*Updated & only kinda shitty now!* The definitive 5.0/302 swap guide

[Stvstr]

That y-pipe looks great! I have been modifying a header to fit between the block and the steering shaft, but have never welded before this.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/111877347@N03/11825500386/

[jalopi]

Lol is this guy for real? Also, does standing in front of the car and getting your pic taken count? Because all the parts would be installed or inside his car.

On a more relevant note, just finished making my Y pipe... yep, finally making a real exhaust. Fitment is a whore btw. Pics of where I stopped tonight:




Hopefully the collector I made isn't too shit/restrictive and won't hurt me too much. Thanks to eurotrash for giving me the idea for this pipe... pretty much copied his (to a degree. I made adjustments for what I thought was more efficient and would fit my car better)

[e30_302]

??? There's nothing unreasonable with those numbers. Odd thing to lie about.

[singh336]

I got all my parts on Summit, Craigslist, Glowshift, here, and Megasquirt.

Running, 61k engine. $160
Rebuilt T-5 with light flywheel, King Cobra clutch. $600
Megasquirt V2, DIY assembled with wiring harness. $450
Summit Orders (Basically all the odds and ends) $1000
Gauges. I have 5 at the moment. $390
540 Brake booster. $100
Driveshaft. This ate me the worst aside from the trans. $500
Trips to hardware store. I managed to spend 200 in HARDWARE. Just to point out its the little things that can eat you...


I still need some more work on it (proper pedal box), but it's coming together pretty well.

i bet a million dollars you ordered none of that, take a picture with you standing in front of all those parts.

thats what i thought.

[e30_302]

I'll see how it goes with the 2.93. I want to avoid 5th as much as possible as it's a 0.63 gear. For what I do the less shifting, the better.

[eurotrash]

I had all 3. I ran either 215/40 or 215/45/17 on the rear. 3.73 was the best all around. 4.10 was fun but even with a 306 carbed setup running to 7k. I was out of hear quick. Was fun to be able to stab the throttle in 3rd and break um loose tho. My next setup will be 3.73. 2.93 wasn't slow but wasn't was much fun. For a track car i'd try sourcing a 3.15 or 3.26. I had a drift car so i wanted to be able to break things loose. I think the low 3s would be a good mix of acc. And top end. That said even with the. 4.10 the fifth in mu t5 was long so i was cruising at 60 at 2600 so for a fun cruiser the 4.10 is still fine.

[e30_302]

need moar info

What do you want to know?

[ramielman]

need moar info

[e30_302]

Let me suggest not putting the 2.93 in there, try finding a 3.73 - that's what I swapped from/to in my car. IMO the car was a turd with the 2.93... well maybe not a turd, but it's much better with the 3.73. I imagine the 4.10 is way too aggressive for our cars though... I don't know what tires you're running, but my kumho asc 205's light up pretty easily with the 3.73, I'm sure it's insane with the 4.10.

Well I don't use 1st or 2nd on the track. I wasn't even using 3rd with the 4.10 except for restarts. With a 3.73 I'm shifting out of 4th at 92 MPH (5,000 RPM rev limit)...no good. A 2.93 will take me to 118 in 4th @ 5,000, and down to 60 at 2,500.

[jalopi]

Let me suggest not putting the 2.93 in there, try finding a 3.73 - that's what I swapped from/to in my car. IMO the car was a turd with the 2.93... well maybe not a turd, but it's much better with the 3.73. I imagine the 4.10 is way too aggressive for our cars though... I don't know what tires you're running, but my kumho asc 205's light up pretty easily with the 3.73, I'm sure it's insane with the 4.10.

[e30_302]

wow. really depends how far you wanna go with this swap.
i really do want to build one, so keep up the good tips.
thanks guys

It's pretty fun. A stripped out E30 with a V8 screams. Ford V8's sound glorious. I've only done one Lemons event with my car so far, and with the 4.10 rear it's quite the change from the M20 Eta. The 4.10 is terrible on the track though, I was having to go into 5th way too early. I'm going to a 2.93 which should suit it much better, 4th will take me to 120mph and I'll actually get to use 3rd.

The swap requires a certain level of mechanical ability. It's not a weekend project- far from it. If you don't have that ability/tools/work space and have to pay someone to do parts of the swap for you, you're looking at raising the cost significantly. If you can't weld/have a welder, I wouldn't attempt it- but that's just me. We did a fair amount of custom fab work and made looks a purposefully low priority. The attention the car gets and the compliments were well worth the many days of cussing and wanting to set the car on fire.

*edit* Since you live in FL simplify things and go carb'd if you do it. You won't have to worry about cold starts and you'll save yourself having to worry about the wiring of the EFI stuff. You'll pick up a few HP with a carb and setup right throttle response is instantaneos. Plus something about a carbureted pushrod V8 in a BMW is bad ass.

[brahbarian]

wow. really depends how far you wanna go with this swap.
i really do want to build one, so keep up the good tips.
thanks guys

[eurotrash]

$1,000 for pedal, MC, etc? What all are you using?

Here's what I've done:

Massive booster delete: $175
Master Cylinder: $75
T5 Hydro conversion: $165
Clutch line: $40
Throttle Pedal + Cable: $100

=$515

So yeah, $1,000 is probably unrealistic. I guess I'm in denial on how much I've spent and don't like to think about it too hard.

Pedals $225

https://m.summitracing.com/parts/wil-340-11299

Mc x 3 $200

http://m.summitracing.com/parts/wil-260-3376

Slave setup $160

http://dazed.home.bresnan.net/test#3

Garagistic pedal box $175

http://store.garagistic.com/ocart/bmw-e30-parts/bmw-motor-swap/e30-boosterless-brake-setup

Plus clutch line , shipping and any extras you add like the bias adj shit it comes to about $1000. You could do it cheaper but nothing lines up proper that way and u have to mess around with getting the throttle cable to work. The pedal box is designed to work with the stock throttle shit.

[jalopi]

You'd be surprised at how well these things do r3v when they've got a nice set of heads on them + a cam... mine seems to do so reasonably anyway.

Also, Nick, do you not have a Fastenall around you? I needed a ton of bolts & nuts & whatever for my swap and I know I spent way less than $100, probably less than $50. Basically they really only sell fasteners. Unless you meant something else by hardware.

In any case, just as an example, I think I got all my oil pan, valve cover and intake mani bolts from them for under $5. This included washers for all of em.

[e30_302]

You can get an aluminum Ford driveshaft on ebay for $100. Cost me $60 to have it cut down and u-joints installed. Another $100 for an adapter flange for the diff (jasthatrun.com) and the cost of the u-joints and you've got an indestructible aluminum driveshaft for under $300.

You hit the nail on the head about the little things that nickle and dime you to death.