GRINDING OUT SOME NEW UPDATES!!! for now
Lets face it, the original post was kind of shit. It was basically "blah blah fuck the e30v8 dot com guys because they're ghetto". Guess I was just pissed off at the time. Still true though. Anyway... let's start revising shit
BASIC INFO ABOUT THE SWAP, AKA A REVIEW OF LE 'MURICUN BMW:
Unless you have experience with very fast cars, even a stock 302 swap will not bore you. If you've never owned a v8 car you will be blown away by the amount of low end torque. Remember that episode of top gear where they put a corvette in 5th just to see what speed it could hit by the end of their runway? And they were like 'jeesus this corvette zed oh six has a fuckton of torque'? Yep, it's like that. You do put a little bit of weight on the front end, but I could still easily do 45 on those "25 mph" offramps with a little bit of wiggle room left. Used to do 50 with the m20 in there, but I was also five years younger at the time and way more reckless. With heads, the 5.0 is surprisingly rev happy. When everything's said and done, your car can also be this cool
GENERAL DO'S / ACTUAL GUIDE DELIVERED:
ENGINE:
Try to find a 302 as new as possible. I think anything made before '81 will use a 28oz imbalance flywheel and balancer. This is nice, as in theory they will rev up faster. On the other hand, they're becoming less common and most of those are setup for a two piece rear main, which you don't want if you like your oil inside of your engine/pan. Anything made before 1985 will require linkbar-style lifters if you want rollers.
They're nice since the chances of spinning a lifter and wiping out a cam lobe will be quite low, but on the other hand they're expensive as fuck.
Try to get something out of an explorer. You'll gain roughly 2" of clearance between the water pump snout and the radiator with the explorer accessory drive. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of this... but here's what it'll look like if you use the e30v8 mounts and a mishimoto z3m radiator
Be sure to get a set of better valve springs if you get an explorer engine, as they're made out of goop and will let your valves float easily.
Your oil pan must be sourced from an older, front-sumped mustang. Originally a five quart pan, you'll need to hack it down to roughly four quarts to get it to fit around the steering rack/subframe.
If you're using an old 302 (like what would come with this pan) you can ignore my advice about the dipstick, as those have provisions for one in the timing cover. If you're using a 302 with a dipstick hole on the side of the block, you need to weld a dipstick bung/tube to the front sump. No other way of going about it.
On the subject of pans, if you even have the most remote idea of tracking the car YOU NEED A BAFFLE FOR THE PAN!!!!! Just remember, you've cut the pan down to four quarts. A windage tray + accusump would be a good idea too. Dry sumping would be ideal for something like this, but from what I've seen there just isn't enough room in the engine bay for the gilmer/HTD pulley without putting the radiator in the trunk. e30_302 is trying to figure out a way around this, maybe he'll be able to provide some insight once he's done
TRANS:
There are plenty of options when it comes to the trans on these swaps. Imma focus on the manual trannies though.
If the most you plan on doing to your 302 is headers/cam/intake/heads, then you can stick with a T5 if you're not going too crazy. For track use and/or more power, get a TKO. http://www.rosehillperformanceparts.com/ has a great bracket for a Datsun hydraulic slave. You'll want to get an auto trans mount though the 5spd mounts are too tall and will cause bad driveshaft angles
Some guides will have you buy a wilwood pedal/master/slave combo for the clutch. Do not do this. There isn't enough room on the firewall and you will end up with clutch/brake pedals that are basically kissing. I'm gonna recommend the pedal box option from garagistic.com - get their adapter and a wilwood/tilton pedal set. It will be slightly more expensive than the previously mentioned combo + e34 remote booster or massive booster delete but will function much better with this swap.
COOLING:
Good luck with this one. With street driving, the stock e30 radiator will surprisingly do just fine (except on very hot days). Get the biggest fucking radiator you can fit if you plan on tracking the car though, you WILL need it. An oil cooler will also be necessary. You will want to choose your radiator based off of how long your water pump is and what dimensions you want. However, what I can tell you is that you don't want the radiator cap on the side of the thermostat. There's a bunch of theory I don't feel like explaining, because carpal tunnel, but here's a link:
Basically, you're gonna want a radiator where a hose goes from the thermostat to the upper passenger side of the radiator. The lower half of the radiator will have the neck on the drivers' side and the cap will also go on the drivers' side. This will help you avoid overheating issues and having a ridiculous hose setup.
Also, get a SPAL fan. They definitely push more air than the generic fans out there.
If you bend the heater core pipes just right, you'll also be able to avoid cutting them. There IS enough room back there to hook hoses up to, it's just a very tight squeeze.
DRIVETRAIN/REAR END:
The necessary trans yoke can be purchased just about anywhere. The driveshaft flange, on the other hand, needs to be acquired from www.jagsthatrun.com. The stock BMW u-joints are not serviceable and are smaller than the JTR units. In total, expect to pay roughly $300 for the driveshaft after parts & having it made
As far as the diff goes, you're gonna wanna get a second diff mount. I personally broke mine on the cover (top half of the ear broke off). Garrett, I believe, is still selling them. Either that or you can convert to an e36-style diff cover, like what Vorshlag did
Axles... well, if you beat on it long enough (or are making alot of power) you're eventually gonna wanna get some upgraded axles. I have no idea what the CA tuned axles are good for, or if they're actually any good, but they're the only alternative option I know of vs the Drive Shaft Shop ones. Before you drop $1k on DSS axles, keep in mind that I've met several people at the track who've broken DSS axles and they're way under the "max" power rating. Might be worth it to just keep spare OE axles handy.
EXHAUST:
This is another shitshow. You can either buy a set of headers and flip them backwards (if you put a passenger side header on the drivers' side you don't have to touch the steering shaft), run the exhaust under the control arms like a "U", make a "Y" pipe and exit on the passenger side, use a passenger side header on the passenger side and merge the two pipes past the control arms OR shoot both the regular way. Doing this will require a custom header on the drivers' side as well as a Flaming River u-joint kit to replace the steering shaft. Oh yeah, and on the subject of steering shafts, DON'T use two e46 shafts as a "budget" replacement for the Flaming River ones. Not only are they really not that cheap, but what people don't seem to say about splicing two e46 steering shafts together is that each "section" of the shaft is ever so slightly tapered. what does this mean? when you go to put the two halfs together, the "support" piece you use in the middle has some play... alot of play. i believe mine had roughly a 1-2mm gap on each side of the tube.
Aside from that, the only way to remove this steering shaft is to take the rack down, which is very impractical. With the flaming river setup you can unbolt the actual shaft from the u-joints and move it out of the way, which makes running the shaft through a set of custom headers that much more practical.
Treehouse racing style control arm lollipops are recommended as they offer exceptional exhaust clearance vs the OE lollipops. I have heard stories about THR being run by unsavory characters, so I'll mention that bimmerworld sells (what appears to be anyway) identical parts for a cheaper price.
FUELING CHOICE:
Do you have EFI stuff? Good for you. Don't have EFI stuff, feel like spending money for the EFI stuff AND keeping the car off the track (except drag)? Use an edelbrock carb. They're stupid easy to tune and hold the tune reasonably well. They do have flooding/starving issues on track though, so if this is primarily a track car do an EFI setup. Unfortunately I really don't have any good advice about doing an EFI setup though. I plan on doing a megasquirt on my next car though
That's all I've got for now. Let me know if there's anything you wanna add in
[B]CAUTIONS:
Many people have noted that the e30v8 mounts are not 100% drop in. From what I heard a few years ago, they outsource their welding and the QC needs serious help. I personally had to slot my passenger side mount by about .5" as the trans was pushed completely against one side of the trans tunnel. Unfortunately, they're the only source of mounts for these cars, so there's not much choice in using them
7. Don't use a 2G alternator. Apparently they're only good for 65 or 70 amps, which doesn't seem too bad until you realize the stock e30 one was good for 80-90 or so. Not to mention the design is terrible (in the end, all the power ends up going through a 12 gauge fusible link...). Instead, what you want to do is get a 3G alternator. Sure, they're more expensive but they also put out 130A max, which is cool. Also, they're much simpler to wire up.
Lets face it, the original post was kind of shit. It was basically "blah blah fuck the e30v8 dot com guys because they're ghetto". Guess I was just pissed off at the time. Still true though. Anyway... let's start revising shit
BASIC INFO ABOUT THE SWAP, AKA A REVIEW OF LE 'MURICUN BMW:
Unless you have experience with very fast cars, even a stock 302 swap will not bore you. If you've never owned a v8 car you will be blown away by the amount of low end torque. Remember that episode of top gear where they put a corvette in 5th just to see what speed it could hit by the end of their runway? And they were like 'jeesus this corvette zed oh six has a fuckton of torque'? Yep, it's like that. You do put a little bit of weight on the front end, but I could still easily do 45 on those "25 mph" offramps with a little bit of wiggle room left. Used to do 50 with the m20 in there, but I was also five years younger at the time and way more reckless. With heads, the 5.0 is surprisingly rev happy. When everything's said and done, your car can also be this cool
GENERAL DO'S / ACTUAL GUIDE DELIVERED:
ENGINE:
Try to find a 302 as new as possible. I think anything made before '81 will use a 28oz imbalance flywheel and balancer. This is nice, as in theory they will rev up faster. On the other hand, they're becoming less common and most of those are setup for a two piece rear main, which you don't want if you like your oil inside of your engine/pan. Anything made before 1985 will require linkbar-style lifters if you want rollers.
They're nice since the chances of spinning a lifter and wiping out a cam lobe will be quite low, but on the other hand they're expensive as fuck.
Try to get something out of an explorer. You'll gain roughly 2" of clearance between the water pump snout and the radiator with the explorer accessory drive. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of this... but here's what it'll look like if you use the e30v8 mounts and a mishimoto z3m radiator
Be sure to get a set of better valve springs if you get an explorer engine, as they're made out of goop and will let your valves float easily.
Your oil pan must be sourced from an older, front-sumped mustang. Originally a five quart pan, you'll need to hack it down to roughly four quarts to get it to fit around the steering rack/subframe.
If you're using an old 302 (like what would come with this pan) you can ignore my advice about the dipstick, as those have provisions for one in the timing cover. If you're using a 302 with a dipstick hole on the side of the block, you need to weld a dipstick bung/tube to the front sump. No other way of going about it.
On the subject of pans, if you even have the most remote idea of tracking the car YOU NEED A BAFFLE FOR THE PAN!!!!! Just remember, you've cut the pan down to four quarts. A windage tray + accusump would be a good idea too. Dry sumping would be ideal for something like this, but from what I've seen there just isn't enough room in the engine bay for the gilmer/HTD pulley without putting the radiator in the trunk. e30_302 is trying to figure out a way around this, maybe he'll be able to provide some insight once he's done
TRANS:
There are plenty of options when it comes to the trans on these swaps. Imma focus on the manual trannies though.
If the most you plan on doing to your 302 is headers/cam/intake/heads, then you can stick with a T5 if you're not going too crazy. For track use and/or more power, get a TKO. http://www.rosehillperformanceparts.com/ has a great bracket for a Datsun hydraulic slave. You'll want to get an auto trans mount though the 5spd mounts are too tall and will cause bad driveshaft angles
Some guides will have you buy a wilwood pedal/master/slave combo for the clutch. Do not do this. There isn't enough room on the firewall and you will end up with clutch/brake pedals that are basically kissing. I'm gonna recommend the pedal box option from garagistic.com - get their adapter and a wilwood/tilton pedal set. It will be slightly more expensive than the previously mentioned combo + e34 remote booster or massive booster delete but will function much better with this swap.
COOLING:
Good luck with this one. With street driving, the stock e30 radiator will surprisingly do just fine (except on very hot days). Get the biggest fucking radiator you can fit if you plan on tracking the car though, you WILL need it. An oil cooler will also be necessary. You will want to choose your radiator based off of how long your water pump is and what dimensions you want. However, what I can tell you is that you don't want the radiator cap on the side of the thermostat. There's a bunch of theory I don't feel like explaining, because carpal tunnel, but here's a link:
Basically, you're gonna want a radiator where a hose goes from the thermostat to the upper passenger side of the radiator. The lower half of the radiator will have the neck on the drivers' side and the cap will also go on the drivers' side. This will help you avoid overheating issues and having a ridiculous hose setup.
Also, get a SPAL fan. They definitely push more air than the generic fans out there.
If you bend the heater core pipes just right, you'll also be able to avoid cutting them. There IS enough room back there to hook hoses up to, it's just a very tight squeeze.
DRIVETRAIN/REAR END:
The necessary trans yoke can be purchased just about anywhere. The driveshaft flange, on the other hand, needs to be acquired from www.jagsthatrun.com. The stock BMW u-joints are not serviceable and are smaller than the JTR units. In total, expect to pay roughly $300 for the driveshaft after parts & having it made
As far as the diff goes, you're gonna wanna get a second diff mount. I personally broke mine on the cover (top half of the ear broke off). Garrett, I believe, is still selling them. Either that or you can convert to an e36-style diff cover, like what Vorshlag did
Axles... well, if you beat on it long enough (or are making alot of power) you're eventually gonna wanna get some upgraded axles. I have no idea what the CA tuned axles are good for, or if they're actually any good, but they're the only alternative option I know of vs the Drive Shaft Shop ones. Before you drop $1k on DSS axles, keep in mind that I've met several people at the track who've broken DSS axles and they're way under the "max" power rating. Might be worth it to just keep spare OE axles handy.
EXHAUST:
This is another shitshow. You can either buy a set of headers and flip them backwards (if you put a passenger side header on the drivers' side you don't have to touch the steering shaft), run the exhaust under the control arms like a "U", make a "Y" pipe and exit on the passenger side, use a passenger side header on the passenger side and merge the two pipes past the control arms OR shoot both the regular way. Doing this will require a custom header on the drivers' side as well as a Flaming River u-joint kit to replace the steering shaft. Oh yeah, and on the subject of steering shafts, DON'T use two e46 shafts as a "budget" replacement for the Flaming River ones. Not only are they really not that cheap, but what people don't seem to say about splicing two e46 steering shafts together is that each "section" of the shaft is ever so slightly tapered. what does this mean? when you go to put the two halfs together, the "support" piece you use in the middle has some play... alot of play. i believe mine had roughly a 1-2mm gap on each side of the tube.
Aside from that, the only way to remove this steering shaft is to take the rack down, which is very impractical. With the flaming river setup you can unbolt the actual shaft from the u-joints and move it out of the way, which makes running the shaft through a set of custom headers that much more practical.
Treehouse racing style control arm lollipops are recommended as they offer exceptional exhaust clearance vs the OE lollipops. I have heard stories about THR being run by unsavory characters, so I'll mention that bimmerworld sells (what appears to be anyway) identical parts for a cheaper price.
FUELING CHOICE:
Do you have EFI stuff? Good for you. Don't have EFI stuff, feel like spending money for the EFI stuff AND keeping the car off the track (except drag)? Use an edelbrock carb. They're stupid easy to tune and hold the tune reasonably well. They do have flooding/starving issues on track though, so if this is primarily a track car do an EFI setup. Unfortunately I really don't have any good advice about doing an EFI setup though. I plan on doing a megasquirt on my next car though
That's all I've got for now. Let me know if there's anything you wanna add in
[B]CAUTIONS:
Many people have noted that the e30v8 mounts are not 100% drop in. From what I heard a few years ago, they outsource their welding and the QC needs serious help. I personally had to slot my passenger side mount by about .5" as the trans was pushed completely against one side of the trans tunnel. Unfortunately, they're the only source of mounts for these cars, so there's not much choice in using them
7. Don't use a 2G alternator. Apparently they're only good for 65 or 70 amps, which doesn't seem too bad until you realize the stock e30 one was good for 80-90 or so. Not to mention the design is terrible (in the end, all the power ends up going through a 12 gauge fusible link...). Instead, what you want to do is get a 3G alternator. Sure, they're more expensive but they also put out 130A max, which is cool. Also, they're much simpler to wire up.
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