m52 manifolds,
plug in loom adapter,
clio brake servo,
used e28 m5 engine mounts
and exhaust

all for €550, which is a steal. So the plan has now changed accordingly. I'll swap this in first, build up the car and possibly Turbo it later on down the road or eventually move to a s50


This leads me onto a different set of questions, what gearbox/trans/diff combo should I use?

I think I have a Getrag 220 4-speed, possibly a 5-speed Getrag 240. I'm not sure as I still haven't collected the car or seen it in person, but I trust the seller (a great friends cousin) on the condition of the car.

Plus my friend and the seller are actually giving me use of their garage.


As for Tranny ratios, it's either 3.76 (4 speed) or 3.72 (5 speed)

I also think it has a 3.91 diff, but not 100% sure. Possibly a 4.10, 4.27 or 4.45.



What's usable and what's recommended for the weekend warrior's spirited back road driving, with the occasional track day?

[Madhatter]

none of the drivetrain in your 316i is really going to be of use. The trans won't bolt up to the M50 and the rear end will be pretty weak.

[IrishBeamer]

So what's recommended?

[Madhatter]

Not so much what is recommended, but how much is your budget?

ZF 6 speed would be easier to find in that part of the world, but would be more expensive than a getrag 260. At a minimum going to need to upgrade to the bigger 6 cylinder differential in the rear end too.

[IrishBeamer]

Ok, I've found a BMW breakers yard that's not a million miles away from me and has quite an extensive inventory.

I'm going to attempt to deal through him to see what I can get as I'll be a recurring customer if I can establish a working relationship.


The budget can be increased and decreased. It's going to be done as cheap as possible but I'm not going to sacrifice on quality of parts, just going to haggle price.

I would prefer a 5 speed to be honest but I'd take the 6 speed ZF if the price was lower.
The 260 Getrag doesn't appear to be too difficult to get here.


Would the diff out of a 325i or 325i SE E30 work?

How difficult is an E36 diff to fit?

How about E34 525 LSD?

E39 M5 LSD?

All of these parts can be sourced, I just want to know what would work best and be easiest to install before I ring and begin negotiating prices.

[IrishBeamer]

Anyone?

[Madhatter]

ZF is more expensive.

Yes. Any 6 cylinder diff is the same size.

No. Casing and cover is different. Internals can be used, but if you don't want to rebuild the diff into another housing, better off getting one from an E30 as everything will match.

More or less the same as above.

Not even close. Too big, nothing of use.

Might I suggest searching the forums sometimes? a lot of these questions will return search results from people asking similar questions.

[IrishBeamer]

ZF is more expensive.

Yes. Any 6 cylinder diff is the same size.

No. Casing and cover is different. Internals can be used, but if you don't want to rebuild the diff into another housing, better off getting one from an E30 as everything will match.

More or less the same as above.

Not even close. Too big, nothing of use.

Might I suggest searching the forums sometimes? a lot of these questions will return search results from people asking similar questions.

Thank you.

I tried searching the forums and spent quite a while reading but wasn't finding the answers to my question.

[Nisse Järnet]

Ok, I've found a BMW breakers yard that's not a million miles away from me and has quite an extensive inventory.

I'm going to attempt to deal through him to see what I can get as I'll be a recurring customer if I can establish a working relationship.


The budget can be increased and decreased. It's going to be done as cheap as possible but I'm not going to sacrifice on quality of parts, just going to haggle price.

I would prefer a 5 speed to be honest but I'd take the 6 speed ZF if the price was lower.
The 260 Getrag doesn't appear to be too difficult to get here.


Would the diff out of a 325i or 325i SE E30 work?

How difficult is an E36 diff to fit?

How about E34 525 LSD?

E39 M5 LSD?

All of these parts can be sourced, I just want to know what would work best and be easiest to install before I ring and begin negotiating prices.

I think your M40 gearbox will bolt up to the M50, but best thing would be to get a ZF 5 speed. Dont know about availability/price over there but here a theyre cheap! No problem to find one around 200-250 EUR.
A Getrag 260 from a M20 will also work.

Get a 188 E30/E36 compact/Z3 or E28 diff and it will bolt right up. 316-320 E30 use small 168 diff, same goes for 316-318 E36 compact and probably the weaker Z3 too.
Sure u can use your stock 316 diff as well but be careful with it :P
Just make sure to find the right gearing to suite the gearbox you will use.

[Poorboyz]

E36 and E34 casings are different and won't bolt up to E30s. E39s are also different and the only E39s that had LSD were M5s and they have the large 210mm casings, E30s 6 cyl and M3s had medium case 188mm diff's, 318s had small diff's.

Your best bet is to find a E30 Med case LSD or a E28 LSD. If you get E28 LSD you will need to transfer your E30 rear diff cover and output shafts then it would bolt up to your E30.

GL

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