New name and and new engine for Mina: an e30 for the GF

[Ether-D]

Holy fuckin shit! So like really, how is it? More sentences about how it pulls and stuff…

And, you beat me. :(

[pandaboo911]

Picture of grin while driving needed

[Andy.B]

With the exhaust bolted in. There was only one thing left to do...

Man, an m30 powered e30 pulls so nice. All the headache and frustration paid off. My ultra budget suspension works fantastically. It supports the extra weight, while still being comfortable enough for daily driving.

There are still some small issues to sort out. While the electric fan tested OK, and the wiring seemed to work, it didn't come on automatically. The coolant level sensor still needs to be re wired. The front lip needs to be reinstalled.

But Mina is finally back on the road!

[Andy.B]

I ended up buying a shortened result driveshaft from driveshaftspecialist.com.

While it put me over my initial budget for the swap, I am glad to have it done and sorted out.

That said, the shaft arrived Tuesday, for bolted in Wednesday, and the exhaust was welded up yesterday and today...



And while it's not pretty, it works, is solid, and didn't cost me anything. I cut apart the stock m20 down pipe and the m30 down pipe, and just pieced it together until it meet the m20 cat assembly.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

None of the shops near me will touch a bmw drive shaft for some reason.

I have a stack of driveshafts at home I could have shortened, I just can't find a shop to do it.

Driveshaft Specialists wants $500 for a shortened, rebuilt driveshaft, shipped, which isn't bad, considering.

If I get one of mine shortened, I'll have to send it somewhere, which means paying for shipping, and taking a gamble on u-joints with unknown mileage.

It honestly isn't ideal, but until this car is done, I'm driving a miata, and after dealing with 20 inches of snow THIS WEEK, I've had enough of that.

I'd have no problem getting a drive shaft shortened for you. Just pay for shipping both ways and the 80 for shortening. My time is free no worries.

[Andy.B]

None of the shops near me will touch a bmw drive shaft for some reason.

I have a stack of driveshafts at home I could have shortened, I just can't find a shop to do it.

Driveshaft Specialists wants $500 for a shortened, rebuilt driveshaft, shipped, which isn't bad, considering.

If I get one of mine shortened, I'll have to send it somewhere, which means paying for shipping, and taking a gamble on u-joints with unknown mileage.

It honestly isn't ideal, but until this car is done, I'm driving a miata, and after dealing with 20 inches of snow THIS WEEK, I've had enough of that.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

I've been stuck at this point for too long to keep waiting around. I'm going to bite the bullet, give up on alternatives, and just buy a shortened driveshaft. At least it comes with the peace of mind of thousands of worry free miles.


Someone out there needs to try an m10/auto driveshaft, as I still suspect it might work.

Just a get a 87 325 e drive shaft. Mine had to be shortened about 2 inches. Cost me 80 to get it shortened balanced and painted.

[Andy.B]

I've been stuck at this point for too long to keep waiting around. I'm going to bite the bullet, give up on alternatives, and just buy a shortened driveshaft. At least it comes with the peace of mind of thousands of worry free miles.


Someone out there needs to try an m10/auto driveshaft, as I still suspect it might work.

[Ether-D]

He thinks he's got a few. I'll put my hands on one tomorrow and ship it out to you. PM me your address.

[Ether-D]

Hell, I'll gladly pay the shipping. I owe you bro.

[Andy.B]

Dude, lemme see if I can get one of those from Donnie. If I can, I'll send it back w/Swanny. If not, I bet I could ask Lonny or Johnny…

I'll be picking your brain on your suspension setup soon.

And, I just love this build. Love it!

I will gladly pay for shipping to get one here asap, if you can get a lead on one.

I am incredibly anxious to get the car rolling, and this is the last piece I need to make it move.

[Ether-D]

Dude, lemme see if I can get one of those from Donnie. If I can, I'll send it back w/Swanny. If not, I bet I could ask Lonny or Johnny…

I'll be picking your brain on your suspension setup soon.

And, I just love this build. Love it!

[Andy.B]

The car is now waiting in my driveway until I can get a small guibo output flange for the transmission. I've been hunting around, but have had no luck so far.

In order to get the car moving under its own power, I need one of these guys:

The small flange guibo has holes that are 2.6" apart, while the large flange is 3.12".
The part number for the small flange is 23211228298.
It looks like this:


If anybody has one they are willing to sell, send me a pm!

[Andy.B]

When I converted my car to coil overs, I paid a machine shop to machine down the strut inserts, and to cut and section the strut housings. I payed $125 total, iirc. Certainly not a bad deal, by any means, but this time I wanted to see if I could do it cheaper.

How to modify mr2 shocks for e30 fitment, the cheap way:


I put some grease on the strut insert, clamped down the housing, and slid the insert into the housing. Then I tightened the nut down on the shaft, held a file against the section that needs to be filed down, and spun with an impact wrench. It took about 3 or 4 minutes per strut, and saved me $25 at the machine shop.



Next up was to section the strut housing 2 inches. I bought a metal chop saw from Home depot for $179. Sure that costs more than the machine work work have, but now I have a chop saw I can use for all sorts of things. When it came time to piece an exhaust together out of the stock e30 and e28 exhausts, it paid for itself in time saved with the ability to make perfectly straight and square cuts through exhaust pipe.

A quick cut with the chop saw, and a few minutes welding, and I had 2" shortened strut! A straight section of e30 exhaust pipe works perfectly to line up the top and bottom parts of the housing for welding, as it is a snug fit into the housing.

All assembled:

[Andy.B]

I test fit the g265rear/4hp22 front, and while the length is acceptable, there are two problems. First one is the previously mentioned issue of the CSB not lining up. The second issue is that the 4hp22 from an m20 car has a small guibo, while the g265 is a large guibo.

From another post, it looks like an m10/auto driveshaft is in between the m20/auto driveshaft and the m20/manual driveshaft in length, which should make it a usable fit behind the g265. Fingers cross while I go down the rabbit hole of research.

If anybody knows the length of an m10/auto driveshaft, I would love to know.

Also, does the g260 transmission output flange swap with the g265 output flange?