Back in Schwarz: 1990 325i Resto-mod (S62)

[1panthertxn]

Wow this is amazing ! You are getting closer to the point of dropping the engine on the car !

It has come a long way! Sometimes I look at it and feel like IÂ’m not making any progress, though. The last few major items I need are: -DME and a flash/tune -Custom headers -Driveshaft from Garagistic -alternator -Power steering pump -A/c compressor -Air plenum cover I actually hoisted the engine into the car the other day just for kicks. It was a little motivating! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[2mAn]

Wow this is amazing ! You are getting closer to the point of dropping the engine on the car !

And here I was thinking this was your car for a second!.. When will you share your car with us!?

[QuiqueUy]

Wow this is amazing ! You are getting closer to the point of dropping the engine on the car !

[1panthertxn]

I got my reinforced subframe, e46 steering rack with new tie rods (e46 inner and e36 outer) and Garagistic 10mm subframe spacers installed yesterday. Today IÂ’ll be bolting the steering column back in and making a new lower profile steering shaft with two e46 shafts. Pics to follow. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[1panthertxn]

I opted to cut about 2" off the bottom of the booster bracket instead of cutting into the frame rail, as it was just simpler to do. I welded an adapter plate onto the frame rail and just drilled two holes through the plate and bracket to bolt it in place.



Then, I welded a bracket onto the wheel well that bolts onto the topside of the booster bracket.



The last two steps will be to shorten the pull-rod and the support rod that attaches the top of the booster bracket back to the knee bracket. I'm planning to just cut that support rod and attach it to the shock tower. Things look a little ugly at the moment, but the whole setup seems to be pretty solid and functional for now. I'm sure I'll have some tweaking to do in the future, but I'm glad to have the bulk of this part behind me! I was hoping to wrap up the brake setup this weekend, but the flu had different plans for me . Meanwhile, my new chassis mount shifter and conversion mounts are on their way from Garagistic so I can start mocking up the engine and making some more progress.

[1panthertxn]

The brake setup has been, by far, the most complicated part of this project. Trying to get this pedal box modified to work with the e34 remote booster setup was a real chore. Following the Macalent guide, I moved attachment for the brake pedal and push rod about 3.5" to the left, shaved the plastic clutch pedal, spaced the master cylinder to the left to make room for the brake push rod, and welded in supports for the new master cylinder mounting points.




I made a simple 16 ga adapter plate to bolt to the firewall and mount the e34 remote booster knee bracket. Then, I welded up the bracket to mount the knee bracket to the frame rail, cut a small hole through the strut tower support to run the long pull-rod through, and began figuring out how to mount the big booster bracket.

[1panthertxn]

Well, it’s been a while, but I’ve been making steady progress.

I have the whole rear subframe reinforced and cleaned up, bushings all replaced with 80a poly, 3.15 Torsen diff with secondary mounting point from Garagistic and Z3M cover all put together and ready to bolt back into the car... except that I realized I have the wrong output flanges lol. New ones came in yesterday and everything will go back in this weekend (God willing).

I also made the top half of the radiator support removable to make everything a little easier. I basically just cut right through the support about 1/2” short of each fender, welded in plates on the fenders and boxed in the ends of the support with a plate that matches the ones on the fenders. They are secured by two bolts each.



I made some U shaped brackets that I slid about 2" into the vertical sections of the radiator support and welded in place. The bottoms of the brackets easily slide into the bottom section of the radiator support and bolt in.


Overall, I'm happy with the way the removable support came out. Everything is very solid when bolted together, very easy to take back apart, and should look pretty clean once I have everything cleaned up and painted.

[Jean]

Nice ! You’ll love the torque and powerband delivery of v8 :) I’ve raced my car with m30 swap for years before and also with m60 swap as well . Don’t skimp on suspension , brakes , differential and tires :)

[jpod999]

You won't regret the 32v swap.

[Staszek]

My assumption was based off of a thread I previously read where another member did a corner weigh after an m6x and 6spd swap and had almost perfect 50/50 balance. It very well could have been due to other factors, but I vaguely remember being inclined to believe his claims.

To be honest, I’m not particularly concerned with it as I doubt I’ll even be able to tell the difference. It was just another way for me to justify going this route so I could make these noises:

 https://youtu.be/QvWOWmEsJuE

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Never need to justify an S62 ever! Just do it lol!

[1panthertxn]

My assumption was based off of a thread I previously read where another member did a corner weigh after an m6x and 6spd swap and had almost perfect 50/50 balance. It very well could have been due to other factors, but I vaguely remember being inclined to believe his claims.

To be honest, I’m not particularly concerned with it as I doubt I’ll even be able to tell the difference. It was just another way for me to justify going this route so I could make these noises:

 https://youtu.be/QvWOWmEsJuE

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Staszek]

The longer 6 speed will be nice, but being heavier/longer will not help the weight bias as it is still weight in front of the middle of the car.

On S14.net there was a gentleman that installed his S54 something like 4-6 inches further back, even reboxing his firewall to fit it further back, and it did little to help the balance.

True. I put a bigger battery in the trunk, a small sub, and the E36 M3 exhaust weighs more. When I am done the tuning shop is going to do a corner weight on my car to see how front heavy it is from the S54.

The S62 is around 80+ pds heavier then the S54 (which is 80 pds heavier than the M20), the weight distribution is better in the S62 rearward but it still won't be balanced, considering you are 160+ pds more than the original engine.

[R3Z3N]

And from what I understand, the shorter V8 and heavier/longer 6spd trans actually improves the balance of the car, so it should handle nicely as well.

The longer 6 speed will be nice, but being heavier/longer will not help the weight bias as it is still weight in front of the middle of the car.

On S14.net there was a gentleman that installed his S54 something like 4-6 inches further back, even reboxing his firewall to fit it further back, and it did little to help the balance.

[1panthertxn]

holy guacamole what a power bump

It will be delightful!

damn, almost 400hp on that s62. that will be pretty quick in a straight line!

And from what I understand, the shorter V8 and heavier/longer 6spd trans actually improves the balance of the car, so it should handle nicely as well. One of the most attractive qualities of the s62 is it’s silky smooth power delivery and responsiveness.

Very cool, looking forward to this one and like your approach with the car



What did you use to convert the front hubs to 5 stud?

Thank you! I used a kit that incorporates a sleeve on the front spindles to adapt e36 front wheel hubs and caliper adapter brackets to use e46 m3 front calipers and rotors/E46 325i calipers and rotors in the rear. See my previous post for the link.




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[Modz]

Very cool, looking forward to this one and like your approach with the car

What did you use to convert the front hubs to 5 stud?