I bought this 1991 318is earlier this year and have now started the 24 valve swap. I flew up to NJ and drove the car home to Georgia, over 15 hours and it never missed a beat. Overall, the car is in decent condition, especially being a NY/NJ car until now. I've found a few rust spots here and there, and they will get repaired during the swap. It has been repainted, and there are areas where the clear is failing. It will get another respray, just down the road a bit. The PO had the sport seats redone, and they are in great shape. I really enjoyed driving the car with the M42, but I know it will be so much better with the M54.
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318is 24 valve swap
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For the donor engine, I bought a wrecked 2006 330ci from Copart. It has a M54b30 with 134k miles. I was able to start and drive the car a little to verify the engine was good. After pulling it out, it needed a thorough cleaning, gasket resealing, and I rebuilt the VANOS just in case.
4 PhotosLast edited by rms; 12-06-2021, 07:23 AM.
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The M54 is all back together, now with the front sump E34 oil pan and OBDII E36 exhaust manifolds. I also have a M50 intake manifold, which supposedly frees up a few ponies and definitely simplifies things. I'll be using the original G240 transmission for 2 major reasons. One, I have it and it's in good shape; and two, I want an overdrive. For the differential, I found a 3.64 Torsion diff from a Z3 locally, and picked it up. Coupled with the overdrive, this combo should be a nice compromise for both local and highway driving.
Last edited by rms; 12-06-2021, 07:43 AM.
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Now that it's getting cold outside, I decided to retire the M42 and pull the car inside my basement for the swap. Until this point, the car was still complete while I sourced parts and worked on the M54. I pulled the M42 out, and pressure washed the engine bay. I also have now removed the entire front suspension and steering. Here's a quick list of the suspension/steering mods I'll be doing:- E46 rack (yellow tag 712)
- 5 lug conversion using the Elhart spindle adapters and Z4 rear hubs
- E46 M3 front brakes, E46 325i rear brakes
- H&R Super Sport springs and most likely Koni Sports
- Poly bushings most places
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If you can keep the DISA M54B30 intake, do it.
You might lose a few HP up top over an M50 manifold, but you pick up significant power everywhere else.Originally posted by priapismMy girl don't know shit, but she bakes a mean cupcake.Originally posted by shamesonUsually it's best not to know how much money you have into your e30
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