ttrousdell's Project Thread (E30 M3 & S38 swap content)

[dannyyisntt]

I'm intrigued.

[grantlacey11]

that engine bay is super clean!! looks like you got some work ahead of you! keep it up!

[ttrousdell]

body work.

As i said before the insurance payout was $2700. During the collision, the radiator, fan clutch, ac condenser, hood, fenders, head lights, grille, and top of valence were destroyed. Lucky for me all these items from the parts car were in good condition (except valance). The cost to get these items came no where near the cost of 2700 so i actually made money off the accident. As for the valence, i had a good upper half from the parts car and a good lower half from the 89'. Cut both down the middle and welded the two together to get one good valence.


I went to start it and all i got was a ticking starter. Found out that i didnt attach the ground to the engine and after that the starter worked but still no start. A week later I went abroad to Europe so this is how she sat for three months.

[ttrousdell]

She Runs!!!

After getting back from my trip in August, I decided to just take the car to my mechanic. Turned out that the cps shorted out and fried the ecu. He wanted 500 for a new ecu but luckly i got one for 50 off craigslist. Unfortunately it still cost me 700 bucks for him to figure that out and put in a new cps so i got fucked. Needless to say ive picked up a multimeter since then. Because the car would be my new daily i put it back on the stock suspension.

Picked up a new is lip and side skirts. I also put the car on 16x8 rotas. After all that work, this is the car as it is today....

[ttrousdell]

Let the M30B35 swap begin!!!

Once i got my 89' back on the road, I had no use for my 90' 325i so i put it for sale and made $2800. Now that i had all this extra cash i decided to consider a swap. Originally I planned on picking up an S50 or 52. Eventually i decided on the M30 for a few reasons. First its a lot cheaper then an S motor. I also feel like its a little easier to swap. The low compression ratio and 3.5L of room also appealed to me because i want to turbo it a few years down the road. I put a post on this forum and only a few weeks later i got a hit. I drove to Massachucettes and picked this up for $750.

• M30B35 with 84K, getrag 260/6, wiring harness, m5 clutch, 533 flywheel, correct drive shaft and csb, all the coolant hoses, new e28 radiator, funk mounts, AKG poly 75d motor mounts, correct shifter linkage, z4 3.0 short shift w/ new shifter bushings, down pipes into collector with o2 bung

So on to the pictures....

To save the bitching from my parents I decided to do most of the early work in my college dorm room. Not exactly the best place but its heated. Degreased a little but the engine was fairly clean and had already been given a shitty silver paint job.



Again i chose to paint the engine red, the same color scheme as my M20.

A teaser of things to come. My plans as of now is to bring the engine back to my house and finish it all up in January. Im not going to do the swap until April or May since the M20 i have in the car is running like top and who really wants to work in the cold. More to come....

[iwantspeed]

nice work

sorry for the accident and all the worked it turned into.

[for3ver]

how did the graham crackers hold up?

[TimKninja]

I am dissapoint that you ruined that nice lookin parts car!

BUT it looks like it came out well, the only thing Id change on your car would be to return the kidneys to silver trim.

Well done

[ttrousdell]

Thanks guys! ^The graham crackers came in clutch and i got to eat all them after the fact. Thanks again for3ver. i was impressed at how clean the engine is. It was a shame to kill the parts car but turned out that the rocker pannels and floors were rusted to shit.

[zshopa]

waiting for that M30 swap!.....


Thanks for doin my Timing Belt!

[ttrousdell]

^np hows the car running. As you can see i have my work cut out for me. my goal is to have the motor all put back together but the end of January then im goin to try to drop it in, in April or May. By then i should be an expert on the swap. Telling you its a lot of shit. I got lucky that i bought a motor with all the accessories (mounts, driveshaft etc.) If you can snag all that shit ill have no problem taking a few trips to jersey to get it goin. Obv wont happen til summer.

[zshopa]

thats awesome, if i can get the car started it runs solid, but its still parked. i have some starting issues with the whole cold start valve/thermo time switch, kinda wish i didnt get the ETA but it is what it is for now, i started redoing the interior but with the cold weather and between waiting for parts to arrive im kinda on a standstill. good luck with the swap and keep posting pics!

[ttrousdell]

flywheel

Pulled the flywheel off and cleaned some of the surface rust with a wire brush. As I said earlier its a 533i flywheel which is the same as the e28 m5 flywheel. I dont plan on lightening it anymore but I will get it resurfaced. I'm also going to order the clutch kit. From what i got from researching the internet, a e28 M5 and e28 535i kits will work with my 260/6 tranny. Going with the 535i kit because it is cheaper. Going with e28 535i flywheel bolts too.
*if anyone finds any errors in what i just said tell me, i am new to the e28, e32 world. Also if you have any advice please feel free to tell.

Clutch seen better days

Took the engine home with me before I left for winter break. The looks I was getting as I wheeled this thing out of my dorm was priceless. Its a little easier to work on in my garage.

Stared to spray and clean some of the parts. Using Rustoleum 500 degree engine enamel for mostly everything. I find that it stands up well especially when used in combo with the primer.

Cleaning the head. Used a razor blade to scrape the heavy shit then went over with scotch brite for a nice finish.

[ttrousdell]

starter

Decided to throw a new coat on the starter since it was greasy and covered in a shitty silver paint job.


Opened up the back cover. To do this remove the two large flathead and two small phillips screws which strip easily so use caution. The commutator and the brushes seemed to be in good shape.


Gave it a nice gloss paint job


Just as i was finishing the Fedex truck pulled up with some goodies
-Head and block gasket kit, 80C thermostat, tensioner spring, Oil filters


Plan to put the engine back together in the next few weeks. More picture to come...

[CorvallisBMW]

Awesome! I love the shots in the dorm room, I'm guessing you had plenty of neighbors thinking 'wtf is he doing??"