VIN #336 Craigslist Find. S38 Swapped Euro E30

[SickFinga]

When I ran the VIN it calls it a 1986 but the paperwork calls it a 1984

Which paperwork calls it an 84? US or German? It is impossible for it to be an 84 since 325i began mass production in September 1985

[downforce22]

Which paperwork calls it an 84? US or German? It is impossible for it to be an 84 since 325i began mass production in September 1985

Good to know. The customs paperwork calls it that so I think they may have filled that out to get it over to the US without federalization being 25 years old back in 2009. That is purely speculation though.

[Midweste30]

I know you said you can't justify spending $1500 on a muffled but the Eisenmann race exhaust sounds incredible!!! To die for. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wQq8H-ybBKc Listen to that and you may change your mind

[SickFinga]

Good to know. The customs paperwork calls it that so I think they may have filled that out to get it over to the US without federalization being 25 years old back in 2009. That is purely speculation though.

Was it imported in 2009? Well, that explains the 1984 year and the lack of side markers. BTW, compare your VIN in the US registration documents to the VIN on the plate. Autocheck doesn't show history for your vehicles. Sometimes VIN is changed to a US complaint version when a grey market car is imported.

[Eric]

I'm not sure I can justify a $1500 muffler, but am interested in the other options I have. It would be nice to keep it flanged all the way back.

How many turbo manifolds have you gone through on the euro ix? Probably would have been cheaper to buy the quality one first. I'm not saying drop $1500 on a new piece, but hunt down a good used one for $500 ish. E34 M5's are at the bottom of their depreciation so they are being parted out more than saved. In 3 years it will probably my be the other way around.

Btw, I bought my $2,000 Sterbo for the e28 brand new for $800. The guy bought it and never installed it. There are deals out there, you and your brothers are pro's at finding them!


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[Alpina]

That burnt valve..............

[kronus]

seriously. It seems that every S38 I see that gets pulled apart has completely destroyed its exhaust valves.

wonder if you can get fancy sodium-filled valves like the 745i M30..

[Alpina]

seriously. It seems that every S38 I see that gets pulled apart has completely destroyed its exhaust valves.

wonder if you can get fancy sodium-filled valves like the 745i M30..

B38 valves are filled.. but not sure with B36,

[ModernclassicxF]

Wow nice find, beautiful car.

[downforce22]

I have an update for you guys.



A few weird things.

There were some spacers underneath the valve springs. They look to be washers machined to fit over the valve stems. Anyone heard of this before, possibly to increase valve springs tension?



There doesn't seem to be any markings on the head/ block. I will keep searching as it may be on the ECU.





As for the mechanics of the engine. The cylinder head was looked at and it turns out there are a few hairline cracks in the head. I am not sure how this happens besides maybe avoiding basic maintenance? Here is cylinder number four and apparently there are a few more of these elsewhere on the head, this one being the worst with the bad valve.

From the mechanic

Head is not in very good shape. This is cylinder 4, there are 3 cracks in the combustion chamber. 4 other chambers have cracks but this is the worst. The crack on the left is raised and warped the seats, that's why the valve burnt.

I have a friend who knows somebody out of state who can repair heads and says this is salvageable. I am not sure I want to risk that on a rebuild. Also not sure I want to shell out the cash for a head from BMW. So I am stuck looking for a b36 head. If anybody has any leads that would be great. I am not sure I want to risk it on the b36 head on ebay. I also have a friend in denver who has one he was going to cut up but I am not sure of the condition and will try to get that checked out.

As for s38b35 heads, are they interchangeable? I know the ports are different but I am not sure if the cams will fit inside the b35 head. Keeping my head up as I deal with this disappointment :/

[rzerob]

Subscribed.

[downforce22]

In my search for cylinder heads I found one b36 head however it also had one small crack in one of the cylinders. I am not sure whether it can be repaired to work, I have heard both sides that it can be fixed and that it shouldn't be used. Here is that head.



The other head I found is a b35 head that could be used as it is a bare head that had a valve seat repaired. In my research the head should work but I do not know for sure that you can put a b35 head on a b36 block. I found most of the valvetrain is the exact same in the b35 and the b36 according to realoem, the main difference being the cams.



I found this on mye28 stating

The heads are very similar. The intermediate housing (cam housing) is the same for all S38s. The lower part of the head with the chambers is different for each. I believe that the ports are different sizes in each head (largest is B38, smallest is B35) and I know there are other small differences, like a sensor fitting in the front of the B36 and B38 heads, etc. but the basic design is the same for all (since they have to bolt to essentially the same block on the bottom and intermediate housing on top.)

From a local S38 guru

I haven't had any luck finding a good used S38 B36 cylinder head. The B36 and B38 heads are superior to the B35 in a number of ways, so a B36/38 would be your best choice. Cracks can be welded by a competent machinist and the head can be subsequently pressure tested for integrity. If I find a good serviceable head, I'll let you know right away.

So my questions to anybody out there who may be able to shed some light on the subject.

Questions

• Are the ports different?
  
• Are the combustion chambers different?
  
• Would there be a drawback to using the b35 head? A benefit?

Then I found this sheet from metric mechanic which basically claims the b35 and b36 are only different in stroke, intake port diameter, Cam duration, and exhaust tube diameter. This ignores the differences in AFM/ MAF and the intake/plenum/ throttle body, strictly speaking of the engine components.

http://www.metricmechanic.com/pdf/M5-M6-Engine-Chart.pdf

Still not sure whether to try to repair the b36 head or try out the bare b35 head I found.

As far as the rest of the car goes, I found a replacement Brake bomb for the hydroboost system and found a few center caps online to replace the incorrect ones that are currently on the car.





The last thing I did was speak to a local who imported an e30 touring from France and he helped describe the Surrey Bond process he had to go through to get his car Titled and Registered here in the US. I am not too excited about the bond process and may try to speak with the local DMV first before going down that path. My thoughts are that a military town like the one I am in may be used to titling and registering cars that have been brought back and it may be an easier process than areas such as Denver where there is not as much military influence. Either way, I really want to get the car back on the road!

[downforce22]

It looks like cracks in the s38 head are not all that uncommon.

I found this thread with detailed pictures showing how to repair the s38 head. It is very intensive with respect to welding and machining. I am leaning toward using the s38b35 head that I found and potentially porting it to match a b36 head +2 mm.

Full thread here, I may upload and backup the pictures so they do not get removed.

http://www.e34m5.de/board/showthread.php?10243-Bericht-Motoruberhohlung-E28S-M5/page2

[RCtheRed]

Have you managed to recieve a title and register it yet? If not, I have some information that might help.

With all the paperwork you recieved you should have a full page green paper and a short foldable green paper. The long one is the Germans certificate of owernership for the car and the small one is TÜV and registration log for the car. If you have both these certificates you should have them translated and that will show ownership of the car for title purposes.

Also you should have some paperwork that shows the car was imported legally.

With these documents you should be able to recieve a new title and then register it. I'm not sure of the laws dictating vehicles in your area but those few documents should cover your needs.

[downforce22]

I have not titled it. I will look for the green papers. Thanks for the help. THe only thing I have found is that I didn't register within 45 days here and that may be a problem.



Anyone know this, does the s38b38 head differ and/or bolt on to the s38b36 block?

I found two documents with information on the two engines. Basically, I am thinking, if I have to buy a head from BMW, maybe I could run the b38 head with larger diameter intake ports, intake valves, and exhaust valves. I couldn't run b38 cams without changing the bottom end, but it should give me airflow for my altitude deprived engine.

Any thoughts? it would be +1.5 mm intake valve diameter and +0.5 mm exhaust valve diameter.

Is it possible?

http://www.asean-aerospace.com/BMW%20E34%20M5/Tech%20Documents/S38B36%20Tech%20Doc.pdf

http://www.asean-aerospace.com/BMW%20E34%20M5/Tech%20Documents/S38B38_TechnicalInfo.pdf