This swap or build or whatever you wanna call it isn't much compared to what some other board members have accomplished with their cars. But it's a lot for me.
I'm 19 and this is now my 3rd e30. Started off with an auto bronzit 4-door 86 325e (does it get much more boring than that?). It eventually got passed down to my sister.
Best I got for now, Winter has officially arrived:(
Then I picked up an 88 lachsilber 325is manual. Don't have any pics of it but it was a complete piece of shit. Rust, poor engine maintenance, shitty interior, driveshaft problems. The list goes on... My lack of e30 knowledge and eagerness to buy a manual couple lead me to impulsively buy it. I eventually parted it out.
I was supposed to take my lachsilber e30 on a road trip to California last July but it was evident that the car would not hold up. So 2 week before we were planning on leaving I found out about a Delphin 88 325is that might be for sale.
Called the guy up, took a look at the car the next day, bought it a few days after. Did as much preventative maintenance as possible before the trip (distributor cap, rotor, oil change, spark plug change, valve adjustment, fuel filter, replaced hoses) then said a prayer and headed south.
It was an 11 day road trip. Stopped in Portland, San Fran, L.A. and a bunch of other smaller towns.
Driving along the California coast was a blast. It jolted my memory as to why I love these cars so much. Here's a few pics from the trip.
We slept in our cars all but 1 night. Side note: Santa Clarita's Walmart is top notch. Definitely our favourite base of operations throughout the trip.
The car has been very reliable so far but I still don't wanna leave anything to chance. I contemplated rebuilding the m20 and then turboing it but this is my daily driver so having no wheels for a week to a month is out of the question.
Eventually I came to a decision on what I wanted to swap in, and started searching for the engine. After only 2 days of searching I came across a great deal and earlier today this arrived at my house :D
M50 block. In great condition. I also purchased an M52 head that I should be receiving in mid December. The plan is to use the M50 block with M52 internals and M52 head. Essentially creating just a regular M52. I still have lots of research to do but I'm excited to get started.
I have yet to decide if I wanna go with OBDI or OBDII. I've read the big argument thread on this but it seems pretty split down the middle. Feel free to chime in and persuade me one way or another haha. The engine didn't come with a wiring harness or anything so either way I have to source the parts.
I got no garage so a couple week ago I bought one of these.
It's better than nothing!
Here's a few more pictures highlighting the problem spots of the car.
Rust spot near passenger door.
Dent.
Hole in driverside wheel well.
And a few more pics just because..
Previous owner tossed out the original driver seat and replaced it with some knockoff racing seat. I then switched over the passenger sport seat so its all good for now.
I'm 19 and this is now my 3rd e30. Started off with an auto bronzit 4-door 86 325e (does it get much more boring than that?). It eventually got passed down to my sister.
Best I got for now, Winter has officially arrived:(
Then I picked up an 88 lachsilber 325is manual. Don't have any pics of it but it was a complete piece of shit. Rust, poor engine maintenance, shitty interior, driveshaft problems. The list goes on... My lack of e30 knowledge and eagerness to buy a manual couple lead me to impulsively buy it. I eventually parted it out.
I was supposed to take my lachsilber e30 on a road trip to California last July but it was evident that the car would not hold up. So 2 week before we were planning on leaving I found out about a Delphin 88 325is that might be for sale.
Called the guy up, took a look at the car the next day, bought it a few days after. Did as much preventative maintenance as possible before the trip (distributor cap, rotor, oil change, spark plug change, valve adjustment, fuel filter, replaced hoses) then said a prayer and headed south.
It was an 11 day road trip. Stopped in Portland, San Fran, L.A. and a bunch of other smaller towns.
Driving along the California coast was a blast. It jolted my memory as to why I love these cars so much. Here's a few pics from the trip.
We slept in our cars all but 1 night. Side note: Santa Clarita's Walmart is top notch. Definitely our favourite base of operations throughout the trip.
The car has been very reliable so far but I still don't wanna leave anything to chance. I contemplated rebuilding the m20 and then turboing it but this is my daily driver so having no wheels for a week to a month is out of the question.
Eventually I came to a decision on what I wanted to swap in, and started searching for the engine. After only 2 days of searching I came across a great deal and earlier today this arrived at my house :D
M50 block. In great condition. I also purchased an M52 head that I should be receiving in mid December. The plan is to use the M50 block with M52 internals and M52 head. Essentially creating just a regular M52. I still have lots of research to do but I'm excited to get started.
I have yet to decide if I wanna go with OBDI or OBDII. I've read the big argument thread on this but it seems pretty split down the middle. Feel free to chime in and persuade me one way or another haha. The engine didn't come with a wiring harness or anything so either way I have to source the parts.
I got no garage so a couple week ago I bought one of these.
It's better than nothing!
Here's a few more pictures highlighting the problem spots of the car.
Rust spot near passenger door.
Dent.
Hole in driverside wheel well.
And a few more pics just because..
Previous owner tossed out the original driver seat and replaced it with some knockoff racing seat. I then switched over the passenger sport seat so its all good for now.
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