New guy

[91Saleen#15]

That might be a good idea. What about the guy that put the Vette or GTO (can't remember which) in his E30? Couldn't that be done?

I have a spare mustang engine and tranny.. has anyone put one of them in an e30 before? I heard that Paul Newman put a mustang engine in a volvo station wagon with good results.

[Charlie]

I have a spare mustang engine and tranny.. has anyone put one of them in an e30 before? I heard that Paul Newman put a mustang engine in a volvo station wagon with good results.

So, you say you're going to go autocross this car - do you have the slightest inkling of a clue of what class you want to run? BMW motorswaps are already going to bump you into SM, which puts you up against pretty stout competition, a non-BMW engine is going to bump you straight into the mod classes against pretty much unlimited machinery. Yes, the swap has been done. For the work involved, you might as well toss an aluminum SBC in there.

-Charlie

[91Saleen#15]

So, you say you're going to go autocross this car - do you have the slightest inkling of a clue of what class you want to run? BMW motorswaps are already going to bump you into SM, which puts you up against pretty stout competition, a non-BMW engine is going to bump you straight into the mod classes against pretty much unlimited machinery. Yes, the swap has been done. For the work involved, you might as well toss an aluminum SBC in there.

-Charlie

Good points, Charlie. SM will be just fine. Out here the fastest car in SM is usually a heavily modified 97 M3. I have no idea how an E30 will be able to compete in that class.. I guess that's the challenge. Last Sunday, 3 of the top 8 times at Wendover were Miatas. If winning were the only issue here, I'd probably buy one of those. But, I guess the truth is that I'd rather lose in an E30 than win in a Miata. At this point in time, I'm going to start competing in a stock class in the E30. Very soon, I think I'm going to want more power, and a turbo M20 or a M30 are probably the way to go. If I could buy a kit for 800 bucks to put the mustang engine in an E30 the way you can for a Volvo, I'd probably try that just to see how it works out.

This is just a hobby for me. I'm retired, and need things to keep myself busy. I do all my own work and have a workshop with the necessary tools to do almost anything we've talked about.

[bmwmike]

Theres certainly no kit to swap any engine into an E30. I can break it down, with some of the knowledge I have.

M50/52, S50/52- Not sure how difficult these are, but they've been done many times and you should be able to search here, e30.de, and e30tech.com to find many examples and answers you have. http://www.akgmotorsport.com/usm50swap.html


M30- E30.de you can buy engine mounts for a couple hundred bucks. Otherwise most people fab their own becuase they're very simple. From there its a pretty easy swap into the E30 from what Ive read. I gave you a few sites earlier, and again you can search here and e30tech.com to find many answers. jaredsquires.com has many links and answers. This will be the cheapest swap, typically. Yes, someone might give you an S50 for free because its taking up space, but even then, the tranny for that motor probably costs more than engine/trans for the M30 swap. A lot of existing BMW parts can be used such as driveshafts and tranny mounts. Its just sourcing a bunch of dime a dozen parts at a scrap yard, or do like me, just buy a 535i 5 speed junker for a couple hundred bucks and take what you need. Boosting this motor can cost 5 grand if you buy the kit from tcd, but you could easily gather the parts for half that. And speaking of boost, this motor is very strong. Its arguably the cheapest and safest way of making 350-400 whp on a BMW engine.


M62 (4.4 BMW V8)- this has actually been done numerous times so you can find some knowledge on it. There are pictures and some info on E30.de, and to check one out in english, go to http://www.akgmotorsport.com/e30v8.html If you search here, Ive posted many other links (mainly e30.de) of pictures and examples. This would be a very custom job. Its my personal favorite, maybe because I owned and loved a 540i/6 which weighs about 1000 lbs more. With exhaust/intake it made about 320 bhp and 345 tq. The problem is its a bit too custom for my abilities, therefore Im sticking to a M30. http://www.pbase.com/yelferrari/e30_v8



M70 (BMW V12) Surprising cheap engines when you find them, but do you really want to pull an engine just to change spark plugs?? And from what Ive seen, the wiring is a nightmare you wouldnt want to have. Search here and you'll find a lot of links. E30.de has a bunch as well. The M62 is a much better swap. Heres some pics: http://translate.google.com/translat...language_tools


SBC (LS1) - This has been done just a few times. Theres going to be very minimal information but if your a custom fab guy, the question is why not? Not many engines have the potential an LS1 carries for the price, and at the same time are light-weight aluminum and readily available. Search here and your sure to find a few pics or links.

Ford Engine - To the best of my knowledge this has never been done (though I feel like someone may have put a 5.0 in at some point, maybe?). If your a Ford guy this would be pretty cool and very unique. Obviously this one is all custom fab work as well so you'd better be handy with a torch, welder and whatever other special tools you'll need.

[91Saleen#15]

Ford Engine - To the best of my knowledge this has never been done (though I feel like someone may have put a 5.0 in at some point, maybe?). If your a Ford guy this would be pretty cool and very unique. Obviously this one is all custom fab work as well so you'd better be handy with a torch, welder and whatever other special tools you'll need.

Hey, Mike, thanks for the great post. You clearly put a lot of time into it.

I don't consider myself a "ford guy" or a "chevy guy". I just like certain things better than others. I like the sound of a 5.0 Ford engine better than a small block chevy... must be the firing order which is different than the older small block fords.

I am pretty handy at custom fab work.... I even have a CNC controlled plasma cutter in my shop. If I can use it to make the motor mounts for the M30 swap, I'll offer them here for cost. you can check out my website at www.ohran.com/richard to see my shop. I haven't updated it for a couple years, so some of my newer stuff isn't there. My latest acquisition came from your neck of the woods. Last November at SEMA, I bought a frame rack off of the showroom floor from Chassis Liner.. I think they are from MN somewhere. 'gave me a screaming deal so they wouldn't have to haul it back to MN.

so, thanks for being very helpful.. this is a great forum. I hope I'll get smart enough about E30s to contribute some day.

Richard

[bmwmike]

^I agree about the sound. I love the sound of a SBC, but Fords have always sounded the best. Even the newer 4.6's sound great with some exhaust, I was actually looking at 99+ cobras recently. Still need to go test drive one. The 03-04's would be cool, but they carry a much higher price because of the added power..

edit: I just checked out your site and noticed you have some old firebirds. My first car and first project car was a 68 firebird 400 4 speed. Really loved that car
Before:



After tearing the whole thing down and rebuilding it:



the day it left:

[Ryan Stewart]

Nice looking injun.

[91Saleen#15]

[quote=bmwmike
edit: I just checked out your site and noticed you have some old firebirds. My first car and first project car was a 68 firebird 400 4 speed. Really loved that car
[/quote]

Nice firebird, Mike. I take it that the shot on the truck was the day it left? I have a 69 that is almost done. I still have to replace the trunk pan and then paint it. The original color on it was an ugly dark green..I'm struggling with the desire to paint it a different color. So many people these days think it needs to be restored to the original color... it's the social pressure.... I CAN'T STAND IT.... oh... I'm ok now.

Thanks for looking at my website. Now I feel motivated to update it.

Richard

"if you're not the lead dog, the view never changes"

[Cashdogg]

http://www.da-motorsport.com/projeler/evolutionm3/

1000 hp E30...Could be fun!

Holy fn shit man!

Thats the top of the food chain:drink: :drink: :drink: