Maybe New E30 enthusiast

[MrCrash]

Hello all,
I'm thinking of picking up a 1990 325i for a project / toy

What i'm looking for in this car is something fun to work on and must be fun to drive. i have been looking up "google'ing" info and the base specs look like it be a fun car.

the cars base numbers look ok, hp to weight, i got a little confused on what 6cyl it had until i went to look at it today. the VIN decoder said it was a DOHC but under the hood was not DOHC.

what are the options with this canvas ?
id be looking from the ground up,
brakes suspension & steering,
then the fun part :) more power!

upgrade too the DOHC? beef up the SOHC? turbo? i even been looking at some sbc conversion.

but reality of my limited checking account comes to play so what the biggest bang for my buck ?

[rturbo 930]

Best bang/buck is probably an S52 swap or maybe an M20 turbo.

[Farbin Kaiber]

Keep the engine that is in it, do all maintenance to get it in good order, then upgrade suspension and brake systems, then after all that is done, look into engine conversions. 24v(DOHC) m50/m52 or s50/s52 is one series of options, others include m30's, and lastly, you can get more than enough 'toy' power out of a built-up m20.

[mkcman17]

Go drive the car first. E30s aren't 'fast' by modern standards but they will scoot you along with a smile.

[MrCrash]

Go drive the car first. E30s aren't 'fast' by modern standards but they will scoot you along with a smile.

Thats it, I'm not looking to win races i live in a rural area 1 mile from my drive way is a 15+ miles straight as an arrow and if you see 2 cars on it it must be rush hour :p

Thanks guy's. i am going to check out the forms see what some others folks are doing. to come up with ideas.

The body looks to be ok, any areas i should check for rust issues. or weak / stressed locations?

[HennaE30]

Maybe New E30 enthusiast

Best bang/buck is probably an S52 swap or maybe an M20 turbo.

I would M30 swap before I turboed the M20... Turbo BMW motors are a pain in the ass to get right.

If you have a budget, swap an M30 into it.. Loads of torque and hp, and you can do that swap for +/- $1500. If you have no budget throw and S5x motor into it.

I agree with Farbin though, make sure everything else is running right before you swap. What good is an S54 swapped E30 If it drives like shit, or not at all?


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[MrCrash]

ok im little confused m20 is the sohc whats m30? and M50 is the dohc. now the "S" is what ? cost factor is the over all factor but i like to understand what series is what pros and cons. i have been reading trying to understand the benefits. from what i have found is the m50 is stock @ almost 200hp 10.1, that would be not something to boost later on. where i can maybe beef up the sohc and slow build another sohc to boost later. if my info is way off please correct me. this is what i am currently trying plan out.

[MrCrash]

i did a quick look up on e30, that looks cool. now if some could give me the skinny on the "S" variations

[rturbo 930]

http://www.bimmerforums.com/?p=70

Check out that page, it'll give you the rundown on your engine choices.

[MrCrash]

Awesome, thanks

thats the page i have been looking for, now i see the big improvements in S series. plenty of info to drool on, but plenty of work to do before hand. thanks all for the info and if more please post. the car i hope to have in the garage tomorrow so i can start tinkering i hope.

[mkcman17]

Most bmw guys don't refer to the motors by how many cams they had. M20 is the baby six and the m30 is the big six from the bigger bodies. The later 24v motors came in m5x and s5x - although the s50/2 were more or less stroked/cam'd m50s. I think it's safe to say that they all take to boost very well.

[HennaE30]

The S series came in all your M cars. More power than the M motors, which came from the series cars. The M20 is the 2.5L (or 2.7L if it's an ETA motor) I6 that came in the 325i, only makes like 170hp. The M30 is a 3.4/3.5L I6 used in the 5 6 and 7 series cars, makes around ~215hp and ~225tq iirc. Your M5x (specifically the M50/2) are in your E36s and E34s, they make just shy of 200hp, and if you are swapping, are the cheapest.

Personally, for my car, I'm looking at either and S52 or an M30. This being that I'm getting a deal on the S52 from a buddy of mine, and M30s make great DD motors because of all the torque.

In the end, decide what the cars purpose is before you decide on what motor to swap into it.

And I would do suspension/handling first. Getting all new bushings and such. If you would like you can PM and I'll help you out and try to answer your questions as best as I can.


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[mkcman17]

M30b35 is a touch over 200hp and the m50 is a touch under. Both the s50 and s52 are damn near the same power but peak at different points.

[HennaE30]

M30b35 is a touch over 200hp and the m50 is a touch under. Both the s50 and s52 are damn near the same power but peak at different points.

And the S52 makes like 10 more torques than the S50B30US due to the longer stroke.




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[mkcman17]

Exactly, my s50 swap pulls on my roommate's s52 swap up top. He has all the advantage mid-range though.