M52 Swapped E30 Build - SPANNER RASH

[Panici]

Oh wow, that looks awesome! I like the way you can still have a leather boot on it.
Is it worth the cost and the effort though? What was the impact on shift-feel for you?

Thanks! I still have both the lower rubber boot and upper leather boot. No noticeable NVH increase like others have reported, but my engine and trans are still rubber mounted.

To me the shifter is a very important part of the car. Since this was an inexpensive and all-steel version, I could comfortably cut and modify it to suit me.

The pivot point is adjustable to get the length of throw you desire.
Then I lengthened and slightly twisted the DSSR to get the knob sitting where I want it for my seat position.

I was planning on shortening the shift knob height as well, but I have grown to like how quickly the shifter comes to hand from the steering wheel. I might paint the shaft black as it's raw steel and may get some surface rust with humidity.

[SPANNER RASH]

In this latest E30 M52 Swap project update, I got lots of the fiddly jobs done ahead of fitting the intake manifold. The three main ones are as follows:

1. Power Steering Lines Take #2
2. Brown Temperature Sensor
3. E30 M5X Heater Matrix Hoses

Starting with the PAS lines, I ended up having an absolute mare, discovering that my re-bent E30 lines I'd planned to used were a no-go the connections don't match up to the M52 PAS pump, and further to that, the way I'd routed them was not going to fly.

Finding out that my sump plug on the customer E34 sump is positioned so that it cannot be removed, nor can I remove the power steering rack to take my wedged PAS line out from between the subframe tabs, was not a good day.

When all was said and done, I threw in the towel and got in touch with Dan at BMConversions-UK once again. He made me some custom E30 power steering lines and even kindly modified his routing to avoid my annoying sump plug. They're a perfect fit and I'd highly recommend them. They can be checked out here: https://bmconversions-uk.co.uk/product-category/e30/

Aside from the PAS line frustrations, I had an easier time with the brown temp sender. This is an interesting nuance when doing an E30 M50 swap, unfortunately, the normal E36 style 4-pin black temp sensor will not send a signal that an E30 cluster can interpret as a coolant temperature reading. To get around that, you need to fit a brown temperature sensor. The best place to fit one is on the head of the engine in one of the three ports on the head of an M5X engine. The only kicker is it's unusual for all 3 ports to be tapped and drilled appropriately. Mine was, likely thanks to the fact the M52B28 was used in an E30 swap before.

I cover off the options in more detail in the video if you aren't so fortunate.

Lastly, I got heater matrix hoses fitted up. These are not very well documented online, people seem to use a wide variety of different hoses and there's no optimal solution. I decided to get a bit creative and work with what I had for this one. One of the hoses is an original M52 one, and the other I harvested off the M40 engine's thermostat housing and modified slightly. It seems to have worked out very well. I share the part numbers in the vid too which might be helpful if you're doing your own BMW E30 engine conversion. Cheers!

[SPANNER RASH]

Not an E30 project update, but something very similar you may appreciate!

I've twisted the old man's arm to pick up his very own BMW money pit, this time in the form of an E36 Compact 318ti. Surprisingly similar to an E30 actually.

I put a bit more into the shooting and editing on this one, check the vid out and let me know what you think.

Back onto regular programming with an E30 update coming very soon.

[SPANNER RASH]

Here's an E30 build update I've been promising for quite a long while. I finally fitted the intake manifold to my M52 motor.

Not only that, but I went ahead and converted the M52B28 to run a M50B25 intake manifold!

I went ahead and made the video as a kind of explainer how-to guide for anyone else looking to do an M50 inlet conversion on their M52 motor, figured it could be very helpful for people doing their own swaps, whether on an E36 328i or an M52 swap E30.

It ended up being more involved than I anticipated, but luckily I managed to purchase an already modified M50 intake which made life a lot easier (although I explain how to get the same result without).

Even though I'm not supposed to be doing any tuning to get more horsepower from this car, as it's supposed to be simple NA fun, I just couldn't help myself after finding out the M50 intake swap plus a good tune can yield over 20bhp of peak power without much downside if done right.

Let's hope I'm not regretting it. If anyone has any personal experience with this intake manifold swap then please share your thoughts on it. I'd be very interested to know whether it's a pronounced and noticeable difference to the performance.

Now just to figure out why it won't start, and then we can hear it run for the first time. I'm feeling confident!

[Panici]

When it was N/A, I tuned my M52B28 first with the original intake, and then swapped an M50B25 intake on there.
Here is my calculated Volumetric Efficiency (VE) table difference after the first logging run. Note that I had to tweak it further after this, but it gives you an idea of the general airflow change.


On a typical run where you roll on the throttle, you would see the cells in use sweep from the bottom left to the top right (100kpa row).
Note the midrange losses of 3-5% around 3800rpm, but then the gains of ~8% after 6000rpm.

This data corresponds to the "seat of the pants" and dyno results we've seen over the years with the manifold swap.

I mitigated some of the midrange loss by adjusting the VANOS crossover point and playing with timing. I bet this is how the canned tunes do it as well.

I would have loved to swap in a set of S52 cams to repeat this experiment, but I couldn't justify the cost when I knew I would be boosting down the road. I suspect the difference between the two manifolds would be even larger.

[SPANNER RASH]

When it was N/A, I tuned my M52B28 first with the original intake, and then swapped an M50B25 intake on there.
Here is my calculated Volumetric Efficiency (VE) table difference after the first logging run.

Oh wow that's really interesting to see it compared like that. Seems to match up nicely with the general consensus. The slight losses in the mid range seem bearable for such good gains at peak to me.

At some point I'll have to dive into playing with the tune, would be really interesting to learn more about it. Thanks for sharing that info, its certainly sparked my curiosity.

[SPANNER RASH]

Exciting news on our M52 swap E30 project, folks!

After the disappointment of the M52B28 not firing up in the last vid with the M50 manifold, the old man and I took on the challenge of figuring out why.

The initial hiccup causing the fuel pump to stay silent was pretty obvious – foolishly, I’d failed to connect a fuel pump relay. After the eureka moment of that I was expecting the car to burst into life, but it turned out we were just scratching the surface on the job.

You'll want to watch through the video for the full rollercoaster, but here's a quick rundown. Beware of spoilers though!

• Forgot the Fuel Pump Relay, resulting in no pumping, naturally…
• Still no pressure at the rail, so we double-checked the Fuel Pump and confirmed it was doing its job
• Then, we played around with the Fuel Pressure Regulator. Turns out, I misunderstood how it works and hooked up the lines back to front – oops!
• Once we fixed that, we noticed issues with the Unloader Relay and DME Relay
• Sorting those out gave us hope as the engine fired up on the key, but it still wouldn't actually run for more than a moment. We then cracked out the wiring diagrams and combed through all the wires and sensors to confirm.

Guess what? We made an absolute blunder with the Starter Solenoid Wiring. Somehow, we connected one of the 12v battery power wires to the top terminal on the solenoid. No idea why, it must’ve just seemed right at the time.
That totally explains why engine roared to life when I turned the key, but would not continue after I stopped cranking.

What a relief as by that point we were really pulling our hair out. The cherry on top is that my M52 engine seems to run very smooth despite all those years of hibernation. I was expecting a lot more clacking from the hydraulic lifters to be honest. Instead it sounds buttery smooth.

[e30m3s54turbo]

I watched the video on start up. I know the frustration was to start the engine on first try. Great work with your dad and you.

I had some issues starting my s38 turbo e30 on project. I really was happy to solve it.

[SPANNER RASH]

I watched the video on start up. I know the frustration was to start the engine on first try. Great work with your dad and you.

I had some issues starting my s38 turbo e30 on project. I really was happy to solve it.

Thank you mate, it was very testing for me, luckily the old man is a calming influence so I avoided throwing any spanners. A big relief to have got there in the end though.

Cooling system next!

[SPANNER RASH]

As promised, I got the cooling system done - I'm really happy with this one!

It really took some figuring out but I got there in the end. I used a radiator from an AC equipped E36 which conveniently already has the hole for the thermostat switch, plus the neat arrangement with the coolant reservoir in an end tank. It fits really great with the E30's mounts too.

With some relatively minor modifications to coolant hoses I got it all fitted up, added a new SPAL 16" electric fan in the pusher position on a sturdy aluminum mount, then proceeded to wire it all in using a custom loom from Dan at BMConversions.

The loom is genius as it wires into the E30's fuse box utilising a relay and a fuse, plus it has an override switch so you can flick the fan on and off at your leisure. It was a bit of a puzzle to fit at first but once understood it went together well and I couldn't be happier with the result. I even got the system flushed and bled up nicely.

Make sure you check out the links in the video description on YT if you want to build the same setup.

[SPANNER RASH]

I've got another update to share, but this time it's a bit more of a DIY garage update. I knocked up a set of sturdy DIY wheel cribs, AKA wooden wheel stands so I can work on the E30 more easily.

I had seen these types of wheel cribs a few times, and having considered many solutions to the height problem I set about making my own, using some of the best bits I'd seen from other people's designs.
I also consciously designed them to use the best value and most readily available materials, so all in these cost me around £70-80 to make, plus a days time and some help from the old man.

All in all, they came out amazingly well, and if you're considering making some of your own, I can highly recommend them. These are literally a game changer for the DIY mechanic, no more struggling in a confined space beneath the car. Hopefully the vid comes in useful!

[Northern]

All in all, they came out amazingly well, and if you're considering making some of your own, I can highly recommend them. These are literally a game changer for the DIY mechanic, no more struggling in a confined space beneath the car.

I made two ramps and two of these wheel platforms to get the clearance needed to build an exhaust when I swapped my e30 almost 10 years ago and I have used them a lot more than I thought I would. Great for any larger under-car work if you don't have a lift - you'll never have the car this sturdy on jackstands.

[SPANNER RASH]

I made two ramps and two of these wheel platforms to get the clearance needed to build an exhaust when I swapped my e30 almost 10 years ago and I have used them a lot more than I thought I would. Great for any larger under-car work if you don't have a lift - you'll never have the car this sturdy on jackstands.

You're 100% right, jack stands feel far more sketchy than the car does on these. The wood is impressively strong, there's no flex which surprised me.

I'll be putting them through their paces a bit more when I put my E46 on, but I have no doubt in my mind that they will be more than strong enough.

The only downside is not being able to do suspension work so easily when using wheel stands. But there's always my previous method for accessing that.

[amcp]

Dig your in-depth vids. Keep up the great content.

[SPANNER RASH]

Dig your in-depth vids. Keep up the great content.

Cheers man, really glad you enjoy the vids!