Euro 3.5L M30 Project for the 535iS. UPDATED WITH PICS!!

[schnitzer teil-jäger]

6ers are good NY to Miami, the five is a good car to have when you have friends, kids, dates, etc. And for some reason it handles better than the six. And parts are cheaper. And and and.
wes
ps doing my own 5er car. Just got the cherry interiors for it.
pps email me if you need a rear light just got two off the parts car.
w

[BS87]

Adam, he is putting in an M30, not an M20

[AdamF 88iS]

Adam, he is putting in an M30, not an M20

Yea.

I got that.

I was making a point. It was simply a comparison between a relativly aggressivly cammed 4vavle/cylender motor and a 2 valve mild cam motor such as an M20 or M30. I, as well as most people on this forum, have more experience with M20 so I used that in my example.

[M3 Ryan]

Adam, after talking with several guys that run this setup, they don't have any pings, some are running 10.5:1 and others are running big turbos with 20PSI of boost.
I will not go over 10:1 CR. The motor is 9.3:1 right now, and it will be somehwere between 9.5-9.7 when I am done. The head resurfacing will take it down to this level, and there isn't much you can do about it other than a thicker headgasket.

This is a project, a learning expierence. If it doesn't work, I can go back and change it, I will have plenty of time and it won't cost me anything other than a new thicker headgasket and a few hours to change it out.

Thanks for your tips.

[lukasbmw]

A friend has an euro motor in his 535i and I asked him about the 10:1. He said it does ping, but only because he puts 87 in it. With 91 he says it probably would be ok.

[M3 Ryan]

haha, cheap-ass... 87 is junk, I even ran 89-91 in my 325E!

heres some pics from the teardown...
note the #1 connecting rod, its very black compared to the rest of the rods, showing a increase in heat. When I took the cap off, the bearing was spun. cought it early, so I should be able to resize the rod and I *might* have to regrind the crank to first over on the rods.











I got lucky, the motor came with a 14lb flywheel, and I will have it resurfaced, so it should be a nice touch to the engine, seeing as my current motor has a 23lb flywheel.

[aaron_silva]

Cool stuff Ryan. Some of those pics make it look like angels are looking over you guys working on the engine. :D

[TCD]

Ryan,
You love that 535is? Imagaine it with 300+rwhp! They are awesome cars.
Todd

[Digitalwave]

I can't wait to see that engine transform, after you clean it up and all.

[M3 Ryan]

me neither... its a dirty beast right now... that motor is SOO HUGE! I compared it to a 454 big block is class and it made it look like a small block...
I will hot tank it monday after the re-hone and look for any damage or wear, but it will be much nicer to work on. I will probably have my group start degreasing all the brackets, manifolds and hardware so we can organize everything.
I will start taking apart the head and do the valve job sometime this week...
what a fun project this is... and I get to have a useful project for class, so it makes it all worthwhile.

[Numbersix]

Very nice, Ryan.

I can't wait to see more pics of the rebuild. The M30 is a wonderful motor, especially in euro-spec form. I've had experience with a euro 635i 5 speed...torquey and quick.

[Jand3rson]

Project is coming along awesome Ryan, seems like everything is going very well. I can't wait ti see this beast finished.

[M3 Ryan]

the motor is getting bored right now. I did #5 and #6 yesterday to clea up some rust in the cyl bore, and I will clean 1-4 tomorrow to break the glaze, then onto the headwork and seeing if the pistons are reusable. 8)

[James Crivellone]

Damn, this makes me want to rip the M30 out of my parents 635csi and toss the euro motor in it.



but it would still be automatic :p,

[M3 Ryan]

The euro motor came with a 14lb flywheel, so I will get it turned down and balanced and it should make for a nice revving motor...