M30 swap in progess - UPDATE #2

[george graves]

Nothing much so far - just lits of cleaning and getting the long block ready...

[iXer]

Oooh.. that manifold sure cleaned up nice. What did you do to it?
I haven't been paying attention to your project, are you going to use the original Motronic to manage the engine or are you going to use an aftermarket system?

Hmm.. I should join your specialized forum, might be interesting for me. I have a mint condition M30B28 that I want to explore in another non-BWM car.

/Mattias

[Jon325i]

I'm keeping tabs on this swap. I can't wait to see the numbers once its finished and in the car. Keep up the good work George :up:

Jon

[george graves]

At first I'll be using the stock motrontic 1.1 that came on the motor. Then I'll upgrade the ecu and it will be motrontic 1.3

No need to do custom engine management. All you have to do is rewire the round engine wireing harness conector to match the motor to the car. I have 2 'pin by pin' diagrams (one for e30 and another for a e24) It's the same thing as you do in a m50 or s50 swap.

[iXer]

My problem is that I don't have much of a wiring harness to match up, as I won't be using the engine in a BMW chassis. The candidate right now is an old 2-door Volvo 142 (my blue precious). I'm going with a MegaSquirt'n'Spark for this engine, probably the next generation of MegaSquirt by the time I get around to doing this.

What did you do to the intake manifold to get that clean look? Sandblast and then some kind of paint?

/Mattias

[george graves]

Lots and lots of scrubbing ... 8)

Kidding....after +15 years the metal get almost stained. Maby bead blasking would bring back the luster - but I don't have a media blaster. I searched and searched for the right paint to bring back a factoy look (with maby a little added *bling*)

The pepboyz/kragen/autozone paint is way too silvery. It looks like ass. I ended up using it on the starter and a few other places I know will get dirty and dull up over time.

- the intake manafold is painted with something called "cast finish" It's actually a clear paint with alunimum flake in it. On flat surfaces it gives metal a cast look (too much like pot metal for my taste) but on textured surfaces (using thin coats) it looks awesome.

On the block I used a foaming degreaser then castrol super clean twice. The oil and grime was almost gone at that point. Then I used some on "Navle rust Jelly" on the block to get rig od some of the rust. Not really impressed with the product - I guess it was worth the $5 bucks. The I put on two THICK THICK coast of hi temp engine paint - it's gave me the look I was going for. The block has so much texture from the rust that I was not worried about the thick coats....

Oh one word of caution - keep carb cleaner or break cleaner 100 feet away from the engine bay. One squirt of it and the paint will disolve...

[iXer]

Hehehe.. :D
Thanks for that info George. I've personally looked at a paint that is used by auto restorers, from the Eastwood Company. A friend of mine has some left from restoring an old moped, so I'll get to test it. "Aluma Blast Paint" is a product I think would be perfect for the intake manifold.

I too am going to keep an eye on your project, I especially like your project since you like sharing your progress. Good luck with it!

/Mattias

[george graves]

Yes, I got "alumna blast" paint and it looks like plastic to me - it too monochromatic. Really it looks like gray plastic. Got it from the same place.

You can get the cast finish paint from there as well...I think - but I've only seen it in their printed catalog...

1 thing that I would suggest is a finger triger can holder....



so much better...

[Bryson]

coool, get some fucking work done
what is that car in your sig, I want to know more about it... and I want to see some close up fender/body pictures

[george graves]

UPDATE....

Pulled the trusty m20 out and have measured up the m30 to fit - some slight massageing of the firewal was needed. 5 min job....

So far everything is gooing good.

[kylebes1]

Clean engine. How far into the firewall did you go? the more the better for balance.

[Rob]

Clean engine. How far into the firewall did you go? the more the better for balance.

yes, but moving the engine too much will require more modifications, driveshaft, motor mounts, tranny mounts, hell maybe even the center console

[george graves]

Clean engine. How far into the firewall did you go? the more the better for balance.

yes, but moving the engine too much will require more modifications, driveshaft, motor mounts, tranny mounts, hell maybe even the center console

Naw - you just have to dimple in the firewall. Guys, really not a big deal at all. If you are squirmish about modifying anything that is stock - motor swaps are not for you.

I'm not "in" the fire wall - it's maby even with it - and you just give the firewall a reliefe for clearence - then we'll spray it with some underbody coating and it will cover nicely, and look factory. It's actually looks really cool with a motor that far back...

As far as modifications - the driveshaft has to be "modified" (shortened and blanaced $150 at a local shop) no matter what (the m30 motor/tranny packages is 3-4" longer then the m20).

the e30m3 trany crossmember bolts right up to my getrag 265, and motor mount brackets are totaly one off custom parts - they are in the machine shop as we speek.

[Rob]

i was making the point that moving the motor back more than needed necessitates those mods...

[kylebes1]

I want a picture of you shifter carrier and linkages!