84 to 87 differences?

[Haystack]

I know some early models didn't come with ABS and drum brakes in the rear, a few sensor locations.. As far as the body goes, is anything different? I've got an 87 325 5spd with a knock in the motor. I'm considering purchasing an 84 with a bad auto tranny and either swapping over to the 84 the transmission, or swapping the motor to the 87. The body on the 84 is much better, someone unfortunately painted all the contrasting black pieces to white.



Versus my 87


r3v, how should I proceed turning 2 bad ones into one good one?


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[E30Kills]

I believe as long as you are using an "i" gearbox you should be fine. The only issues I've heard of are "eta" gearboxes. I'm assuming its not a G240 which is the m42 gearbox. Also I think swapping the bumpers over isn't too much of a task.

[Haystack]

Unfortunately, they're both e's.

[ANDRÜ]

Only thing I can think of body-wise is the side markers on the bumper shrouds are wider 84-86, and thin 87-88. You can see in your pics. It should not affect parts swapping.

[E30Kills]

Unfortunately, they're both e's.

As long at they are both etas you should be fine. The issues come up when swapping eta to I, or G240 to G260

[Haystack]

I was aware of that. I took a look at it today. Alpine on tan. Tan houndstooth panels, sport seats in good condition front and rear, Zender spoiler, racing dynamics 3 piece rear apron, full exhaust, couldn't tell what kind, some odd side skirts, I couldn't tell. Runs like a top, the auto tranny only has reverse. 13 button obc, bilstein shocks, couldn't tell what kind of springs... As long as the wife is ok with it, it's coming home with me. No title though. So it's all getting switched over to my 87, the rest parted out, then scrap the shell.


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[SubDad]

The body on the 84 is much better

In my bitter experience there's no sense wasting time and money on a rotten chassis.

The issues come up when swapping eta to I, or G240 to G260

I'll be swapping my M20B20/240 for an M20B25/260, and my Googling and searching tell me that I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. What are the issues? Well, actually, what are the solutions?

[reelizmpro]

Sidemarkers are 84-85, then 86 on.

The engine harness C101 connector will be rectangular (84-85) whereas 86-on is round. This shouldn't matter much if you are only swapping the engine itself.

The 84 should have a 2.79 vs the 2.93 diff in your 87. Only the 84-85 318i's had rear drum brakes, the 325's had discs.

The core supports are also different but this isn't a big deal.

[estoguy]

http://www.strictlyeta.net/technical/differences2.html