built m20, or m50 swap.

[lambo]

As much as I hate to say it......ugh, this hurts.....just go with the M20.

I never thought I'd see this day...

[PeteD]

These are my favorite threads. I love a nicely built m20. I have non vanos M50 (3.0 liter though) and it's a great combination of nostalgia and 24 valves. Built m20 > stock m50

[M3TROY]

M20 or bust. All that m50 bs is for the birds. If you're going to go 24v, do an s50 or better.

+1 m50 stock is pointless of your going for power as its just barly quicker than the m20.
the big advantage is in the gas mileage but other then that....nada.

if your looking to mode then just do S50 from the jump it will be cheaper and less work then m50 with m3 cams and a tune and it will still have more power.

[Myster-E]

12 valves, that's all you need. ;)

[nando]

S54B32....

werd :D

[totheredline]

S54B32....

[Cletonius]

Stick with the M20.

if you need to count on this car, Id stick with motors that plug and play more.

Any well done swap will be just as reliable as if it had come that way. Problems only happen when people cut corners or don't read all the wiring schematics before starting. I did a turbo motor swap in my k car in a weekend, I built the harness and prepped everything for months beforehand so it would be a one shot deal. My buddy drove that car for 4 years after I sold it to him 3 years after doing the swap. Never any problems with the swap... There are tons of clean E30 swaps done here too, plenty that aren't but that's another topic.

[nando]

That said, the m50NV is good for boost

how is it better than any other engine? such as an M52?

[AdironRider]

If you need this to be reliable, Id stick with the built M20. I prefer them anyways, but if you need to count on this car, Id stick with motors that plug and play more.

[wannaBMthree]

That said, the m50NV is good for boost

[MR 325]

M20 or bust. All that m50 bs is for the birds. If you're going to go 24v, do an s50 or better.

You sir are correct and on par.

[Vtec?lol]

M20 or bust. All that m50 bs is for the birds. If you're going to go 24v, do an s50 or better.

[87m50]

Its definitely built for boost, and I will be doing that down the road, but not yet, tleaning hard towards m20

[SmokeE30]

the m20 is for sale on here actually, this is the mod list:Block has been bored to 84.48 and decked and hot tanked
Head was fully rebuilt with new seals, decked, and refinished valves
Micro polished crankshaft and camshaft
MaxSil pistons and rings fitted to block
Forged CX Racing H-Beam rods
Reinz HG, VC gasket, oil pan gasket
New bearings
WoodGrain Valve Cover (:
Metric Blue head bolts
Long Tube headers with new gaskets
NEW cps, dizz/rotor, thermostat/housing, coolant sensors, all new cooling hoses, rear main seal, aux seal, cam seal, crank seal, freeze plugs
Rebuilt PS pump and new hoses
All new belts
NEW solid condor mounts for tranny and block
NEW flame thrower ign coil
NEW water pump
NEW slave
NEW flywheel bolts
NEW (Upgrade/updated to metal) rear seal
Cleaned and painted intake manifold with new gaskets
NEW Sach's throwout and pilot
Allllll mated to a 5spd Getrag 260 shifting in all gears smooth with a stage 2 eGay clutch!!!!!

the m50 has shrick cam and tuned ecu. and yea I have the entire car that its in now and would just need to swap everything over and get a new brake booster. and if I don't do this im working a deal to trade my 87 with m50 for the motor so just some time meeting up in reality to do the trade.
but ive never done a motor swap and don't know how much it would cost for someone to do the swap for me with m help.

Seems like somebody built that m20 for boost, I would check what compression it's running now, but assuming its low for boost the cammed m50 will probably pull harder. I love the m20 the sound the reliably yet and ease of maintenance are all great but I wouldn't want to dump a bunch of money into an NA one. Now if you wanna boost it...

[N2MYE30]

Id say M20. I have both right now. My cabrio is an M20 and my coupe is an M50NV. The M50 gives me plenty of smiles per gallon but the M20 has grown on me these last few years. A clean M20 any day > M50. The only real power I have said "yes, now thats power" has been boosted. Let me just say that both cars run flawlessly so not electrical/mechanical demons to taint my choice.