huge question for a new bmw person

[beatup86]

hi there, well im about to get an 87 325is for free, it needs a new head/rebuilt head. the current owner is a bmw mechanic just never had the time to get to it. he also said he would throw in an m52 engine and tranny for free if I wanted them (the m52 he said is burning oil, and the tranny is a 5-speed). ive been reading that its more than possible to swap both the engine and tranny in the car, with added parts. I don't fully understand everything tho. the whole obd1-2 thing mainly. I guess the reason for this post is to get some opinions about this whole transaction for you guys (the experts), and to get any advice on things ill need (more parts, harnesses....etc) also where to get the proper ecu for the car, cause the engine doesn't come with a harness or the ecu.

thanks for any input that you guys have

[Frankus12]

im no expert, but to me it seems like you would have to be crazy to turn that down. people certainly put that engine in e30s, idk much about it myself tho. but regardless of what you decide, i doubt youll ever have a chance to pick up a whole e30+engine and tranny for free again! you could even get a cheap head for the engine in there, throw it on, sell that engine, and throw the m52 in once you do the rings or whatever is burning the oil.

[beatup86]

I suppose that's what I was thinking I was mainly wondering other people opinion on what else id need or so on. sorry im obnoxiously new to the bmw world, I went from Honda, to two ae86's, wrx and now all I have is my R6, so this whole world is new and slightly confusing

[Gary Horneck]

Free. Haul it all home!

[Ether-D]

There's tons of reading out there. Go into the 24 valve swap section and read for three weeks. Take the free car and the trans and motor.

Get a used head and timing belt for the m20. Drive it like that for a while, while you gather the swap parts.

And welcome to e30.

[beatup86]

forgot to say that it is currently an auto ;(

[beatup86]

here is a random question, is there anyway to mate the e36 5speed to the m20? cause then I could cover half of the "swap" when I do the head??

[beatup86]

e36 tranny is off of a 328 btw

[matthugie]

Unless you're retarded, accept.

[beatup86]

how is that even a valid answer? the reason I ask is cause with the info ive read (dohc wiki) you can use the stock 5 speed tranny on the m52, so why couldn't it be the other way around?

[matthugie]

It's a valid answer because, from any standpoint, the deal is favorable. Accept it and deal with the rest later. Hell, you could easily resell for a profit.

[MR 325]

Do a lot of reading in the 24v swap section.

If the M52 is burning oil you'll probably want to rebuild it. Considering the car and engine are free it would definitely be worth doing.

The E36 trans will technically bolt to the M20 engine but everything is so different it's not worth doing.

[beatup86]

I understand what you guys are saying. But let's face it. It's gonna take me a bit to save for the proper parts to rebuild it. That's why I was asking about swapping the 5 speed in it in the mean time.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[SterlingMetE30]

There's tons of reading out there. Go into the 24 valve swap section and read for three weeks. Take the free car and the trans and motor.

Get a used head and timing belt for the m20. Drive it like that for a while, while you gather the swap parts.

And welcome to e30.

^ what this guy said. Worry about the 5 speed once you swap the m52 in. I am new here too just get the free car running. Enjoy it as an auto, and swap to the 24v /5spd when you source all the parts and can afford it.

[goldenbb]

The lamest excuse for getting rid of a project car ever! If a BMW mechanic couldn't see it through, you need to ask yourself whether you will either. There's tons of nice cars out there. With used E30s, you get what you pay for.

Also, does any swap project ever result in a reliable car, ever? I see tons of them for sale. The guy gets the swap done and achieved this huge milestone in his life but the damn car won't run right so it gets sold to the next sucker. Always some predictably lame excuse in the ad. They do the swap and three months later the car is for sale.