Cam Rotation - 320i Head vs. 318i Head

[StoneCold]

I am dropping the lower end of an e21 motor into an '85 318i body. As the heads are different (injectors through the manifold), can the guts of the e21 head be transferred over to the 318i head (valves, springs, etc.)?

Also, most importantly, does the cam in the e21 rotate the same direction as the 318i cam?

Thanks,

StoneCold

[AdamF 88iS]

I'm 99% sure you can transfer the guts, and yes they rotate the same way.

[02stu]

If your pulling the head off anyways you might want to toss your e21 head. See if you can find a e121 or e12 head from a 2002, they have bigger valves then the e21 since they don't have to pass emisions. One of those heads is perferable over the other one, I can't remeber off the top of my head though. The guts from your 320 should still work, plus e12 and e121 heads do not have the ports for injectors so you can just bolt your intake manifold up. If you have dome, or piano top pistons you will have to match the head up to the pistons, again I can't remember which is which. The heads are very cheap, under 200 dollars. Why do you want to change out the internals? On a side note depending on the e21 or 2002 head you buy you might have to change the cam sprocket on the head. Some came with a thick chain some came with a single chain. good luck

[chuckybob]

are they both m10s? if so, then theyre the same except for maybe bore.

[StoneCold]

My co-driver has 2 2002's behind his shop. "Off with their heads!!!" Any idea the difference in valve sizes between the two heads? Thanks for the tip. As for the internals, the head has higher rate springs, clips, etc. We've run our motor up to 7200rpm for the past 5 years, and all we've done is change the oil (Mobil 1).

Both blocks are M10's, as is the 1st gen M3 block.

[chuckybob]

i googled and couldnt find any immediate info on different valve sizes, your best bet would be to go down this list at wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M10

and click on the link to the car that the engine is from and hope it has valve sizes.

[StoneCold]

will do.
thanks Chuckybob.