E30 Engine Swap Angst

[Cody D]

Hello, I have been working on a Mitsubishi 4G63t engine swap for a couple months now and recently I've come to the conclusion that it is beyond my abilities. I am now selling the parts and I am planning on doing a 302 or an LM7 engine swap. I have done a decent amount of reading but I'd just like some opinions on my next step.

I have a running LM7 with wiring harness and an ECU sitting in my garage, the problem is I am worried about the cost of sourcing a T56 and the cost of the swap kit. The Sikky kit is $1900 US which in Canada is about a million dollars, the E30LS1 kit looks good and would probably be my path.

I have a T5 transmission sitting in my garage, I was thinking about just buying an old Mustang and a swap kit from E30M3.com and going this route. I have been reading that the quality on their parts is sub par. I've also read that the 302 with a modified pan may not work very well. I can get a running Mustang for about $2200 CDN and then I can sell the un-needed parts from that, in total I'll be a lot less into the Mustang.

What I am looking for are opinions on whether to use my LM7 or to sell it and buy a 87-93 Mustang and use that. Wiring isn't really a concern as I'm not planning to use BMW gauges or anything else, pretty much a stripped car. I am currently just trying to get it to run but I would like to eventually do some light track duty with most of it's time being spent on the street.

Pictures because people like pictures:

[TimeMachinE30]

I love my Rubbermaid FastTrack.

[flyboyx]

welcome to the forum.

i don't know what an lm7 is but i assume some kind of ford v8? honestly, i don't mean to discourage you but this kind of sounds like it has the makings of an abortion? have you looked into the oil pan? how about manifolds, engine mount arms, drive shaft, and transmission mounts?

i know you said you already have the engine but i don't know if that means its a good idea or a good fit in this car. you can pick up an m60 for 600 bucks. just sayin'......there is a lot of support here if you choose a platform others have used previously. god forbid, even a cheesy ls1 may be a better choice.

[Pootis]

An LM7 is a 5.3 so a LS based engine

[flyboyx]

cool. also, a v8 swap is not for the faint of wallet. trust me, i know first hand. it will be pretty close to impossible to do this on the cheap. don't get started on this until you have well over 5k in disposable income. otherwise this is going to turn into another unfinished project with "good" intentions.

[Cody D]

I love my Rubbermaid FastTrack.

Ya, they are great.

cool. also, a v8 swap is not for the faint of wallet. trust me, i know first hand. it will be pretty close to impossible to do this on the cheap. don't get started on this until you have well over 5k in disposable income. otherwise this is going to turn into another unfinished project with "good" intentions.

Thanks for the reply, the problem is I am already knee deep in this project, I have a stripped to the shell BMW E30 sitting in my garage waiting for love. The money is there, and as I sell these 4G63t swap parts more money is coming in, I just have no interest in being $30,000 into a swap, I don't want to even spend the $2400 on the T56 that I was quoted today by a local supplier. To me the money is better spent on buying a full Mustang running car for $2400.

I think I'm going to sell the LM7, sell my stroker 4G63 and just go with the Ford 302 route. I know once I can get the engine running in the car my motivation will return and I will have more patience for the little details.

[delamaize]

*cough* M60B40 *cough*

Seriously though, I'd go M60, they are cheap, and fairly easy to find, and the parts, like engine mounts, are not too expensive, and available from several companies.

Of course, I'm bias, because I like the idea of keeping a BMW in a BMW, and it's the swap I am doing.

[Cody D]

I didn't want to admit to this but... this was an M60 swapped car, I pulled the M60 out because I had a high horsepower 4G63t and now I can't go back as I've sold all the M60 parts and now I want a V8 in there, haha.

[george graves]

I didn't want to admit to this but... this was an M60 swapped car, I pulled the M60 out because I had a high horsepower 4G63t and now I can't go back as I've sold all the M60 parts and now I want a V8 in there, haha.

haha

haha

haha

haha

Glad you can laugh, cause I would be pissed at myself, and my walet would hate me as well.

Wait, a LS7 is like a $15k motor no? It's also +500 HP. Was the m60 not fast enough for you? Did you drive it much, or just strip it?

500 horse in an e30 is insane. I've driven 350 HP e30's and they scare the crap out of me. the e30 isn't the stiffest chassie, and the rear trailing arms take some driver skill at the HP level. If i had $15k to throw around, I'd do a supercharged m60, and invest the rest in track days. It's kinda win-win.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

if it ain't broke don't fix it

[P Arkus]

Where the hell in Alberta was there an M60 E30 hiding out? Besides myself I know of one other E30 getting the M60 treatment, everyone else is doing LS swaps.

[sgtskid]

I am dropping the LM4 into my car and was able to find a complete, running Envoy to yank it out of. I kept the engine, harness, and ecu and parted the rest of the Envoy out. When it was all said and done I had made enough on the Envoy to spring for an LS6 cam and springs.
I plan on going the long route and fabricating/designing everything myself which will take more time...but it'll be cheaper.

As a sign on a shop door once read - "We do three kinds of jobs, 1. Fast, 2. Cheap, 3. Good, Please choose two"

A cheap swap can be done....it just takes patience and creativity.

However, the t56 was expensive. I got a deal on one that needed to be rebuilt. I did it myself and learned a lot but I still spent enough that I should have bought a known good one. Only plus was that the guy included the bellhousing,flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, shifter, and TOB.

[Pootis]

I spent $1,400 on the t56 alone no clutch or flywheel it was the single most expensive item in my build.

[sgtskid]

I spent $1,400 on the t56 alone no clutch or flywheel it was the single most expensive item in my build.

I paid $1300 and spent another $700 on a reverse, 5th, and 2nd gears and their respective synchro packs. My first time ever building a transmission...here's to hoping it works. :drink:

[jpod999]

I didn't want to admit to this but... this was an M60 swapped car, I pulled the M60 out because I had a high horsepower 4G63t and now I can't go back as I've sold all the M60 parts and now I want a V8 in there, haha.

Oh man, no wonder you are angsty.

How hard would it be go get an M60 back in the car though? When you say you sold all the M60 parts, what does that include?