Pitchblack Motorsports Rally e30 318i (now with M50) - and some Porsche 924S stuff.

[irish44j]

Nope, not going with a six. For rallycross weight is the enemy. Especially weight in the front. Being sideways = being slow, in general and I already have problems getting traction with an LSD rear and only 100hp. I've got this car down near 2200-2300lbs, so not trying to bump that up (much) if I can help it. I'd love an S14, but that's not in my price or patience range. And I can't think of any other good 4-cyl choices that are easy swaps. Also want to keep the small case diff and G240 (for weight), which probably isn't up to handling power from a six.

Why M42? Because it's a 35% bump in power over an M10, I got it for dirt cheap, and it's sitting in my garage. And I want a project. Not concerned with wiring, that's expected (and would have to be done with any engine swap from an M10). Overheating I'm not too worried - I'll have a hi-cap radiator and a hi-cap SPAL on the car and am not running at high rpms for extended periods in rallycross.

The alternative is to stick with an M10. But again, rallycross is easier on the engine than drift, and I'm not looking for anything more than stock M42 power.

[irish44j]

btw, what timing failures are you referring to, other than the known tensioner issue and worn sprocket teeth (both of which I will be replacing)?

[shiboujin]

you nailed the basic issues I recall. I've seen the tensioners crap themselves and timing chain guides break.

Still would prefer the M50 lol even if it weighs more. Yea I get the whole dirt thing and traction. I really do. I'm a horse power freak. I'll give you a ride when my car is done. I'm sure it would be useless for rally. Esp with 12k/18k springs. I just hate the M42 so very much. So very much.

[irish44j]

the other point being about how stout or not the M42 is......

this is not a DD. if I blow up the engine, it'll take me a weekend to drop back in my perfectly-running M10. I got the engine for cheap so I won't lose any sleep over it :)

[irish44j]

you nailed the basic issues I recall. I've seen the tensioners crap themselves and timing chain guides break.

Still would prefer the M50 lol even if it weighs more. Yea I get the whole dirt thing and traction. I really do. I'm a horse power freak. I'll give you a ride when my car is done. I'm sure it would be useless for rally. Esp with 12k/18k springs. I just hate the M42 so very much. So very much.

yeah, I'll re-do all that stuff for sure.

to put it in context of power, our usual turnout for the events is:

Spencer and Stuart in their M42 car (albeit not as well set up suspension-wise).

4 guys running an ETA (1 of which is the defending stock class champ, and another the defending prepared class champ). A couple of them beat me at the first event, but now I'm significantly faster than them with a lot less power....which I attribute mostly to my much lighter weight since I know they can drive :)

Basically I have a certain amount of power that I think I need to have to win my class, and the M42 gives that amount of power without a significant weight penalty.

Also context: the fastest subarus out there are NOT the WRXs and STi's. They're GC 2.5 imprezas running N/A (except the one guy with the H6 swap).

Now, if I ever do an e30 road race car (someday), that will definitely get a six :)

[irish44j]

btw, got any M42 stuff sitting around that you want to get rid of, since you hate it? :D

I need the coilpacks, exhaust manifold, and exhaust.

[shiboujin]

Not sure if M50 coil packs work. If they do, I literally have about 50 >_<.

Stuart is shoving a 5.0 mustang engine in his car lol.

Yea I get you. The M42 will do what you want... I just don't like it. I might still have misc M42 parts lying around. I have most of an engine harness and I have an ECU for one. Also a drive shaft for some reason I think...

[irish44j]

Not sure if M50 coil packs work. If they do, I literally have about 50 >_<.

Stuart is shoving a 5.0 mustang engine in his car lol.

Yea I get you. The M42 will do what you want... I just don't like it. I might still have misc M42 parts lying around. I have most of an engine harness and I have an ECU for one. Also a drive shaft for some reason I think...

nah, that's his car. The car they run is Spencer's 318 that he bought specifically to rallycross. Stuart just co-driver.

I have the full engine harness that came with the engine. I may just pull an M42 fuse box and interior harness and just do it the easy way and avoid all the splicing. Have a couple ECUs and DS as well, though the DS is seperated so if yours is still in one piece (and still balanced) I might be interested.

will look into the coil thing.

[irish44j]

Yoshi, just checked and the coils do cross-reference between the M42 and M50 (and M60 and S50), so I'll defintely hit you up for some of those.

How are they mounted to the car - some kind of rack on the strut tower? I don't have that part, so I'll have to pull it from a junkyard car. And since the M50 cars have them too, I may be able to get that easier (and just not use two of the slots) and improv it.:)

[Mark 42]

This looked interesting:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/tech/318is/318is.htm

I have a high mileage M42 - but no history, so it could be rebuilt.
It is amazingly strong and energetic for such a small engine.

Here is a pic of coils:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-COILS-COIL-PACK-318-M42-E30-E36-USED-/310342545259

Also:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?p=2800090#post2800090

If I were going to start messing with a swap, I'd go to an Aluminum V8,
or an M70 engine if I insist on staying BMW.

Didn't BMW own Rover for awhile? They have a small aluminum V8, IIRC
(Same as Triumph TR-8?)

I'd love to be able to say I have a V-12 in my E30 :-D

[shiboujin]

I have the full engine harness that came with the engine. I may just pull an M42 fuse box and interior harness and just do it the easy way and avoid all the splicing. Have a couple ECUs and DS as well, though the DS is seperated so if yours is still in one piece (and still balanced) I might be interested.

will look into the coil thing.

The drive shaft comes with 2 white dots. one on each side. Just match them up and you're good. That's how I've always done them with good success.

Yoshi, just checked and the coils do cross-reference between the M42 and M50 (and M60 and S50), so I'll defintely hit you up for some of those.

How are they mounted to the car - some kind of rack on the strut tower? I don't have that part, so I'll have to pull it from a junkyard car. And since the M50 cars have them too, I may be able to get that easier (and just not use two of the slots) and improv it.:)

I don't know specifically how they are mounted. M50 ones are literally on the valve cover. I'm sure you can rig something up though.

[irish44j]

The drive shaft comes with 2 white dots. one on each side. Just match them up and you're good. That's how I've always done them with good success.

cool, I'll check. I know on my current DS that wasn't the case, but maybe they had just been rubbed off or something.

I don't know specifically how they are mounted. M50 ones are literally on the valve cover. I'm sure you can rig something up though.

Yeah, I've heard that the M42 can be converted to coil-on-plug setup rather than having wires going to the coils, so perhaps I'll look into that.

[shiboujin]

Do which is easier. I don't think it will really make that big of a difference honestly. The individual coils is your biggest gain on that motor.

[irish44j]

since playing with the engine this weekend, but don't have any new parts or anything to put on it, spent the afternoon doing some general cleaning and cosmetic stuff on it. It's always nice to have a giant cabinet full of paints of all types and colors, and a big laundry sink stocked with all kinds of cleaning and degreasing stuff.

Doing this not because I need the engine to be pretty for rallycross (I don't, it will get very dirty very fast) but because as I'm refreshing things I'd rather work on clean parts than nasty, grimy stuff. Also cleaning and painting is a good reason to take everything apart and check its condition.

First spent some time cleaning up the valve cover. Someone previous either tried to paint it gold, or its the original clearcoat that has turned to a spotty gold-ish color. I have about 3 half-cans of VHT engine crinkle paint, so why not use them. I like the look of black BMW engines anyhow. I may sand off the lines so they're silver, or I may not....



Then the intake manifold and all the crap associated with it.


TB was pretty grimy


cleaned the TB up good inside and out, painted the IM with the same paint, and put back together.

nice and clean




you may notice that this is not fitted. It's the TB preheater or whatever its called. Used for preventing the TB from freezing in winter. NOt a concern of mine, so that's going bye-bye


this is part of the larger "MUTI" (mess under the intake) modification, which will get rid of a lot of the associated coolant and vac lines that aren't needed, in the interest of simplifying things. Here's most of the coolant hoses removed. Some of them seem to be in good shape and may be re-used


others, not so much (this one ripped off while trying to remove it


looking down the pipe....well, nothing terribly exciting there lol


injectors and IM are pretty nasty though.


where it stands at the moment


currently, the list of things to fix/replace on this engine:
1. all the timing stuff (sprockets, chain, tensioners, guides, etc)
2. most of the coolant hoses and vac hoses. Including the hard plastic coolant runner on this side of the block, which is brittle and broke right off when I tried to remove it.
3. remove the remnants of the clutch fan, since I'm running electric.
4. possibly Mustang injectors (or OEM ones, depending on what's cheaper). Or just rebuild the current injectors.
5. valve cover, IM, spark plug, and profile gaskets, at least.
6. other stuff, I'm sure....

[Mark 42]

...this one ripped off while trying to remove it



.

See that metal thingy with the slots in it... it has a screw you can turn.
If you turn that screw the right (left) direction, it will loosen the thingy
and then the hose usually comes off easier that way.
:loco: