Getting a "free" M50 non-vanos....worth it?

[Bimmerfanatik]

Parts car coming in has 280K on it, but runs. Thinking of tearing it down and rebuilding it from the bottom up. Worth it, or will I be wasting time and money on a motor that I could have bought with low miles for less?

Obviously not rebuilding to stock specs. Give me an idea of what I can put in and relative prices.

M3 cam/Schrick cam, etc.

Thanks!

[Ryan Stewart]

Hmm, how exactly could free be not worth it?

Make as much as you can off the car and see what options come up while holding the engine. You could get plenty of power out of a bbuilt M50, plenty for an e30.

[Digitalwave]

Rebuild it and you are all set.

[Il Duce]

Hmm, how exactly could free be not worth it?

[DEV0 E30]

If you don't want it you could send it with some parts I'm getting from you already. :P

Heh nice find, and do it up.

[///M Powered]

Rebuild it and you are all set.

[E30ownerwithanopinion]

no its not worth it.





















can I have it?

[Brew]

Its worthless to you. Give it to me.

[Bimmerfanatik]

Har har. You guys are a riot :)

What I MEAN is....could I buy a low mile (under 100K) non-vanos, or even vanos, motor for the same price as rebuilding this engine? Though that would be a stock rebuild cost, I guess if I look at it as getting to build it to spec...basically all that will be left is the blockand head, and a few internals, right?

[AdamF 88iS]

If the head is good you can do it. But if the head is bad you're going to be in trouble because a new one is $2200 from BMW, and good luck finding a used one for a 1 year only motor, it's a bit on the rare side. And just because it runs doesn't mean the head is good, my 325is ran perfectly for a year after I bought it with the head cracked. The only clue that it was bad was that the #3 spark plug would foul every once in a while.

[Bimmerfanatik]

If the head is good you can do it. But if the head is bad you're going to be in trouble because a new one is $2200 from BMW, and good luck finding a used one for a 1 year only motor, it's a bit on the rare side. And just because it runs doesn't mean the head is good, my 325is ran perfectly for a year after I bought it with the head cracked. The only clue that it was bad was that the #3 spark plug would foul every once in a while.

Well, I'd be tearing it down and sending the ehad out for a p+p anyways, I think they'd find it at that time, right?

I dunno, it just seems like a perfect reason to upgrade - 280k miles and all. I figure it's already going to be on a stand, why not, right?

[AdamF 88iS]

If the head is good you can do it. But if the head is bad you're going to be in trouble because a new one is $2200 from BMW, and good luck finding a used one for a 1 year only motor, it's a bit on the rare side. And just because it runs doesn't mean the head is good, my 325is ran perfectly for a year after I bought it with the head cracked. The only clue that it was bad was that the #3 spark plug would foul every once in a while.

Well, I'd be tearing it down and sending the ehad out for a p+p anyways, I think they'd find it at that time, right?

I dunno, it just seems like a perfect reason to upgrade - 280k miles and all. I figure it's already going to be on a stand, why not, right?

Pressure test for cracks.

[Bimmerfanatik]

If the head is good you can do it. But if the head is bad you're going to be in trouble because a new one is $2200 from BMW, and good luck finding a used one for a 1 year only motor, it's a bit on the rare side. And just because it runs doesn't mean the head is good, my 325is ran perfectly for a year after I bought it with the head cracked. The only clue that it was bad was that the #3 spark plug would foul every once in a while.

Well, I'd be tearing it down and sending the ehad out for a p+p anyways, I think they'd find it at that time, right?

I dunno, it just seems like a perfect reason to upgrade - 280k miles and all. I figure it's already going to be on a stand, why not, right?

Pressure test for cracks.

Gotcha. I mean, worst case scenario I can hang on to all the accessories, right? Then just find a longblock w/o acc's?

[SR20Fastback]

non vanos heads aren't that hard to come by. I've sold a couple and even bought one. Anyways, the non vanos m50 is my favorite of the group. It retains the dual valve springs that the vanos motor didn't get to keep, the cam is a tad more aggressive, and it still has a feel to it in the top end of the power band *imo the vanos m50's felt like they were held back a bit pst 5k or so*.

A set of schrick cams would do it well, you could also look into an M3 crank and rods. Port and polish the exhaust ports, maybe replace all the valve guides/seals to make sure nothing is leaking. You could even go the extra mile and try to get some aftermarket pistons to bump the compression even higher. The stroked m50 should be more than enough power though.

[Smoove1]

Build a high reving M50. Some vendor on Bimmerforums did it. Check the track/autox section.