To begin, the car is a 1985 325, 5 speed coupe with LSD. Afaik, it had the original m20b27 and getrag 260 installed. I boosted it last year and eventually worked my way up to 10 psi on a small garrett turbo. Apparently that was too much (plus I was running a bit lean at that point :-/ yay 100+% fuel injector duty cycles) and I blew the head gasket halloween weekend. The original plan was just to swap an 885 head on it when the motor popped, add higher flow fuel injectors, and go. However, my friend was rear ended in his e36 and that provided an opportunity for me to pick up a cheap m50tub25. Meet the donor!
It has approx 170k miles on the clock and runs strong. I ran him in my e39 and I can confidently say it's a very strong motor. After it was totaled, we parted out what was valuable from the interior and had some fun with it.
Fast forward over four months later to my spring break. I hopped in the e30 and apart from the battery being low, it started right up. I checked the oil and it was at the very bottom of the dipstick so I added about half a quart. Coolant was nowhere to be found and it drank over a gallon of water. The poor thing only needed to make it about 50 feet into the garage, but it wouldn't hold an idle and had ZERO power. I kept bumping the idle adjustment until it finally did idle and burnt the crap out of the clutch trying to get it into the garage. But it made it.
(Note, there was a slight incident with a tree after I killed the motor which is why the hood is bent :shifty)
The worst looking, yet running turbo setup you'll ever see
Obligatory shot
Awaiting removal
One day later, we have this. I have friends who volunteered to help, but I ended up doing it all myself. My thought process was that I'd start on it and call them when I needed it help, but that time never came.
Also got a delivery. Yay 24v swap parts! That includes the CSB, e28 m5 motor mounts, e21 trans mounts, 7k rpm cluster, and everything I need to rebuild the shift linkage and convert from the early e30 sheet metal shift console to the aluminum style linkage.
...and that's where the project sits right now. The donor motor is still in the e36, but only the engine, trans mounts, and shift linkage need to be undone before it can be removed. We're currently waiting on the weather to improve as that car is stored outside. Meanwhile the brake cylinder needs to be relocated and I need to modify the megasquirt to run the m50.
It has approx 170k miles on the clock and runs strong. I ran him in my e39 and I can confidently say it's a very strong motor. After it was totaled, we parted out what was valuable from the interior and had some fun with it.
Fast forward over four months later to my spring break. I hopped in the e30 and apart from the battery being low, it started right up. I checked the oil and it was at the very bottom of the dipstick so I added about half a quart. Coolant was nowhere to be found and it drank over a gallon of water. The poor thing only needed to make it about 50 feet into the garage, but it wouldn't hold an idle and had ZERO power. I kept bumping the idle adjustment until it finally did idle and burnt the crap out of the clutch trying to get it into the garage. But it made it.
(Note, there was a slight incident with a tree after I killed the motor which is why the hood is bent :shifty)
The worst looking, yet running turbo setup you'll ever see
Obligatory shot
Awaiting removal
One day later, we have this. I have friends who volunteered to help, but I ended up doing it all myself. My thought process was that I'd start on it and call them when I needed it help, but that time never came.
Also got a delivery. Yay 24v swap parts! That includes the CSB, e28 m5 motor mounts, e21 trans mounts, 7k rpm cluster, and everything I need to rebuild the shift linkage and convert from the early e30 sheet metal shift console to the aluminum style linkage.
...and that's where the project sits right now. The donor motor is still in the e36, but only the engine, trans mounts, and shift linkage need to be undone before it can be removed. We're currently waiting on the weather to improve as that car is stored outside. Meanwhile the brake cylinder needs to be relocated and I need to modify the megasquirt to run the m50.
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