M50 swapped 318is.. $1000 total goal!

[spiDmang]

damn, i need to find a deal on a 24v swap...

good find/save OP.

[BoostinEuros]

Hey everyone, I suppose I'm the other half of this project ;)

Lookin good. I miss my 240 hatch. I was running a high comp(11.1:1) KA.

gotta ask, where'd the name for the car come from?

I'm not sure where the name for the car came from! I'll be sure to ask my sister.

Nice stance. Any pics of the e34?

Here ya go!

damn, i need to find a deal on a 24v swap...

good find/save OP.

Thanks guys.

Well, since we're both poor college students, progress is slow, but it is happening.

I began making a conversion harness over the weekend. Everything went smoothly, but for some reason, pin 14 on the X20 plug is not there. I suppose that was a model year change. Unfortunately, the car I took that off of was so hacked up, I couldn't figure out what it was! No vin tags or identifying marks.

I plan on re-pinning pin 14 and just going with it. That's the speed sensor pin.

Thanks,

-Logan

[dothadance]

OMG. less than 200 on a motor is ridiculous!

[BoostinEuros]

Update!

Please excuse the phone pics. I will be sure to use a real camera on pics from here on out!

Unfortunately, we have went over out $1,000 goal by about 2 bucks. The good news is I have a few more parts to sell off the M42, so I think it may still be possible!

However, the engine is almost in, so we might just make the goal!

First off, I got a $94 box from Rmeuropean.com. My new favorite place to order!

This composed of most of the parts to completely rebuild the shifter, as well as a few various pieces missing from the engine.




And here are the horrible phone pics.

I changed the oil pan gasket while it was convenient to do so. Here is a shot of the bottom end. Pretty clean.




Since the engine we bought did not come with an AC compressor or brackets, I modified the existing m50 brackets to fit the M42 compressor. It has a spring tensioner, and it fits pretty well! I swapped over the M42 outer crank pulley as well. Bolted right on.

New serpentine belt, idler pulley, thermostat housing gasket, and a lot of scrubbing!




I then started putting the exhaust stud kit on that I got from Turner Motorsports. I had to test fit the headers at this point :) They are quite good looking for $95. I also installed the passenger side e36 engine mount arm.




And I ended the day off by mounting the G240. The setup is composed of the M42 dual-mass flywheel, m42 clutch and pressure plate assembly, and a new 318is pilot bearing. Everything mated up perfectly!

[csermonet47]

I think I met you (Logan) at SouthrnFresh. Kudos if you can stay in the budget, it's a tiny one! I'll be watching this. Love your E34!

[brokenbimmer533]

you have pm on NV MAF

[BoostinEuros]

I think I met you (Logan) at SouthrnFresh. Kudos if you can stay in the budget, it's a tiny one! I'll be watching this. Love your E34!

Yessir, that was me! It's always good to meet local BMW guys. I'd love to go to more meets, but it sucks living 60 miles from everything :(

you have pm on NV MAF

I found one thanks though!



Okay time for a quick question. Are the engine mount arms supposed to be offset from one another? It looks as if the passenger side mount arm is set further forward than the drive side arm. Is it supposed to be that way? I see there are 2 partitions pre-tapped on either side of the block for multiple settings....

You can kind of see in the pic below. The driver mount arm is farther forward..

[e30trooper]

dam whats with all these girls and swaps! Shit 75% of the guys here cant do that haha

[cmybimmer]

all four looks good..

and damn I thought my $800 m50 build was good.. You guys are basically attempting to swap an m50 for $350! Definitely sub'd!! At the rate you're going, it just might be possible :up:

and +1 to chicks on that 24v hype..

[BoostinEuros]

Thanks for the comments guys, it is much appreciated!

I decided that I'd go over the modification process of the E21 booster since there wasn't much info out there.

I've read most people cut and re-tap their boosters, but I wasn't a huge fan of the idea. I decided to cut and re-weld mine.

The E21 booster's shaft is about 4" longer than the original. I cut out the center section, and beveled the edges so the weld could fill the gaps.

You can see that here:


I then had someone who was much more talented than I butt-weld the pieces together.

After that, I ground the edges smooth. Then I used a 1/2" inner diameter metal sleeve, and slid it over the butt weld to reinforce the shaft.

You can see my poor welding abilities and the sleeve below:



I'd image this setup is just as strong thanks to the metal sleeve.



Hopefully the engine should be dropped in tomorrow. Stay tuned! ;)

[MaksV]

I got you beat. After selling all my parts I am at $897 :)

PS: you want the forward 4 holes for engine arms. The two sides are not symmetrical.

[audiquattrot]

niceeee!

[FunfGan]

Awesome! I love budget builds. Im on track to swap my m42 out for a 5.0, no money spent :D

[freeride53]

To OP and her bf: mad props.
To bf: I fucking love your M5 dude.
The amount of tire on that thing is just perfect.

[BoostinEuros]

I took off the m42 engine mounts to find this:



and





I welded the cracks and then welded on some thick washers to reinforce the area. The drive side had nearly torn through! Is this a common problem? I didn't think a little 4 cylinder could do such a thing!


Fixed with my awesome welding skills It looks better in person lol.