Ethurtee and Iliad's S62 Mtech 2 Build

[iliad]

Hello everyone!

Although we are not the first to do this swap, I figured we would still go ahead and do a build thread to document our process.

The car was purchased off of Craigslist here in New Orleans around 4 years ago as a bone stock 1989 325i with a cloth interior and a manual trans.
Our intentions for the car were not known at the time, we just knew this was a super clean chassis and a great start to any project.

First things first, we gave the car a good cleaning.
Pics of how it started (Actually at this point we refreshed the suspension with some H&R drop springs/Billie Sports, + control arms etc.
Followed by a timing belt, water pump, belts and a refresh of all the hoses.

2020-03-31_12-14-13 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

2020-03-31_12-17-10 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr


Next up, the unsightly cracked dash had to go and while we were at it, we refreshed the ODO gears, installed a euro clock, swapped out the wheel and threw in some cardinal sport seats :)

2020-03-31_12-23-02 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

2020-03-31_12-23-18 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

2020-03-31_12-24-23 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr



Fast forward about 4 months and Voila, we have a freshly painted OE Mtech 2 kit begging to be installed.
The first two pics show the current state of the car before the MTech install. In the 4 months time she received a set of MHW tails, French Smileys and a set of 16" Futuras!

Onto the pics!
20170527_130833 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

20170527_130846 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Mtech 2 goodness just picked up from the painter!
20170527_100649 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

New valence as well since the old one was pretty beat up. Plus French fogs to match the headlights.
20170527_174103 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

20170527_143110 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

lots of drilling and little brackets.
20170527_185041 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Front is done!
20170527_210858 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr


Time for the rear.
20170527_221334 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

spoiler installed
20170527_231534 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Rear end is done!
20170529_112409 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Side skirts and pods next.
20170529_161506 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

With proper sills!
20170529_161211 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

All done!
What a transformation!
20170603_094841 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

20170603_094940 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Sitting pretty at our local C&C with good company!
IMG_20180220_135228_004 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

[rzerob]

I see you fixed your pictures so I deleted my post. Subscribed.

[iliad]

At this point you may be asking where is the S62!??

And here she is..
Some of you may remember this car posted for a sale a while back (maybe 2-3 years ago). It contained a lot of what we wanted to do the swap how we envisioned and we were able to sell of all of the bits that we didn't need to help offset some costs.
The day the tow truck dropped her off:
2020-03-31_12-31-54 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

The carnage was pretty serious
20170712_212519 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

It took a lot of cutting and prying to free up the S62
20170713_183728 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

After assessing the damage, which comprised of a busted upper and lower oil pan, some broken pulleys, oil lines and some other smaller miscellaneous parts, the first order of business was new rod bearings.
WPC treated bearings were ordered with new bolts, new lower oil pan (the upper one was repaired), and the bottom end was resealed.

Drew, excited!
20170729_174319 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Obligatory bearing photo
20170730_100234 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Resealed with new pan
20170730_133928 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr


At this point, life got in the way and the project took a back seat.
The parts car was stripped and parts were stored.

Fast forward another 4 months or so and we are now creeping up on The Vintage.
The plan was to take the white e30 and Drew drive the S38 swapped e30 which we just finished freshening up with an Mtech 1 kit. Unfortunately we ran out of time and could not get the car to cool well enough (with AC on) to make the 1500 mile trip from New Orleans to Ashville NC.

There is always next year!
2020-03-31_01-42-58 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

This meant the black car was going to make the trip instead,
5 of us from the NOLA Bimmers car club in 4 cars hit the road and made it to Ashville without issue!
2020-03-31_01-44-34 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

2020-03-31_01-46-08 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

2020-03-31_01-46-32 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

If you've never attended The Vintage, I highly recommend it to any enthusiast. Since we found out about it just 3 years ago, we have not missed a year!
Hundreds and hundreds of the coolest cars and enthusiasts surrounded by killer roads and beautiful scenery!

2020-03-31_02-23-42 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

2020-03-31_02-24-12 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

2020-03-31_02-24-47 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

2020-03-31_02-24-27 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr



Shortly after returning from our trip the swap officially began!
out with old faithful M20, she lives on in an e30 Lemons race car.

2020-03-31_01-47-15 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

2020-03-31_01-47-43 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

[The Dark Side of Will]

After assessing the damage, which comprised of a busted upper and lower oil pan, some broken pulleys, oil lines and some other smaller miscellaneous parts, the first order of business was new rod bearings.
WPC treated bearings were ordered with new bolts, new lower oil pan (the upper one was repaired), and the bottom end was resealed.

Where'd you get your bearings?

[iliad]

Where'd you get your bearings?

They were sourced through ECS.

[Mike36]

Sub'ed! Ever considered shadowlining the window trim on the black mtech?

[ethurtee]

Sub'ed! Ever considered shadowlining the window trim on the black mtech?

One of these days. We sourced a set from a318iS, but a buddy of mine bought the car and wanted it back.

[Mike36]

One of these days. We sourced a set from a318iS, but a buddy of mine bought the car and wanted it back.

Remove your own set and have them powdercoated semi gloss black. Comes out looking OEM.

[ethurtee]

Remove your own set and have them powdercoated semi gloss black. Comes out looking OEM.

That's the plan, eventually. There are a couple of paint issues that need to be addressed, so it'll get done when it goes back to the painter. Before a few weeks ago, this car hadn't seen the ground in a couple years, and I doubt I put 3000 miles on it since we got it (most of which were driving to/from the Vintage). I'll worry about the finishing touches once the swap's buttoned up.

[iliad]

Alright, first order of business was to tackle the remote booster setup. We want this car to drive as stock as it did before the swap so boosted brakes were a must.

Factory air box brackets removed and area cleaned up.
20180916_121803 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Booster roughly placed where it will go. The master cylinder will sit between the headlights and the MK60 ABS system will be fitted as well to improve the braking and also give us a little more room.
20180916_140053 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

300MM s62 swap kit has arrived! Everything looks to be super nice quality!
2020-03-31_02-50-52 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Engine dropped in so that we can make sure we don't have any interference with the booster setup.
20190622_193826 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Pedal bracket removed and modified
20190622_171300 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Bracket made up using the old coolant tank mounting point
2020-03-31_02-59-03 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

AC compressor mounted up and it's immediately apparent that the frame will need some modification for it to work.
20200112_133404 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

20200112_133423 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr


With the engine back out of the car, we decided to tackle the Vanos units and do a top end reseal with new plugs and all.
20180930_160123 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

20180930_161007 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

20180930_174039 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

20180930_180121 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr


In the middle of this build, the weekend warrior with a 200k mile s54 swap decided it didn't want to put out anymore. Here is a photo of it getting a fresh s54.
2020-03-31_02-40-04 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

[Zacm829]

Great work so far. You will be glad you are going with power brakes, worth the effort on my v8 swap. Keep up the progress!

[iliad]

Great work so far. You will be glad you are going with power brakes, worth the effort on my v8 swap. Keep up the progress!

Thanks, we are super excited!
That was our thought as well. We want it to stop as well as it goes!

[iliad]

Another update as we push through this project!
Engine pulled once again to make the final modifications for the brakes and the AC system.

MK60 ABS unit location finalized and lines made up.
2020-03-31_03-15-19 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Booster stripped and repainted
20200202_114806 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Cleaned up the booster bracket as well
20200202_114745 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Booster mounted up for the last time
20200209_104338 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Z3 rack installed with a sikki steering shaft (really nice piece),new master, lines..
2020-03-31_03-23-44 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Frame rail modification begins for AC compressor clearance.
20200202_141717 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

2020-03-31_03-24-42 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Started shaping the new metal. We wanted to retain the upper lip and make it look as original as possible.
20200223_170316 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

20200223_170330 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

all welded up
2020-03-31_03-26-27 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

20200223_203917 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

engine back in to check clearance, perfect!
20200229_170522 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Tight on the driver's side but that's been the MO of this swap!
20200229_170532 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Cleaned up the area that was welded up
20200307_094428 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Base coat
2020-03-31_03-36-23 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

Clear coat
2020-03-31_03-37-21 by Brian Hardy, on Flickr

[dmjensen]

Awesome progress dude! What’s your plan for running the Mk60 ABS?

[iliad]

Awesome progress dude! What’s your plan for running the Mk60 ABS?

I did the same setup on my weekend track warrior and love it, so it made sense to do the same on this car especially since we were already going to relocate the abs pump.
The mk60 unit actually saved us some space as well, so win win!