Good things come to those who wait...

[xwill112x]

Naw the s14 will go into a friends 2002. That's the motor that car belongs in! :up:

this.


s14's aren't really as fast as what people make them out to be. a modified 318is will hang with a m3 with a stock s14. stock m3 is a 318is thats hopped up with longggg gears. personally i love the m42 & s14, but the e30 m3 is just to much car/fuhraze for it to have a gutless weak 4 cylinder. tell the purists to suck it as you fly by them with a aluminum stroker m52 or hell id even contemplate a lsx/4.0L bmw v8 swap.

whatever you do, make sure the engine has enough balls and is badass enough to match the badass ballsy m3 body.

[Iain]

If you're having problems sourcing an alu m52 why not go m54b30?

as for the whole S14 debate - these cars are about fun and performance. If people are so worried about e30 m3s being desicrated with an aluminium six cylinder, maybe they should also start telling people to put their suspension, wheels and tyres back to OEM specs so you don't disrupt the delicate handling balance. Or maybe they can start buying up stock e30 m3s and preserving them, rather than telling people what to do with their own cars?

[e30polak]

I'm not trying to be mean or anything..just pointing this out as a general remark towards everyone who swaps out the S14.

Can't say it enough...yep it is your car. Do as you please good sir :)

In fact, go ahead and swap the S14...send it my way, and I'll swap it into my E36

Naw the s14 will go into a friends 2002 probably. That's the motor that car belongs in! :up:

[Hodge]

Man I love getting peoples' panties in a knot. I'm not necessarily worried about the longevity of the motor, especially since mine is going to be completely refreshed. I'm sponsored by a shop that knows how to work on the motor, and I know they can last if properly maintained. Hell Chris Castro's has 180k or so on the clock, and it still runs great.

However, the s14 is pretty boring compared to a well built swap car. I've been in a properly built 2.5 s14 with cams, and that was nice, but it's not worth all the money put into it IMO. I'm going to regrind the intake cam to Evo 2 spec, do a Miller 4" MAF kit, exhaust, lightweight crank pulley, and have Dan Miller tweak the tune on his WAR chip for the cam. That should hold me till I can afford the blower kit or an s54.

Who knows, I'm extremely indecisive when it comes to plans for my car, so my mind will probably change again next week. If I could afford to keep both cars, then I'd leave my 325 to be my fast car. However, I don't have that luxury, so the M3 it is.

I'm not trying to be mean or anything..just pointing this out as a general remark towards everyone who swaps out the S14.

Can't say it enough...yep it is your car. Do as you please good sir :)

In fact, go ahead and swap the S14...send it my way, and I'll swap it into my E36

[e30polak]

Man I love getting peoples' panties in a knot. I'm not necessarily worried about the longevity of the motor, especially since mine is going to be completely refreshed. I'm sponsored by a shop that knows how to work on the motor, and I know they can last if properly maintained. Hell Chris Castro's has 180k or so on the clock, and it still runs great.

However, the s14 is pretty boring compared to a well built swap car. I've been in a properly built 2.5 s14 with cams, and that was nice, but it's not worth all the money put into it IMO. I'm going to regrind the intake cam to Evo 2 spec, do a Miller 4" MAF kit, exhaust, lightweight crank pulley, and have Dan Miller tweak the tune on his WAR chip for the cam. That should hold me till I can afford the blower kit or an s54.

Who knows, I'm extremely indecisive when it comes to plans for my car, so my mind will probably change again next week. If I could afford to keep both cars, then I'd leave my 325 to be my fast car. However, I don't have that luxury, so the M3 it is.

[Hodge]

Matt, c'mon now. S14 is legendary for a reason. It's endurance is track proven by the finest pro drivers...yet, some independent mechanics are calling it a ticking time bomb? I suppose the S38 is also? Sounds like something a mechanic who doesn't know how (or want) to work on early M engines would say. Makes perfect sense that a shop that does swaps would say that though. Not just TNG but generally speaking. Race engines need to be taken care of, especially old ones. If you do that, there's no reason you can't have a reliable 200K mile S14. To get the most out of the S14, you gotta rev it up and shit does happen (mostly due to detonation/oil starvation issues) but there are several 300HP NA and upto 1000HP turbocharged S14's across the globe. To add insult to injury we don't even have real S50 engines which is why they are plentiful and cheap.

After seeing all of the BTCC/DTM races in the 80's and after all the E30 M3 accomplishments...it's just a shame that some people don't appreciate it. You got people who don't even know anything about the car, but they know they want to swap the engine because they heard it's a ticking time bomb....really???

My thoughts exactly. I normally don't really care when people swap engines, but E30m3's are becoming somewhat rare, and being able to find one with an original S14 is even harder. I really wouldn't even give a second look at one with any thing but and S14 if I were in the market for an E30M3. That is one of the whole reasons to have an E30M3.

Yeah it is your car, do whatever you want, but seeing as you already have an E30 with a swap, how could you not be satisfied with an awesome piece of racing history? Especially one that is built. Why would you want to daily an E30M3 anyway? They don't have torque, traffic would be shitty to drive around in, etc. It's a race car, it needs to be open up. Swapping a motor with torque in just destroys the car's whole character. You said you want a fast M3...there are alot of E46 and E90/92 M3's out there you know.

[reelizmpro]

Matt, c'mon now. S14 is legendary for a reason. It's endurance is track proven by the finest pro drivers...yet, some independent mechanics are calling it a ticking time bomb? I suppose the S38 is also? Sounds like something a mechanic who doesn't know how (or want) to work on early M engines would say. Makes perfect sense that a shop that does swaps would say that though. Not just TNG but generally speaking. Race engines need to be taken care of, especially old ones. If you do that, there's no reason you can't have a reliable 200K mile S14. To get the most out of the S14, you gotta rev it up and shit does happen (mostly due to detonation/oil starvation issues) but there are several 300HP NA and upto 1000HP turbocharged S14's across the globe. To add insult to injury we don't even have real S50 engines which is why they are plentiful and cheap.

After seeing all of the BTCC/DTM races in the 80's and after all the E30 M3 accomplishments...it's just a shame that some people don't appreciate it. You got people who don't even know anything about the car, but they know they want to swap the engine because they heard it's a ticking time bomb....really???

[Stephen]

^ not to be a dick or anything but the whole S14 is for the track, more power needed for the street is kinda backwards methinks

[e30polak]

I'm personally tired of opening so many "hey I swapped my S14 out..." threads.

E30M3's should stay with the S14. if you want a swapped E30 (sounds like you have one) then do a non-M. As others have stated already, the E30M3 was never about monster power, and yes the S14 is the SOUL and LIFE of the E30M3. Take that away, and you just have another E30 with an M3 body kit.

No offense, but you said you don't like the maintenance involved with the S14, then why do you have an E30M3 in the first place? That the same line of thinking if somebody bought an E34M5, didn't like spending all the money on the S38, so they swapped in an M50+turbo instead of just selling the M5 and buying a 525.

The classic M cars are all about their motors...put something vanilla in them and they lose their soul.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but at the end of the day this is my car. It will be built properly, whether I keep the s14 and supercharge it, or swap in something else. I want the m3 for it's beautiful body, the 5-lug set-up, the ability to put bigger brakes, and to make everyone else jealous! :p (lol j/k)

And an e34 m5 is a completely different story than an e30 m3. You can turn ANY e34 into an m5 with out doing drastic body work, the same can't be said for an m3. I love the way my swap car handles, and I know that the m3 will handle just as well with a swapped motor if I go that route.

The s14's nimbleness plays a larger role on the track, but I wont be going all that often. In the streets, or even in the canyon, it doesn't make that big of a difference. I've driven both cars very hard, and I know the differences between them. I'd rather have the power that a swap car offers if I'm going to stay NA.

At the end of the day I want a fast M3, that handles well. :up:

[Hodge]

I'm personally tired of opening so many "hey I swapped my S14 out..." threads.

E30M3's should stay with the S14. if you want a swapped E30 (sounds like you have one) then do a non-M. As others have stated already, the E30M3 was never about monster power, and yes the S14 is the SOUL and LIFE of the E30M3. Take that away, and you just have another E30 with an M3 body kit.

No offense, but you said you don't like the maintenance involved with the S14, then why do you have an E30M3 in the first place? That the same line of thinking if somebody bought an E34M5, didn't like spending all the money on the S38, so they swapped in an M50+turbo instead of just selling the M5 and buying a 525.

The classic M cars are all about their motors...put something vanilla in them and they lose their soul.

[e30polak]

wow cant believe i just found this thread haha
chris, congrats. theres really no one i know thatll build this thing with as much care as u will.
in the end, itll be sick.
but u lose interest in the possible ls1 swap?

Thanks Nick! :D

Chris, you just picked up a project E30 M3 at a fair price. We know you're excited about it but don't get too far ahead of yourself. You should really take it one step at a time. Get that S14 back together and go from there. The car was never all about power. It might just grow on you. I personally would repaint it it's original color red with Glasurit but that's me.

I dunno, with the direction you are trying to go, I can't help but think you should just keep your swapped 325 because you're building the same type of car just with an M3 body. You're taking all of the value the E30 M3 has and tossing it out the window. It's your car, do what you want...I'm just sayin.

Don't worry Barry, we're definitely going to get the s14 running first. It will hold me for a while, but I've driven my swap car daily for the past 3 years and it's kind of hard for me to give up on all that torque. Plus after I spend all the time and money on a nice paint job, I'm not going to be taking this thing to the canyons. It will be mainly a fun cruising car, that will see the track/auto-x every so often.

If I see that a rebuilt s14 can reliably handle Osh's blower kit, then I may just go that route. Keeping the s14 to get decent power out of it NA is a money pit, and not worth it IMO.

I'm not here to keep the purists happy, I'm concerned about my own happiness with my newly acquired dream machine! :mrgreen:

No matter who says what, I can't believe you're even considering keeping the S14. They're already a ticking time bomb and you want a BOOSTED bomb?? You're crazy.

The motor already has all new timing components, new valves, uprated springs and retainer, aftermarket forged pistons, etc. I will be stripping down the motor, hot tanking the block and re-honing it, all new gaskets, resurface the head, and get it running properly. I will document the rebuild so that I can have it as proof if I end up swapping it out later.

I'm going to throw on some ARP studs for now, and if I end up boosting it, then I'll get a thick MLS to drop compression. If everything is done properly I think it will handle the blower kit just fine. Especially since I will be putting very few miles on it each week.

I like the idea of the aluminum block m52 stroker the best, but if I can't find that, then s54 it is. :twisted:

[Stephen]

boosted bomb DOES sound fast...

[MR 325]

No matter who says what, I can't believe you're even considering keeping the S14. They're already a ticking time bomb and you want a BOOSTED bomb?? You're crazy.

[Stephen]

Chris, you just picked up a project E30 M3 at a fair price. We know you're excited about it but don't get too far ahead of yourself. You should really take it one step at a time. Get that S14 back together and go from there. The car was never all about power. It might just grow on you. I personally would repaint it it's original color red with Glasurit but that's me.

I dunno, with the direction you are trying to go, I can't help but think you should just keep your swapped 325 because you're building the same type of car just with an M3 body. You're taking all of the value the E30 M3 has and tossing it out the window. It's your car, do what you want...I'm just sayin.

truth.org

[reelizmpro]

Chris, you just picked up a project E30 M3 at a fair price. We know you're excited about it but don't get too far ahead of yourself. You should really take it one step at a time. Get that S14 back together and go from there. The car was never all about power. It might just grow on you. I personally would repaint it it's original color red with Glasurit but that's me.

I dunno, with the direction you are trying to go, I can't help but think you should just keep your swapped 325 because you're building the same type of car just with an M3 body. You're taking all of the value the E30 M3 has and tossing it out the window. It's your car, do what you want...I'm just sayin.