Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Bmw e21 M50B25 Swap

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Bmw e21 M50B25 Swap

    Hi all!

    My name is Dirk, 21 years old and I live in the Netherlands.

    I've got to apologize because I don't own an E30 but an E21 320/6. (way cooler but i shouldn't say this around here i guess. )

    I've been browsing this forum for years but never really thought of joining.
    Nonetheless I decided to join this forum because it has helped me alot with alot of things.

    The car I own:








    I'm in the proces of swapping an M50b25 single vanos engine:



    I've seen a lot of experience with M50 swaps around here, unfortunately all in E30's. This is where my problem begins, the E21 I own doesn't have the same wiring / wiring connectors. Also my elektical skills are very poor. (yes i'm able to solder everything together)


    I've made a pinout of what wires I see on my car and on the M50 engine harnass. Though I would like to ask some people who are more experienced with this wiring job If my connections are correct

    Also is there anyone who can tell me which bare wiring is supposed to be done to run the motor?


    When i got the time I will translate my pinout from Dutch to English and upload it here.

    Kind regards,

    #2
    Welcome! I used to own numerous e21s, so there's still plenty of e21 love around here :D

    One way to sort the pinout would be to look at an e21 to motronic swap guide - e.g:



    Then look at the e30 Motronic to M50 swap wiring and you should be able to work it out by cross-referencing the two.

    Good luck!
    My e30: OEM+ with M30B35

    Comment


      #3
      Tanks,

      This thread could be usefull to me, But unfortunately i discoverd my head is cracked so I'm looking for another.

      For now I'm working on the engine bay to get it rust free, cleaned and painted.





      As soon as this is done I can put the engine in the bay. After that I will be starting with the wiring.

      Also I saw this thread is supposed to be in the 24v section, is there an admin who could move my thread to there?

      Thanks!

      Comment


        #4
        Small update

        I'm a little busy with school and other things so progress is going slow, decided that it would be a shame to nog give the enginebay some fresh paint now when the motor is out.



        This was the bad side, fortunately there is no rust to find here anymore.






        And some more:



        Sould be done in a week or 2/3, after that the M50 goes in!!

        Gr.

        Comment


          #5
          You got much nicer e21 bumpers than we did.

          I'd happily drive a euro e21. After I fabbed up some tension rods for the front struts...

          t
          now, sometimes I just mess with people. It's more entertaining that way. george graves

          Comment


            #6
            you mean tension rods for the front sway bar?

            Comment


              #7
              Well, yeah- tension rods so the front sway bar's just a sway bar again.

              Trying to make 1 part do both was not BMW's finest design choice...

              I had one E21, and front end shake was a regular problem.

              t
              now, sometimes I just mess with people. It's more entertaining that way. george graves

              Comment


                #8
                Yeah I experience this problem to. Figthing it since I got the car. After overhauing the front axle and installing polyurethane bushings it is less then ever but still there somewhere.

                It sounds like an interesting idea. But maybe fabricating mounting point's for an e30 control arm is easier I think? especially because then an E30 strut/coilover could be used.

                Here in the netherlands the cheapest coilovers for an E21 start at 1200 Euro. Unfortunately I'm quite poor so that's not an option for me. :(

                Comment


                  #9
                  Hmm- interesting thought to use E30 parts.

                  It's been too long since I looked at the underside of one-
                  but recently, I found myself thinking that euro bumpers, single headlights
                  and an M54 would be fun.

                  I've been on an M54 kick recently, and I dunno why...

                  t
                  now, sometimes I just mess with people. It's more entertaining that way. george graves

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I planned this swap, i got the mounts from a guy off BF, the problem i ran in to was the ECU needs the VSS from the cluster. There has been talk that you can splice in the tach signal but not one has given me a 100% answer on that, Mega squirt is also an option.
                    for the speedometer to work you'll need a 1984 528e trans or a 320i/6-323i e21 transmission.
                    i do know that a 318i(m42) radiator fits really well in the radiator spot, I use volvo 240 radiator mounts because they mount to the top, just need to drill a hole.

                    just some thoughts, good luck
                    WTB:m60b40 in PNW
                    Zachary Ripley

                    85 318i M50B25tu.
                    92 525it 5 speed.
                    80 244gl (m60 prepping).

                    Comment


                      #11
                      @TobyB

                      Unfortunately I found quite a major flaw in my e30 control arm idea, the steering rack is on the front side on an E30 instead of an E21 which has it after it.

                      The M54 engine is very nice but I need to keep things cheap, engine cost me less than 100 dollar with the cracked head. :)

                      @Firefight

                      Yes I know this is a problem but there are a few company's which are able to rewrite the ecu to delete that singal just like EWS. For the same price I am looking at the MS3 kits which I really like. Another challenge but for furture turbo plans a good investment I think. ;D

                      Also this car was orignally 316 but i swapped everything for the M20 320/6 so I can just pull the mounts and 5spd from it. Also for this swap I cut out the front of the car to place the M20 radiator so I think I leave this as this should clear with electric fan. Ofcourse I want to upgrade it to a better one, is the M42 any better?

                      Thanks for the input, I've been doubting al those problems for a long time.





                      How do I get this thread to the M50 section?

                      Comment


                        #12
                        oh, right- that's why they use an e21 rack in the 2002 conversions...

                        t
                        now, sometimes I just mess with people. It's more entertaining that way. george graves

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Small update!

                          The car is currently at the painter and is should be done by monday. Can't wait to see how it turns out.



                          Yes very handy those lawnmowers, fortunately the painter is around the corner.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Ha!
                            I'll admit, I use ours that way, too.

                            t
                            now, sometimes I just mess with people. It's more entertaining that way. george graves

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Engine bay painted!

                              Haha

                              Just received some pictures!

                              Last edited by dirkvanraalte; 03-27-2017, 07:58 AM.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X