318i >> 344i - M62B44 Swap From Australia

[econti]

What state? And who's engineering it

[wakdog]

Got my M62 front cover back with the M60 crank sensor mount welded on which let me reassemble the motor:



Spacing is perfect with the M60 trigger wheel on the front.

Used an E36 harness side X20 connector and extended it to adapt to my E30 C101 plug, just need to wrap it in something then good to go:



Annnnd my TTV lightweight billet steel flywheel showed up along with the Spec stage 3 M52 clutch setup. Being unsprung im not really sure what to expect in terms of engagement but I suppose we will find out soon...



Now just waiting on some bellhousing bolts and my booster relocation + headers and then I can drop it in and really get to work.

[sonomabimmers]

me gusta. subd'

[wakdog]

Got to spend a bit of time working on the motor to get it ready to go, dropped my front timing cover to have a crank sensor mount welded on for my OBD1 conversion.

I also had to modify the cam sensor pickup on the M62 to match the location of the M60 pickup at TDC.




Looks ghetto but should do the trick...



Earlier this week I had a special carton arrive :)



SLR Super Angle Lock kit (E36 variant as I am already 5 lug swapped)

Pic of the locally made caster correctors for my 5 lug swap:



Kit installed, just have to have a play with some stock sway bar drop links as my adjustable ones use a larger bolt than the hole in the arms.



Test fitted my Remotec 17x9 +8.... probably not going to work without big fenders haha



Does have some steering lock though...




Once I get my front timing cover back, I can put the motor back together completely and wait for the rest of my parts to arrive. Going to try out some DS2s or Style 32s in 17x7.5 +41 to see how they fit, should be able to get away with a 215/40 front on them without too many clearance issues...

[warshark]

nice project looking forward to your progress

[wakdog]

Does the LH side head clear the brake booster opening? That shall be your next challenge. ;-)

I already have a solution ordered to deal with this, being RHD my car already has a linkage running through the dash that pivots to actuate the brake master on the firewall.

I will be using a fabricated replacement bracket that allows me to mount the booster/master behind the glove box in line with the rod under the dash.

[Reichart12]

Yeah I would stay away from electrical tape, Ive had the adhesive melt and unravel from the heat of an engine. Also, definitely run the TA wheels. Gold and your red would be a great color combo.

[Massive Lee]

Does the LH side head clear the brake booster opening? That shall be your next challenge. ;-)

[jpod999]

I love what you're doing, but I suggest re-wrapping the harness with something other than electrical tape. It will get pretty nasty fairly quickly. I know Mercedes Benz has some nice factory stuff, but Ive used something from Home Depot before that also worked well. Im not sure what you guys have in upside down land thats similar to Home Depot though

I picked this roll of Tesa tape up from Amazon, it's an awesome product: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[2mAn]

I love what you're doing, but I suggest re-wrapping the harness with something other than electrical tape. It will get pretty nasty fairly quickly. I know Mercedes Benz has some nice factory stuff, but Ive used something from Home Depot before that also worked well. Im not sure what you guys have in upside down land thats similar to Home Depot though

[jhaurimn]

I like whats going on here

[econti]

They just had a 5 speed lying around? That's awesome

[wakdog]

So I got round to pulling the M40 boat anchor out of the car this weekend:



This guy must have got cooked by the raciator haha



Empty bay with booster removed, getting ready for test fit



I had to cut off part of the battery tray to get the motor in, still need to clean it up but it now clears



Bare motor going in for mockup and to let me work out where to but everything in the bay



Annnnd in, just sitting on the engine mounts for now.




Chains and tensioners are all done now, just need to get an M60 water pump, 85c thermostat and housing for the OBD1 conversion and then I can seal it all up to get ready for install.

[wakdog]

Picked up an e34 540i harness to use for my OBD1 swap and immediately dug in to remove all of the auto transmission wiring from it, along with labeling all of the plugs.



What I removed:



Finished product:



I really like how tidy the harness ends up, so much more so than the M50/M52 harnesses I have worked with before. Everything running through the injector/ignition coil boxes is nice.

Just need to pick up an X20 connector to make an adapter harness to the E30 C101:



Thinking of running either my Pontiac Trans Am 16x8:



Or my Remotec 17x9 +8 that I ran on my compact, but im thinking these will be a bit of a struggle to fit without some proper guard work or flares...



I am planning to have the motor all back together with the chains and guides all replaced this weekend, then I can drop the motor in and start working on where to put everything in the bay.

[Anthony B]

this is looking to be brilliant, sub'd for more