euro 323i?? should I get it?

[darien28]

I have a chance to get a euro 323i that's had it's interior restored to good condition, as well as a fully rebuilt motor. but the paint sucks.

I was told by my friend that the drivetrain wirk and new engine cost $7000. or maybe that included the interior? i dunno. but anyways...

it's an E30, so my hood should transfer over... I'm jsut wondering if I should use the 323 head or the 325i head for a turbo project?? and if I use the 323 head, would the stock "i" head bolt onto the 323 w/o any problems? I know the cyl bores are differrent... but ppl talk about using the 323i head, so ??

I can get he 323i for 1k. gonna go check it out next week.

[bimmerphile]

for 1k? yeah.

[bimmerlover]

Hm.. maybe I missed something, but if it has a rebuilt engine, why would you have to get a "new" engine?

1k sounds like a great price.

[darien28]

i'm building a turbo M20...

a 323 has like ummm.. no power...

[rwh11385]

I have a chance to get a euro 323i that's had it's interior restored to good condition, as well as a fully rebuilt motor. but the paint sucks.

I was told by my friend that the drivetrain wirk and new engine cost $7000. or maybe that included the interior? i dunno. but anyways...

it's an E30, so my hood should transfer over... I'm jsut wondering if I should use the 323 head or the 325i head for a turbo project?? and if I use the 323 head, would the stock "i" head bolt onto the 323 w/o any problems? I know the cyl bores are differrent... but ppl talk about using the 323i head, so ??

I can get he 323i for 1k. gonna go check it out next week.

Definately get it. Definately!

You have an eta right? Perfect. The 323i head goes right on the eta block for a perfect 2.7i stroker. Might need to pay attention to CR because of turbo, but definately eta + 323 = nice stroker.

Now if you want some low CR, the eta block and 325i head and eta pistons and eta rods will be some low CR. But then again, you wouldn't need the 323 engine any longer.....

I might not understand what you want. But eta bottom + 323 = cheap stroker. eta bottom + 325 head + a little CR work = great turbo app. If you are not going to use the 323 head, let me know! I might know someone who could use it.

[Court M3]

For $1k I'd get it. Just the rebuild alone cost me $$$ last year. They aren't so bad. I enjoy mine, although not as often as I'd like to :(

But for that asking price, don't let it pass you

[DaN]

So you can just bolt a 323i head onto an eta motor, with no bottom end changes?
Whats the compression ratio with that setup? The 323 head flows alot better right? What intake is recommended?

pardon my thread jack

[rwh11385]

So you can just bolt a 323i head onto an eta motor, with no bottom end changes?
Whats the compression ratio with that setup? The 323 head flows alot better right? What intake is recommended?

pardon my thread jack

nah, it's a good way for the thread to go. I've heard this from some Europeaner on this forum. Ask the Brits for more info. But supposedly the 323 and B27 have the same piston/head design so they work togehter. I believe the CR was good, hmmm, not sure but between 8.8 and 9.8 i believe.

I only hear whispers about it, find someone from europe for more. I think maybe Gunni mentioned it.

Search....Search. Yep: gunni, gstuning

http://www.r3vlimited.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1976&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=euro&start=30

German style is my favorite, 2,7 conversions are no probs as you just need a 323i head and a 2,7 block and 325i motronic(or stick with the 323i L-jet)

--------------------
ETA owners answer to the 2.7 conversion, get a 323i head from www.bmwspecialisten.dk and thats it, a 325i grey market ecu (081 motronic 1.0)
325i intake and exhaust and you are good to go, 323i cam has higher duration then a 2.5 anyway, max power at 6000rpm) I can´t be held responsible with the results of this conversion by anyone, but I hope someone does it

There is also more info on e30.de, but you'll have to translate it.

:up:

I'm really pushing my uncle towards it. He loves his 325e and is tempted by the M50, but would be much wiser with a 2.7i.

[Julien]

you can ask horse from NY about putting a 323 on an eta..he had a sweet built eta e30.. but sadly it was wrecked by someone else...
he usually goes by 1badeta.. he can be found on astheroundelturns.com and maybe roadlfy..


hth
Julien

[DaN]

Here's a link to the "323i head on eta" thread I found in gen auto.
Perhaps one of the kind moderators will relocate this thread to "Technical."
Thats really where it belongs.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2378

[rwh11385]

I just found two more great resources.

http://www.e21bmw.net/graymarket/library/327i.php - E21 Greymarket Website

Instructions for Converting a 323i to 327i


This is a very straightforward and relatively easy upgrade that completely transforms the character of your 323i........

What you will need

A 2.7 liter short block from a 1982-88 528e or 1984-86 325e. This so-called "eta" motor is basically a larger displacement, low performance version of the small-block six used in the 323i. The low performance of the eta motor is due to its low-lift, short-duration camshaft with weak valve springs, small intake and exhaust manifolds, and an economy tuned ignition and fuel injection system.

What to do

The eta short block bolts right up to your 323i transmission, motor mounts, oil pan, and cylinder head. Use the 323i's K-Jetronic fuel injection system (drill and tap two holes in the 2.7 block to mount the warm-up regulator in the same place as on the 2.3 block), the 323i's distributor (remove the plug in the 2.7 block where it mounts), and the 323i's front engine covers and flywheel.

If you want to use the eta motor's head, that's okay (the early eta head casting and valves are identical to the 323i's). But you definitely want to use the 323i camshaft and valve springs or performance will suffer greatly. To do this, you must drill oil passages in the three undrilled eta head's cam journals so that you now have a total of seven useable cam bearings as in the 323i head. Don't forget to use the 323i valve springs as well. Also use the 323i intake and exhaust manifolds for better performance.

http://e21.tricord.cjb.net/forum/view.php?view=2808

Let's see here. There are many versions of the ETA engine, so you need to pay attention which one you're getting because results will greatly vary.

First, you have the earlier ETA engines with early M20 head, casting number 1 264 200. These heads are identical to the E21 323i and 320/6 engines, except that the ETA head has a low-lift, low-duration cam which runs only with 4 bearings (as opposed to 7 for a regular cam). If you are to use such an ETA head, it will need oil passage drillings to make the other three bearings usuable, and you'll need an E21 valvetrain.
In this configuration, several engine types were produced, with compression ratio ranging from 9:1 to 11:1. It's up to you to find the one you best like. Using such a block the modification is almost a simple bolt-on, there is a plug covering the hole to seat the distributor, and it should be allright.

Jason_323i:

HI check out my rough translation from e30.de

http://e21.tricord.cjb.net/members/jason/2.7.zip

Jason - haven't downloaded, but I bet it is worth it

200 ponies should be the average with the conversion. Some have said that 180 is more the realistic number. This is using an updated Motronic engine management.

RDAvena:
I have included a link to Jack Roberts collected notes on the 2.7 conversion.

http://e21.tricord.cjb.net/members/RDAvena/JackRobertsnotes.zip

[darien28]

well, I'm making a m20 stroker turbo, and already have a 325i head that's been reconditioned.

so the 323i will just be for interior parts and the euro bumpers... after that I think I'll drive it a bit, then sell it. the engine is completely rebuilt or new or somehting like that. supposed to have 7k in engine/drivetrain work...

I'm going to test drive it next weekend since I have reserve duty this weekend and can't got back home.

[rwh11385]

alright, you could get some nice $$$ for that motor I believe. Apex engineering had a complete used 323i engine for $500. rebuilt would be more valuable.