NOR-CAL General Chat.

[mtech325]

I'm talking in regards to passing the CA BAR. He wants to swap one in to his 91 vert.

They won't know what year the B35 is from when they inspect it.

I know plenty about M30 swaps, thanks.

According to my friend, who did the BAR process for his 24v car a year and a half ago, the ECU is what the car get's "stickered" as. So for his case he should at least try to find an ECU out of a 91 or newer car. In their case the car is deemed a 5 series (based on their ecu) even if the motor itself came out of an e36. It seems as though this can vary between referees. I'll be trying this process with my friend and his convertible in a few months for an m50, so we'll see how it goes. Good job for playing by the rules and doing it legally though.........it sucks but peace of mind is better than being worried about smog!

[Cabriolet]

brought my 325is to work today. after fixing the odo and the rear shocks last weekend. the car has really really grown on me. those rivals are like kate beckinsale's body, they never quit and like rick astley, they never let go.

[Wh33lhop]

Yup

You should try actual r comps :)

[Pantless Spency]

Do it do it



Do you know how much they want?

Yeah. Only 1500,


But it hasn't been registered or driven in like 6+ years.


I'm gonna snatch it soon and change all the fluids see if it will go.

[kronus]

Yeah. Only 1500,


But it hasn't been registered or driven in like 6+ years.


I'm gonna snatch it soon and change all the fluids see if it will go.

holy shit get it now

don't tell me where it is

I don't have room for more cars

tell me where it is

[Pantless Spency]

holy shit get it now



don't tell me where it is



I don't have room for more cars



tell me where it is

Lulz.

I won't let anyone know where it's at.

I'm attached to the idea of owning it, always liked e28's and I want a cool DD with four doors.

[kronus]

ok, well, don't cock it up. refer to oliver's quote in your sig.

[decay]

According to my friend, who did the BAR process for his 24v car a year and a half ago, the ECU is what the car get's "stickered" as. So for his case he should at least try to find an ECU out of a 91 or newer car. In their case the car is deemed a 5 series (based on their ecu) even if the motor itself came out of an e36. It seems as though this can vary between referees. I'll be trying this process with my friend and his convertible in a few months for an m50, so we'll see how it goes. Good job for playing by the rules and doing it legally though.........it sucks but peace of mind is better than being worried about smog!

Don't they also check the engine for some kind of identifying information that shows what year the donor was? I've never dealt with BAR myself, but I thought I've read about that in the inspection process documentation somewhere.

Moot point anyway; I want the newest donor car I can get, because the best-case there is 20 years old.

[Steven]

Don't they also check the engine for some kind of identifying information that shows what year the donor was? I've never dealt with BAR myself, but I thought I've read about that in the inspection process documentation somewhere.

Moot point anyway; I want the newest donor car I can get, because the best-case there is 20 years old.

They check the engine block number. Shows the displacement and basically what engine it is. You do not need an engine VIN

[Vivek]

So guys, the 24v wiki is down. If I wanted to swap this dead m42 with an m50, could anyone give me any insight as to what I'd need?
I need to get:
Engine (w/ ecu/harness)
motor mount arms
oil pan/pickup/dipstick (or an e34 engine)
throttle cable
brake booster
driveshaft
exhaust
and wire it up

I have a g240 (and a spare), m20 clutch/flywheel, 4.10 medium case LSD (i'd probably run it for now), new m42 guibo. Not sure if it'd be worth going this route over another m42, golde30 suggested it though. I would need to BAR/smog right away.

[phreshkid]

They check the engine block number. Shows the displacement and basically what engine it is. You do not need an engine VIN

In my case with the BAR, they wanted to see the VIN and verify that it was indeed an 95 m3 engine (it wasn't). They would not complete the deed until the engine was confirmed (by a licensed shop, no less) that this was in fact a 1995 OBD1 S50B30US engine.

Then again, there are four or five variations of the m/s50/52, so their questioning was somewhat warranted. Don't know if you'll have these problems, but it is a thing.

I got it signed off as a S50US engine and received my CARB sticker. Shit was painful yo.

[mtech325]

So guys, the 24v wiki is down. If I wanted to swap this dead m42 with an m50, could anyone give me any insight as to what I'd need?
I need to get:
Engine (w/ ecu/harness)
motor mount arms
oil pan/pickup/dipstick (or an e34 engine)
throttle cable
brake booster
driveshaft
exhaust
and wire it up

I have a g240 (and a spare), m20 clutch/flywheel, 4.10 medium case LSD (i'd probably run it for now), new m42 guibo. Not sure if it'd be worth going this route over another m42, golde30 suggested it though. I would need to BAR/smog right away.

This is just general and of course you'll run into odds and ends along the way so by no means is this comprehensive:

harness: obd1 out of m50 or s50 (preferably manual car)

motor arms: e36 six cylinder

motor mounts: condor 24v, AKG (probably the best in my opinion), or e28 535 or m5 (good if you want rubber but the stud is pretty tall up top)

oil pickup: e34 w/ front sump pan (if not an e34 donor m50)

throttle cable: e34 (has 90 degree bend)

brake booster: modified e21, modified 944, iX, or slottled firewall for stock booster (check HWY84's write up on this)

clutch and starter: e30 m20 w/ shaved m20 flywheel/clutch, or e36 starter and flywheel/clutch (they have to match)

driveshaft: personally don't do the g240 it kinda sucks. At minimum g260 with 6 cyl. e30 driveshaft. Or do the zf310/320 with the m3/328 4-bolt drive shaft and e30 center support bearing. Don't forget the correct pilot bearing for each transmission!

exhaust: supposedly e36 complete exhaust bolts up with a little modification around the downpipe area (eyeball arms may even clear the e36 exhaust). Otherwise a full on custom CARB legal exhaust with cats was about $700 out the door when my friend had his car done. This can vary shop to shop but probably easiest option (and fresh cats).

wiring: 1) send out harness to markert motorwerks or robertk and have them do a complete plug N play harness
OR
2) buy or make an adapter (I think Nando has a good deal going for about 200 bucks--you give him the donor car and your car's info etc.)

Also budget extra bits and pieces. To put it into perspective consider this: I have an e36 328 and I put an s52 into it. It was a pretty plug and play affair but I had about $1500-2000 in refreshing the motor on top of the purchase price itself, so expect to blow the budget. Don't half ass things, do it once and do it right.

[Vivek]

Will a stock m20 clutch and flywheel (late model single mass) not clear the engine? I already have the clutch and flywheel and starter. I have e28 motor mounts that I'm using on my m42 with already modified studs. Only things I see being a problem could be wiring, brake booster, and exhaust. But at the same time, I dropped the exact same engine my car came with into it and it isn't fuckin working so idk if it's something I should take on. Is the g240 that bad? I've heard people saying it'll blow, others saying it's better than a 260 because it's lighter and (I believe) doesn't twist 10°.

[2mAn]

In my case with the BAR, they wanted to see the VIN and verify that it was indeed an 95 m3 engine (it wasn't). They would not complete the deed until the engine was confirmed (by a licensed shop, no less) that this was in fact a 1995 OBD1 S50B30US engine.

Then again, there are four or five variations of the m/s50/52, so their questioning was somewhat warranted. Don't know if you'll have these problems, but it is a thing.

I got it signed off as a S50US engine and received my CARB sticker. Shit was painful yo.

This is what Im worried about with my car. I have pretty much everything to suggest the motor is from a '93 325i (its not), but I am really trying to get the BAR to give me that lovely sticker.

I think from here forward Im either buying diesel reg'd cars (pre 97 of course) or pre76 cars... I have been through hell with my swap though and I really want to enjoy it, but I am beyond frustrated with it. Im sure driving it will change my mind, but we'll see....

and Vivek, you should know better. Theres a thread dedicated to what you're thinking about doing IN the SUB-FORUM dedicated to this swap.

[Vivek]

I do know better, but as I said, the wiki with all the info I'm looking for is currently down. And I'd rather shoot the shit with people in Norcal chat since I'm very much not sure about this at all. It's annoying to find something in those thread when people clutter it up, but this thread is already 30,000 posts of bullshit so I'm not hurting anything :p