Experiences with buying engine swapped cars?

[wholethingoff]

Has anyone bought an E30 with a Japanese motor in it?
How was your experience?

Would it have been better if you bought a regular 325i?

I sold my first E30 (M40B18 ) really quick after I realized that it was just too slow (and made that really annoying tappet noise). Made no loss at all by selling (got my gas money covered too).

So I have been looking to get a more powerful motor.

[Pl3wA]

well, m50 over here. love it, not japanese tho.

[immajackuup]

german car with a jap heart= super reliable!

[Nick_S]

If the swap was done right why not?

[wholethingoff]

Well I was thinking mounts would be different,parts moved around/fabricated, strange engine harnessing could possibly have made it difficult to fix,modify, or maintain?

[SteveJ]

All depends on who is doing the work.
Done wrong, you are just buying into someone else's nightmare.

[wholethingoff]

All depends on who is doing the work.
Done wrong, you are just buying into someone else's nightmare.

Yeah.. that is it. I have to take a good mechanic to it. If that fails I am probably going to be drowning money.

Just gotta see how it goes.

[Farbin Kaiber]

IIRC there is an outfit near you that makes SR20 swap kits.

[wholethingoff]

IIRC there is an outfit near you that makes SR20 swap kits.

I actually find loads of those hanging around where I live. Hell, some are SR20DEs ! I am looking at a little extra, 1JZ-GTE.

[ZenkiOwns]

http://www.stanceworks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15686

check this thread out. I'm going to pick up my 1j next wednesday :)

[wholethingoff]

http://www.stanceworks.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=15686

check this thread out. I'm going to pick up my 1j next wednesday :)

Haha. That thread shows right up there when you type in 'E30 1JZ" in google. His swap is crazy.

That's sort of the reason why I don't want to go from scratch. It looks like a lot of work! There are other upgrades to go with carry that heavy japanese lump around.

[ZenkiOwns]

The weight difference is there, but not significant. I would completely avoid those k-conversion mounts that he used and get some made specifically for you. Everyone I've talked to have said they needed to do a fair amount of modification to get it to mount up correctly. IMHO if you spend $450+ shipping it should work fine out of the box.

Best of luck and PM me if you have any questions.

[thatguyMatt]

A Toyota JZ in a e30 is a killer combo, and has been done before. Im not a huge fan of cross-mixing brands, but if it makes the car better im all for it! Ive always wanted a f20c in a 190 cosworth for some reason...