engine and drivetrain m50 in 2002. would like to talk to someone who has done it

[Guest Anonymous]

had planned on doing an m20 swap in the 71 for a while now but came across an m50 pretty cheap and my neck hairs are raised thinking about this in my 02. i know its not an easy swap but how much harder is it than m20? have already done a search but not really finding out what im looking for. anyone out there that has successfully completed a swap that wouldnt mind me asking a bunch of questions? after its done i will gladly add a comprehensive and detailed post here to help with others wanting to do this swap. some of the parts i have so far:

1992 325i non vanos m50 with 525 oil pan and dip stick

wiring harness, ecu, m3 cams

dan williams m20 conversion mounts (could i use these?)

stainless factory headers from 97 328i single vanos (hope they fit!)

325 exhaust ( to cut and reweld downpipe)

e30 318is trans ( should fit tunnel with a lil tapping)and fuel pump

high pressure fuel lines

e21 323i radiator and flywheel machined for m50/e30 swap

e36 325 radiator. not sure which one is gonna work best

Ireland Engineering m20 swap front sway bar

i know ill have to modify firewall for extra engine room. nose already cut. shift linkage will have to b bent for 10 degree tilt.

please email ben at my2002broke@yahoo.com i'm hoping to get this done before it gets too cold or at least get eng and trans bolted in. any help would be greatly appreciated

[lumbergh17]

I haven't done it, been thinking about it though. If I recall I'm not sure the 318is transmission bolts up, I know the 325i,is does, that is the Getrag 260. Unless they are the same?

One thing you might want to consider is finding an aluminum block m52 from a Z3, and then either using the whole engine or the block since that would help weight distribution.

Also, you might be better off just fabbing your own parts as you will get a better fit most likely and I'd imagine you'd have to cut up the parts you want to use a ton anyway.

Best of luck if you do it, I'm sure a lot of people would follow in your path.

[dlmrun2002]

Mine as well drop in a m54 since you're there.

dlm

[Guest]

It's not worth it to drop in a 325i M50...

Only 20 extra hp over the M20, sure it has more potential than an M20 but if that's the route you want to go down then it's still not a good motor(M54B30, S52euro spec, or S54 would be about the same amount of work).

Search around r3vlimited or bimmerforums, every thread I've read about the DOHC swaps into E30s says don't do it unless you go 2.8L+.

It also weighs a decent amount more than the M20 and is fcking huge with the DOHC head(also longer than the M20).

Pancake in Portland, OR is doing an S52 or S54. I'm pretty sure he has a build blog. From what I remember seeing his pics, there's no chance in hell you'll get the E30 radiator in with that motor.

If you do go ahead with it, be ready to have the car down and out for a year minimum, probably 2.

[eurotrash]

Ben, Talk to Jon Tinker. He made his own mounting system that uses (IIRC) the e30 motor mounts, and it placed the m20 further back at the same time..

I have an extra front sub frame if you need one to use for build up.

As mentioned above, the aluminum 2.8 is interesting because its only about 10 lbs heavier than an S14, as I was told by an e30 M3 race car builder. He had put one in an M3, and with only a cam upgrade and chip, the car was as fast as the previous $30k s14 race motor.

http://cgi.ebay.com/BMW-97-98-Z3-ALUMINUM-BLCK-2-8-ENGINE-COMPLETE-SHORT-?cmd=ViewItem&hash=item3a6bb350a1&item=250915016865&pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr#ht_698wt_1413

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-Z3-2-8-Roadster-E36-ENGINE-ASSEMBLY-Long-Block-/370552073978?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item56469feefa#ht_6103wt_1413

[dibo]

I have an M50 in my e21, and it's... snug (can't get a finger between the firewall and the intake manifold and there's a max of about 40mm between the front of the motor and radiator, which is an SR20DET unit - and probably not up to snuff). I didn't do the swap, but purchased it "running" and have been cleaning up the po's mistakes ever since (credit where it's due - he got it in the car and running). I should point out that the front clip is still 100% intact in my car, although I'm considering cutting it out to make room for a bigger radiator and fan.

Other notables:

I have the ZF 5 speed from the e36 M3/e34 in mine - it's probably overkill and definitely a tight fit... either way, I'd try to start with an automatic car if you can since it gives you a fair amount of extra clearance and I think any of the boxes you're going to use are going to be a fair amount larger than the stock 4sp.

I highly recommend doing a complete fitment WITH SHIFTER prior to making any permanent engine/trans mounts. Also, and this may seem like common sense, but when you have everything where you like it, make sure the hood shuts... it's a tight fit vertically too. Anyway my shifter leans slightly towards the passenger's seat, so 5th feels a bit further than normal when in a proper racing harness. That said, you should be able to find stock BMW parts to make your shift linkage/platform... I think I used a combination of e30/e34 parts (don't hold me to that - I grabbed a bunch of crap out of a random parts box), which works pretty well (po cut the stock e21 plate, bolted it to the floor and cut/welded/bent a "custom" shift linkage - this did not work quite so well).

Also, you're going to have zero clearance for manifold/headers... I'm sure you can build some. In my case, po used the stock cast manifolds with a pretty janky collector... I rebuilt everything with two of the shorter M3/328 tubular manifolds (one is longer in stock form - I picked up two of the shorter versions from a local dismantler). If you take this route, you'll still have a bit of welding to do, as I'm pretty sure these only come in OBDII flavor (so you'll have some air pump lines and O2 bungs to weld shut since OBDI only uses one after the collector).

I'm sure there's other points I'm missing, but that should be a good start... feel free to message me if you like. Good luck and have fun!