cosworth engine into E30

[e30jay]

I am considering putting a sierra cosworth engine, gearbox and managment into an E30. Probably will use a 325i. Has anyone seen this done or have any infromation or links on this converson?

[e9nine]

The majority of this site is in the U.S. We got the Sierra Cosworth here as a ugly Merkur XR4Ti. Most people here swap other bimmer engines into their e30s. The few who have opted to put non-bimmer engines in their e30s get flamed and asked why not do such to another car besides an e30 etc.

Since you're overseas, why not try put it in a Ford Cortina or some older Ford chassis. I personally prefer the Cortina but that's not the point here...

Good luck :shock:

[BMW BMXER]

Merkurs are neat lil things.

[e30jay]

e9nine, i'm a big fan of the older fords actually. i'm really keen on building a fairly powerful YB turbo engine (sierra cosworth) as it doesn't cost a huge amount to get a reliable 350bhp out of it.

i would have put the engine into a mk1 or 2 cortina or mk1 or 2 escort. Sadly these cars are really quite rusty nowadays so before i started doing the engine conversion i would have to virtually restore the car first!

i chose an E30 325i as i think they are so well built cars and few have corrosion problems. Plus the rest of the car wont need half the modification to take the engine of what the older fords would, ie suspension, brakes, diff. And i could certainly pick up a nice example cheaper than one of the fords.

Like i first said, the conversion is a consideration at the moment. Glad to have any other input/ advice

[Jon325i]

You lads over in the UK got the cool Fords.....the US got stuck with jokes. I've never heard of someone trying to drop a Cosworth motor into an E30 but it sounds really interesting. Especially that reliable 350hp part :D

Jon

[e9nine]

i chose an E30 325i as i think they are so well built cars and few have corrosion problems. Plus the rest of the car wont need half the modification to take the engine of what the older fords would, ie suspension, brakes, diff. And i could certainly pick up a nice example cheaper than one of the fords.

Like i first said, the conversion is a consideration at the moment. Glad to have any other input/ advice

Everything would have to be custom. Anything can be done with time, patience, know-how and $$.

I would start off with an e30 chassis that has no motor and tranny and the same for the Sierra Cossie. Measurements for engine mounting points, driveshaft length etc are the crucial starting points. You would then move on to the brake booster part, wiring, exhaust, check for firewall tunnel clearance etc.

People have stuck s2000 motors, Small block V8s, Toyota Supra motors [dude is on this board from Australia] (I forget the engine code...) LS1 or LS6, 1st Gen MItsu Eclipse [dude is on this board fromUSA], Opel Kadett engines etc into e30s so you should be able to do it if you're really up to it

Keep us posted

[grapedrink]

A better doner car I think would be a Porsche 944. :!:

[e30jay]

Yeah a porsche 944 would be a good doner if you like them. i'm not over keen myself. In fact i couldn't get excited about any of the front engined porsches. Love the rear engined ones though! However bit out of the price range of an old E30!