The Journey of Linda and Friends - the M20b31 Lives

[AWDBOB]

I think you may be going crazy overboard but if your going to keep it for a long time very worth it

:rofl: I think you may be right. However, I have a different point of reference for "crazy overboard", as my last large project spanned two years and consumed 800x the amount of money the e30 could ever cost me.

[AWDBOB]

The E36 is "done", aka I'm not doing anything else to it before I sell it. The car cleaned up very well, and despite the fact that whatever lowering springs I was sold are INSANELY low and look like ass, the car rides 100,000x better with all of the fresh bushings/struts throughout the car. I really, really want to find a nicer E36 some day, they are great cars.

The poly RTABs with the sandwich bushings to secure them better in their mounts.






On the E30 I re sealed the diff and installed it onto the rear subframe. I began re-booting my rear halfshafts, only to realize the joints are too far gone, so I had to order remans from FEQ which are supposedly decent quality.

I inspected a few things and found that my fuel feed line on the E30 is shot, so I ordered one. I also ended up having to order a speed sensor for the diff as the one I had was very brittle.

"its the little things"

[AWDBOB]

Said goodbye to the E36 today.

Time to build a motor!

[AWDBOB]

Trying to get through all of the small things I need to do before I can put the rear end back in the car and drop the front end. Seems like a never ending process.

Both the rear brake lines and fuel feed line were rusted out at the clip before they head up into the bay. I got an OE fuel feed line (thanks DealinDave!) and went with the Chasebays brake line kit. A little bummed I can't use the factory clips for the brake lines, as it just adds yet another "project" within this project. I also got the new ebrake cables up, new fuel filter, FEQ axles, new diff sensor, etc.

Just so you can laugh at me, I originally dropped the rear subframe to put new bushings in it, and it ended up as

adjustable subframe
poly bushings (ta,subframe,diff)
wheel bearings
hubs
ebrake cables/shoes/hardware
diff reseal
speed sensor
axles
abs sensors
trunk tar removal
braided brake lines front to rear
fuel feed line
konis
ground controls
upper strut plates
rear swaybar reinforcement
billet swaybar mounts

Recent pics

[tiger_e30]

Just curious how much time do you think the swap will have taken? Trying to figure out if I want to do a swap, cam and itbs or turbo

[AWDBOB]

Just curious how much time do you think the swap will have taken? Trying to figure out if I want to do a swap, cam and itbs or turbo

Everything up to this point has been chassis related, but I plan on keeping a pretty detailed log of the actual swap portion of this build once I get the rest of the car sorted first.

I dealt with the same battle.

IMO youre going to spend the same amount (or less) as M20/cam/ITBs on a 24v swap like this one and have a far better foundation to add onto in the future.

Turbo is a constant reliability concern IMO so unless you're willing to tackle that, I personally think going 24v is the best bang for your buck as it applies to simplicity and reliability.

If you wanted to do it on the cheap an M52B28 is the way to go. Bolt it up to your G260 and let her rip. People do the swap in a weekend if the chassis is ready for it.

[AWDBOB]

Took delivery on this bronzit early sedan today. This marks the second time I've purchased a car for the differential.

It's a 5sp car with a good motor, rear headrest seat, a 3.73 LSD and tons of extra parts!

Wondering if I should've used the money to speak with a counselor instead.

[fight4life28]

Sir you have addiction, And maybe love to break e30's for parts =) Keep up the good work. Hard to slack on not doing things right when its right in front of you at the time being.

[AWDBOB]

Sir you have addiction, And maybe love to break e30's for parts =) Keep up the good work. Hard to slack on not doing things right when its right in front of you at the time being.

Hey to be fair, this was going to be a thrashed drift missile, so I think I'm actually doing it a favor by parting it out :D

You're right about that. The car is taking much longer than I expected but I think it will be very rewarding in the end. And then I can start on the M3!

[tiger_e30]

Everything up to this point has been chassis related, but I plan on keeping a pretty detailed log of the actual swap portion of this build once I get the rest of the car sorted first.

I dealt with the same battle.

IMO youre going to spend the same amount (or less) as M20/cam/ITBs on a 24v swap like this one and have a far better foundation to add onto in the future.

Turbo is a constant reliability concern IMO so unless you're willing to tackle that, I personally think going 24v is the best bang for your buck as it applies to simplicity and reliability.

If you wanted to do it on the cheap an M52B28 is the way to go. Bolt it up to your G260 and let her rip. People do the swap in a weekend if the chassis is ready for it.

You going to mod the m50 at all? Have a s50 with 180k on Craigslist tempting me

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[tiger_e30]

You going to mod the m50 at all? Have a s50 with 180k on Craigslist tempting me

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https://charlotte.craigslist.org/pts/6243362996.html

Think he might let it go cheap

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[AWDBOB]

You going to mod the m50 at all? Have a s50 with 180k on Craigslist tempting me

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

https://charlotte.craigslist.org/pts/6243362996.html

Think he might let it go cheap

I have an M52b28 longblock. I also have a M54b30 rotating assembly that will going into the M52 block to make a cheap and fresh 3L. Compression is somewhere around 10:1. I also have S52 cams for the top end.

S50s and S52s were so expensive when I was looking, and they all had high mileage with unknown history. I got a complete M52b28 with harness and accessories for $450 and M54b30 internals for $350 to make an S50 style 3L.

[2mAn]

I have an M52b28 longblock. I also have a M54b30 rotating assembly that will going into the M52 block to make a cheap and fresh 3L. Compression is somewhere around 10:1. I also have S52 cams for the top end.

S50s and S52s were so expensive when I was looking, and they all had high mileage with unknown history. I got a complete M52b28 with harness and accessories for $450 and M54b30 internals for $350 to make an S50 style 3L.

Not to mention that you can also sell the M52 crank and get a decent chunk of your money back

[tiger_e30]

I have an M52b28 longblock. I also have a M54b30 rotating assembly that will going into the M52 block to make a cheap and fresh 3L. Compression is somewhere around 10:1. I also have S52 cams for the top end.

S50s and S52s were so expensive when I was looking, and they all had high mileage with unknown history. I got a complete M52b28 with harness and accessories for $450 and M54b30 internals for $350 to make an S50 style 3L.

How much horsepower at the wheels are you expecting? Makes a lot of sense to do it your way like you said the s50 or s52s are all pretty high mileage and $1500 just to get the engine.

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[2mAn]

That should be a pretty potent combo. My M52 with S52 cams and OBD1 manifold made 225whp