S52 Calypso Coupe

[Strelok]

Another update! When I had my first E30 back in high school/college I dreamed of being able to afford to constantly get cool parts in the mail and install them. Here I am doing just that! Being an adult ain't so bad.

Picked up my absolute favorite wheels for an E30 today, 16x8 style 5s. I actually traded my TRM C1s for the wheels and adapters. It's a downgrade in tire size for sure and the adapters probably push them out a tad more than I want, but I'm in love nonetheless.



Unfortunately the guy I traded with forgot to include 5 of the lugs, so I'm waiting to pick some up to be able to actually put the car on the ground and see fitment.

I also added another requisite E30 mod, an IS lip:



I'm still fighting with the overheating issue. After talking to some local swap gurus they told me that when running AC in summer, I really need a puller fan as well. Being that I hate wiring, I set out to shove a mechanical fan in there. I got a low profile euro diesel fan and this was the result:



As you can see, there are some clearance issues. My current plan is to notch that tab on top of the radiator, and hopefully that will get me back in business.

Also still plugging away on the paint correction. My goal is to have the car fully ready to go by August 1st for Caffeine and Octane.

[ethirtysix36]

Link to the Mtech 1 spoiler? Was also looking at it. We have the same car, except my S52 isn't in the car yet haha

Guessing it's this one?

[iwantspeed]

nice car

[Strelok]

Link to the Mtech 1 spoiler? Was also looking at it. We have the same car, except my S52 isn't in the car yet haha

Guessing it's this one?

That's the one. Shipping took nearly a month but for the price I'm happy with it. I can take some close up pics if you want. It's not perfect and I'm actually kind of regretting not taking some sandpaper/plasti-dip to it before mounting. I may do that down the road. But I think it's worth the price.

[ATL_E30]

Hope you get the temp issues sorted out! Wanna see this thing in person at one of the next couple of meets!

[ClausE30]

Have you checked the thermostat? I have a s52 swap with an m42 radiator, spall pusher and a lower temp stat (tiny hole drilled for bleeding), No AC though.

Good looking car!

[moziller]

That color is fantastic! Nice work on the paint correction.

[KIRIEIW]

Just checked out the original build on the car, looks like he really payed attention to detail during the entire swap. I'm about to start a really similar project, definitely some good info posted. Keep up the work, looks like a nice ride.

[Mushi]

Looks dope keep it up.

[Strelok]

Been a while. Here it is in its current state:




Not much has changed since my last post. The paint correction is wrapped up and the Style 5s are on. It currently needs brake pads and a blower motor. I think I will invest in a full respray down the road too. It looks better after the correction but far from perfect, and this is a nice enough example that it deserves a little better IMO. I might consider going MT2 at that time as well. Time will tell.

For now I'm just taking care of it and enjoying it, although it's going to be sitting a bit in 2019 as I'll be traveling a lot.

[ethirtysix36]

What adapters are you running?

[Poorhouse]

You get the cooling issue sorted out?

[clarkson]

I had an issue with an M50 swapped e30 recently. As it's winter in Vancouver it was not overheating, but heater was piss poor and the electric push fan would not cut in automatically with an 80/88 temp switch. So temp would climb at idle after a while.

Now e36s have a bleed screw in the expansion tank. E30 M20 engines have a bleed screw in the thermostat housing. Guess what happens when you swap in an M50 into an e30? No more bleed screw.

So I thought my crappy heater performance and the fan switch not working, was due to air locks. So what I do was fill the reservoir to the top, blocking off the overflow hose, and raising the front of the car. And leaving it. I came back hours later and the level had dropped. I topped up again and let it sit for hours. Came back and it dropped again. I did this till the level stopped dropping. I then ran the engine, with rad cap back on and a little space in expansion tank, and I had a good heater, and now the fan would cut in and out automatically.

So for cooling issues, I would do a very good bleed of the cooling system on these M50 swapped e30s before trying anything else.

[Strelok]

What adapters are you running?

42 draft designs. The rears definitely rub, but I think it should be mostly sorted out by raising the rear a bit.

You get the cooling issue sorted out?

Mostly. I managed to squeeze a mechanical fan in there and it doesn't run hot anymore. However, it's a euro diesel fan and I hate the way it sounds. I'm not sure if my clutch is faulty but it sounds like a dump truck even when cold. I may go to an electric puller setup at some point.

[drulle]

Very nice car, love the color... I have a 1989 325is with s52 swap as well but mine is Blk on blk.

Btw, let me know if you decide to get rid of the diesel fan, I was looking for one for a while.