'89 316i E30 LS1 Swap Build Thread

[Q8y_drifter]

ARP main studs & bolts

Clevite H-Series standard size main bearings




LS1 bare block cleaned up. Dura-Bond single piece cam bearings installed



Cylinders honed







Main bearing clearance checked. All within 0.0015-0.0020in. Stock crank with polished journals and new lower cam sprocket.





Crank installed and ready for pistons and rods.

[DER E30]

Watching intently...

[Q8y_drifter]

Got my 241 heads back from the machine shop. Cleaned up, resurfaced and checked over. Got a ton of parts as well, taking pics of those later on.

[shiboujin]

Niiiice. Makes for an easy peasy swap!

[Q8y_drifter]

What swap kit?

Sikky.
1-3/4" headers, Sikky steering shaft, steel driveshaft, stock LS1 with all new bearings, gaskets, hardware and a nice mild cam kit

[shiboujin]

What swap kit?

[jksmith]

will follow working on same build, almost exactly

[CLM21]

Nice! There's a lot of ls swaps going on right now....

[Q8y_drifter]

Hey everyone!

I currently have an 1989 Alpine White 316i coupe with an RB25DET swapped into it. Purchased the car a couple years back with a blown RB25DET already swapped in. Decided to buy it, replace the RB with a new one from the scrap yard and beat on it.
Well I had no idea what I got myself into and ended up having to fix a TON of issues along the way. Fast forward to a week back when, on an impluse, I said fuck it and decided to just yank all the RB engine/trans parts out and stuff an LS1/T56 in there.

This will be the thread to document my build. The donor car is a base model E30 with drum rear brakes, 168mm 3.91 LSD, roll up/down windows and pretty much as base (read light) a model can get. I plan on listing out every purchase I make along with prices I paid so members can get a clue on what swaps like these end up costing.

Found an LS1 from a Chevy Caprice at the junk yard. Picked it up for around $850.