Euro M30 Project is Moving Along! Pics Inside...

[M3 Ryan]

Hey guys-
Well, my 230 HP Engine is going quite well.
I finished the 3 angle valve-job today, and it went very well. I got the va;ves lapped and they all look great.
I painted the block with Black Engine Block Enamel, and it looks "The Business". I plan to paint the head aluminum silver and clearcoat it.
I got all my parts today that I could afford, so heres the pics.
If anyone wants an excel spreadsheet of my costs thus far, I can e-mail it to you.
I am right around $1,100 with a new clutch and all new components on the motor.

Specs: 3453cc Euro "L-Block" 93.4MM Bore, 84MM Stroke.
Deves Piston Rings (Pics Comming) www.deves.com
K&N Cold-Air Intake with Custom Heatshield (mine)
E34 M30 Cam/intake Manifold
Borla Exhaust
This motor is a hign compression, 9.3:1 beast.
Stock is 218hp with L-Jettronic, so I figure with the cam/intake manifold/exhaust and headwork/fresh motor running Motronic with aftermarket chit, I can squeeze 230hp from it.The motor had a spun rod bearing and a junk head from being machined too many times, so I got another head with Dual Valve Springs and better valve guides so they wouldn't need replacement. The rod is getting resized, I am re-using the pistons with new rings, and the head got a full valvejob. 14lb Flyhweel with new clutch should make the power delivery just that much more fun 8)

ETA Until Install= 1 month.






[img]http://photos.tobinhosting.com/album/album125/aax.sized.jpg[/img

[MichaelH]

Did you buy an actual euro motor, or are you just building a better US motor? Where do you find a euro motor? I just bought a 535is that either needs a rebuild or a swap, and I can't decide what to do. Any input from your experience?

[M3 Ryan]

This is a real Euro motor from a wrecked 635CSi Euro Gray Market car.
I say just rebuild your stock motor and use better parts. raise the compression, or turbo it, and it will be sweet.
I wanted to turbo this motor, but because it's already high compression, its not the right platform, so I am building an all-motor beast out of it.

Be preparred for some costs... I paid 400 for this motor, then another $200 for a head to replace the junk one.
M30 Heads can fit on any M30 block, there are 3 different heads.

You can go wild, and take a Euro block, bore it out more, use a US crank and make a 3.7L stroker or a 3.9L with a custom crank, but you will always be limited by 2 valves, and it will haunt you.

If it were me, I would buy a core US spec M30 and Turbo it, they are good for wellover 300 HP on street gas...

[OldUser1]

Looks good Ryan, I definitely want to see it when it’s done.

[LikeCDoos]

Are you trying to have it done before bimmerfest?? That would be sweet to have both your bmw's there, maybe even your girlfriends.

[KrayZE30]

Wow. Looks good! Im kinda new to the bmw scene and I didnt know that people could swap m30's into the e30. This seems like it would be an awesome swap. I was trying to save some money to buy an s50 later on down the road but it looks like for around 2k you could be swaping in a m30 with 230hp. How is this thing going to affect the overall weight of the car compaired to the 2.5l m20. Are the m30's pretty popular and easy when it comes to tuning? Would you reccomend this engine over the s50. Also is the swap fairly simular to the m50/s50 swaps?

Hope to hear about your progress soon. Good luck.

Sean

[LikeCDoos]

He's acually putting it in his e28 535, not his e30

[M3 Ryan]

I am doing an M30 sway for George Graves this summer, so I will know whats all involved then...
It would cost you WAY over 2k t have a 230hp M30 into an E30... seeing as you need around $3k just to get an M30 and put it into an E30, that doesn't include a rebuild that costs THOUSANDS of dollars.
I am rebuilding this motor myself, because I am in an auto-tech class. I get use of all the tools for free, and professional help/advice from my teacher who has 35 years of engine rebuilding expierence.

This swap is a but cheaper than doing an M50/S50 as the engines can be had for much less, but the amount of custom work involved to make it fit is around the same... need a shortened driveshaft, E28 Radiator, custom motor mounts, wiring harness/ECU, ect.
This is pretty involved because of the engine size. This is going to drop right into my E28, so I won't have any custom work to make it fit.

[Nate325ic]

putting an m30 in an e30 isn't all that expensive, you can have the motor for 200-400, tranny 400, engine mount brackets $200, driveshaft shortening isn't expensive I was quoted $60 by a very good shop in my area, computer and wiring harness you can go to your local pick-and-pull maybe $50, radiator about the same price maybe a few dollars for some beer to con your freinds into helping, I'm doing this swap this summer and I dont intend on going over $1500. Much cheaper then doing an m50 swap. You might be limited to 2 valves a cylinder, but you have the bling factor; how many people do this swap compared to the m50? the m30 has pretty good hp and torque numbers and its not that much heavier in the grand scheme of things, near 50/50 weight balance can sitll be retained

[M3 Ryan]

2-400 for a running M30 is CHEAP. I bought mine as a core motor for $400 and it would have been a good deal if the head didn't turn out to be junk... a running M30 with low miles is at least 500, probably more.
ECU's are 100, wiring might come with the motor as mine did. who knows... I have an excel spreadsheet with all the $$ figures on it and its more than you would think...

[MichaelH]

Maybe the price in CA are higher, because there are a actually a few m30's that are in the $400 range here in the SE. The local lot here has one for like $300, but the say it has not been started in at least a year. I would say an average price around here for a good running one is $400-500.

[M3 Ryan]

Cali also has laws on motor swaps, and you are not allowed to put an older engine in a newer car. My swap is technically "illegal" but all the mods are internal and it will pass smog just fine, I am not the least bit worried about it.
Here you have to have legit papers, so if you have a '90 325i you have to use an E34 engine from 90+ and it has to have everything that the other car came with.

[Pedro]

Cali also has laws on motor swaps, and you are not allowed to put an older engine in a newer car. My swap is technically "illegal" but all the mods are internal and it will pass smog just fine, I am not the least bit worried about it.
Here you have to have legit papers, so if you have a '90 325i you have to use an E34 engine from 90+ and it has to have everything that the other car came with.

Damn never knew that.

Whenever i go back to Indiana to visit (next summer) i might consider swapping the m30 into my e30. My e28 is going to sit for a year so its gonna need some work when i get back to it.

[KrayZE30]

He's acually putting it in his e28 535, not his e30

Oh ic.

But it is possilble to do the swap into an E30. Are there any articles online about doing that particular swap?

[E30/M30]

He's acually putting it in his e28 535, not his e30

Oh ic.

But it is possilble to do the swap into an E30. Are there any articles online about doing that particular swap?

http://www.e30.de

Press 335i button on the right and look for the English version button.

HTH

Andrew