What is required for E30 S38 swap?

[TwoJ's]

If any of you guys are in the CT area and would like to feel what an early 90's 3800lb family sedan with a six cylinder is supposed to feel like, pm me!

Probably slower and less tossable than an e30 with s52 :p

But in all seriousness, I'd love to go for a ride in a s38 powered car. I kind of scoffed at s14's before I drove one. Now I likes. And there is something to be said about keeping a period correct motor in an e30. Is it safe to say the s38 was the best BMW motor of the era?

And sorry, I can offer no help as far as the swap.

[Jordan325iC]

This thread disappoints me. An e30 with an S38 is my dream car.

Oh my god, are you saying that M engines are expensive to maintain and purchase? WHAAAAA?

DON'T YOU ALL KNOW IT IS CHEAPEST TO BUILD UP A FOX BODY MUSTANG? BMW PARTS ARE EXPENSIVEEEE!!!

[madjurgen]

Why expend the extra funds to get the s38 in there.

Because he wants to. He's already familar with the motor and its running/rebuilding costs, so if you dont have any helpful advice concerning the actual logistics of the swap, stfu.

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=6382&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

[whiltebeitel]

Because he wants to. He's already familar with the motor and its running/rebuilding costs, so if you dont have any helpful advice concerning the actual logistics of the swap, stfu.


http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?n...er=asc&start=0

Link gives the "forbidden zone" page.

[Farbin Kaiber]

Because he wants to. He's already familar with the motor and its running/rebuilding costs, so if you dont have any helpful advice concerning the actual logistics of the swap, stfu.


http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?n...er=asc&start=0

Forbidden Zone, you need to STFU.

[ptownTSI]

This thread disappoints me. An e30 with an S38 is my dream car.

Oh my god, are you saying that M engines are expensive to maintain and purchase? WHAAAAA?

DON'T YOU ALL KNOW IT IS CHEAPEST TO BUILD UP A FOX BODY MUSTANG? BMW PARTS ARE EXPENSIVEEEE!!!

bmw parts can be just as cheap. $30 water pumps for an E30, $25 slave cylinders, $80-90 wheel bearings, $200 for a new set of control arms and bushings.

[madjurgen]

Forbidden Zone, you need to STFU.

Sign in, then copy the link, not that hard to figure out asshat.

[Jparkr]

The problem here is none of these people know what an S38 really is.

Take your silly Euro spec S50, now add a liter of displacement and TONS more power, that's an S38.

This whole S50 vs. S38 conversation is like comparing a M10 vs. S14, THERE IS NO COMPARISON!

There is more info than these people are offering but you will have to look for it, most avoid the swap because they can't even afford the engine to begin with. I know of a stroked euro 3.8L S38 making 400hp locally for $13k.

If you can afford the swap, do it, it will be one of the most fun, and rare, e30's around.

I bet 99.9% of these people have never even driven an 88 M5, and don't know the true meaning of Mpower.

youuuur dumb^^

Anyway, not many people have done this swap to my knowlege. I dont know anyone here on r3v who has... so, like it was said in the first couple of posts. go find a diffrent fourm with more experience in the issue. and if you pull it off successfully then bring your ass back here and write a walk-up on it ok? then you can help people out who have simular ambitions.

Personally in your first post you said you havent driven an E30? but you wanna make a supercar? thats fine but you should at least know the car your about to heavily change, thats just how i and im sure everyone else feels though.

and lastly, why do you want to take your M5 and your other 5 series and rip them apart? just to put parts into the E30. that just seems wrong unless they are both destroyed in some way.

of yeah, stop bitching about $$$ pictures because It is infact all about the benjamins

[Jean]

Well, he never said his two 5s would be donors ... but e30 with s38 is far from a supercar anyway with it's dated rear suspension, chassis, interior, safety, luxury etc.... ;)

[Farbin Kaiber]

Sign in, then copy the link, not that hard to figure out asshat.

PM me your login info then, douchenozzle.

[bmw332i]

Why not give Mike Morris at Schneller in Massachusets a call? He's built an e30s38 (among many others, and most recently, he was trying to put an s62 in an e30), and would most likely give you some help with some basic questions about your swap.

And you're right, it would be like nothing else to drive an e30s38. Everyday, I hope my brothers Euro '95 s38b38 M5 was to have a tree fall perpendicularly across his roof so I could scavenge his engine. 323rwhp in an e30 would be oh so very nice. Good luck.

http://www.machschnell.com/schneller.html

Here's my brother's car's dyno sheet at Turner after some "work":

[smonkbmw]

Besides the donor engine and tranny, can you use many M30 swap pieces? Thanks for any insight

was the question. no one asked how much it cost or what anyone thought of it. then like a bunch of kids one person responds with a smart ass remark and everyone else jumps on the bandwagon. offering your is allowed but not the question. if you dont have something constructive to say, dont say anything at all then.

the s38 is a STRONG motor. it is period correct. but it is to bad its only advantage is it weighs 12 pounds less than a 24 valve. makes about the same if not less than a s52.

the only items that are swappable i believe are the motor mounts from the m30, trans MIGHT work but doubtful.

[E30SPDFRK]

If any of you guys are in the CT area and would like to feel what an early 90's 3800lb family sedan with a six cylinder is supposed to feel like, pm me!

Where in CT?:)

[SpunkyE30nOk]

there is a guy on e30tech that put a s38 in an e30 vert... don't remember his name but if you do a search for it, it'll come up he has pics and everything. its pretty clean, white vert. and whoever said adding a liter, etc to a s50=s38 is very, very WRONG. about the only thing those two motors share is the M badge. The s38 is derived from the m88 race motor from the M1. The s50 euro was an all new motor. sure both have individual throttle bodies, a decently high (back then redline). Other than that i can't think of anything they might share.

[BeirBrennerE30]

you own the s38... buy the e30 and measure stuff. It is not a very popular swap in the us so.... GASP... you may have to use common sense and figure this one out by yourself! put the engine into an empty e30 engine bay and figure out what it takes

p.s. imho to everyone the s38 is a very outdated motor and is just big in displacement. s54 and s62 are what swappers should be lookin at now.