M20 or M50 ?

[Dozyproductions]

I dont know how you're factoring only $400-500 for a paint job. Primer ain't that incredibly cheap, and if your going to do all the prep yourself you're going to find yourself buying a lot blocks, sandpaper, bondo, guide coat, and other tools. And then after you have put all that time into doing the prep then why waste your time with the cheapest paint? I used a dupont compliant paint (middle ish of the road) and it was something around the 300ish range for my color. Then you probably want to do the whole wetsand and buff thing to to make it shine right? What about renting the booth and guns and etc?

of course if you have a hookup where you can use a booth for free, prep materials for free, finishing equipment for free you still wont be able to get a primer/paint/clear for what you think you'll be spending.

[e30BMart]

How do you figure just $600 for wheels? Looking to get Borbet Type A's on it. And with this build I won't do something or change it for a product I won't bee 100% about. My Dad found two or three other cars, a lot newer, for really cheap but I just love the E30. I like your estimates better than mine though!



This would probably be harder to track down. If the opportunity came along, sure, but I'm not after performance and I've heard mixed opinions about the aluminum blocks.

http://www.stanceworks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15632

[E30_(1st Musk)_]

my opinion: (i still have an m20 btw)
1.if you decide to stick with the m20 then do all your gaskets freeup the exhaust/maf kit and from what people say you should be happy with that if its what you are looking for.

2. (im personally thinking of a m52 swap) it should have more potential than an m20 and vanos would be nice. but a swap is more money either way.

3. SUSPENSION: I have the h&r race/bilstein sport combo. I WOULD SUGGEST if your budget is in the 700 dollar range to go COILOVERS INSTEAD. I like my setup but i regret not waiting and doing the coilovers and be able to get whatever spring rate i want and ride height.

4.Wheels: i would say get a clean set of wheels but you should put more effort into a great suspension.

those are my

[vivalegreg]

i would suggest an m50 out of a z3. it has an aluminum block.

it weighs a whopping 50lbs lighter.

you can be so jooish sometimes

[mRodiek]

^ very good points. Take a chunk of your budget to get the car running flawless with the motor you really want. Save the extra money for a rainy day or until you have more disposable income

[Brandon12V]

Honestly, I think you should weigh you priorities a bit. A college student who is getting ready to pay for school loans, and look for a job to pay those loans, needs to have a reliable car.

As stated before get prices on replacing parts , new & used, and find out what parts are recommended to be replaced from the get-go. I can tell you right now that there are good donor long block m20's that sell on eBay, for 1000-1600 shipped worldwide, WITH a 3-12 month warranty. all you would have to do is swap over the accessories on your current block and be done with it.
when doing any motor swap that was not considered "OEM", I would suggest not taking shortcuts. Save your money if you want to do an m50 swap that bad. if you have money left over, work on the next biggest priority on your list. just remember, you need a running car first. wheels, paint, etc can always come down the road. have patience.

[Wh33lhop]

I kinda thought about that as well. Here is my guestimates for prices
Paint - $400-500
Wheels & Tires - $2000
Suspension $700
Engine & Trans + extras - $1200-1500

So I guess the budget is blown. I might have more money throughout the summer by working a second job to fund this expensive hobby.




I started a quick list last night and I came up with: M50B25 NV engine, E34 pil pan and throttle cable, E36 engine mount arms, E28 motor mounts, Getrag 260 or ZF 310 (not sure which is better), cross memeber from White325is, and gaskets and stuff. I might also need a new Rad, steering linkage, water pump, thermostat and a few other things I'm not 100% about yet. Oh, and probably a plug and go conversion for wiring, not too keen on doing it myself.

Also can't I keep my original brake booster and 'slot' the firewall to slide it over or is this with another type?

Thanks again for the replies

You can slot the firewall yes, I started doing this and realized I was going to have to remove the pedal support bracket and hack it up in order to get it to work, so $50 at a junkyard later I had an E32 booster and master cylinder.

If I were you I'd look into getting a VANOS motor. They have more midrange and are better for DD duty (not to mention are the faster motor in general). The price difference between VANOS and NV is really negligible as long as you shop around for either motor.

Don't even worry about the Z3 block, the only aluminum M5x blocks are M52s and typically fetch a pretty penny.

[caliGreen]

wow wish i had an uncle that paints..

[Wh33lhop]

i would suggest an m50 out of a z3. it has an aluminum block.

it weighs a whopping 50lbs lighter.

404 M50 Z3 not found

[A_Whelan]

Approximate prices:

Suspension = 900 for H&R race and Bilstein sports.
Paint = 500 max if you do all the prep and just have paint (primer, (clear maybe), ect) to buy.
Wheels = 600
m50 = 1000 (all included)
Total: 3000$

Working car: check
Low: check
Wheels: check
clean engine bay: up to you (check)
Painted: check

And 500$ for unexpected things that always happen. If you do the work yourself I don't see why this project is not plausible with your budget, good luck! I wish I knew someone that painted for a living :(

*Edit* forgot about the tires, you're screwed

How do you figure just $600 for wheels? Looking to get Borbet Type A's on it. And with this build I won't do something or change it for a product I won't bee 100% about. My Dad found two or three other cars, a lot newer, for really cheap but I just love the E30. I like your estimates better than mine though!

i would suggest an m50 out of a z3. it has an aluminum block.

it weighs a whopping 50lbs lighter.

This would probably be harder to track down. If the opportunity came along, sure, but I'm not after performance and I've heard mixed opinions about the aluminum blocks.

[A_Whelan]

for $3500 you may find it difficult for paint/suspension/body/wheels all at once, pick 2 of those and make it perfect then do some more work down the line...

My suggestion would be to go with the M50 first since your in college and can skip a day or 2 of classes with out MAJOR problems, if you do that work you may be getting canned lol

I kinda thought about that as well. Here is my guestimates for prices
Paint - $400-500
Wheels & Tires - $2000
Suspension $700
Engine & Trans + extras - $1200-1500

So I guess the budget is blown. I might have more money throughout the summer by working a second job to fund this expensive hobby.

Honestly I'd say if you don't really want any extra power, then it should depend on what sort of deals pop up for you on either engine. The M20 is still a fun motor, although it's lacking a few ponies and the more modern look of an M50--that being said an M50 swap really isn't all that tough fundamentally. New brake booster, connect a few wires, twist your selector rod, fab an exhaust and you're pretty much there... but you will run into more annoying issues and you'll have to get your ducks in a row.

I started a quick list last night and I came up with: M50B25 NV engine, E34 pil pan and throttle cable, E36 engine mount arms, E28 motor mounts, Getrag 260 or ZF 310 (not sure which is better), cross memeber from White325is, and gaskets and stuff. I might also need a new Rad, steering linkage, water pump, thermostat and a few other things I'm not 100% about yet. Oh, and probably a plug and go conversion for wiring, not too keen on doing it myself.

Also can't I keep my original brake booster and 'slot' the firewall to slide it over or is this with another type?

Thanks again for the replies

[Kershaw]

i would suggest an m50 out of a z3. it has an aluminum block.

it weighs a whopping 50lbs lighter.

[e30BMart]

Approximate prices:

Suspension = 900 for H&R race and Bilstein sports.
Paint = 500 max if you do all the prep and just have paint (primer, (clear maybe), ect) to buy.
Wheels = 600
m50 = 1000 (all included)
Total: 3000$

Working car: check
Low: check
Wheels: check
clean engine bay: up to you (check)
Painted: check

And 500$ for unexpected things that always happen. If you do the work yourself I don't see why this project is not plausible with your budget, good luck! I wish I knew someone that painted for a living :(

*Edit* forgot about the tires, you're screwed

[bimmerteck]

Neither the m20 or the m50 are what they used to be, hence either pulled from a junkyard could likely use some fresh gaskets and sensors from the get go. You may want to compare the costs of the parts to refresh either of the motors before deciding.

[Wh33lhop]

I would suggest m50

I bet you would :p

Honestly I'd say if you don't really want any extra power, then it should depend on what sort of deals pop up for you on either engine. The M20 is still a fun motor, although it's lacking a few ponies and the more modern look of an M50--that being said an M50 swap really isn't all that tough fundamentally. New brake booster, connect a few wires, twist your selector rod, fab an exhaust and you're pretty much there... but you will run into more annoying issues and you'll have to get your ducks in a row.