engine and drivetrain M20 swap questions

[Guest Anonymous]

So, I have be following this board for sometime now. I have searched and searched. Everyone has there ideas of the best setup for all 02's. What is the best option as far as m20 swaps? The e block and i head? Ive heard the 88 or 89 engine are the ones? I've followed charlie and m20otwo work fun stuff. What is it????????????????

The background on what I purchased is a 1974 2002. That the previous owner badged as a 2002tii. Vins dont match tii, NO clock. Good looking car though.

Green extior with/was brown interior. Basically, I have been driving since last june with now problems but a lately fuel smell. Since parked the car. Drove great in the blizzard weather here in colorado.

what I am looking for is a go faster daily driver. Nothing fansty. Never showroom material, so I will drive and not worry. Just something to play with and have fun.

Thanks

[m20ohtwo]

Go here to learn more about the m20:

www.e30tech.com.

People have argued in circles for eternity about the best/cheapest way to build a 2.7 stroker. Many people will tell you that you can't simply put an i head on an e block, but many have done it with success, especially when looking for low compression for boost. But I'm not sure there is much of a worthwhile gain from this naturally aspirated. The 2.5 is well tuned/potent just the way it is. If i was to do it again I'd just swap in a low mileage 2.5 and save the headache. (spec e30 racers don't consider a serious rebuild unless the engine has over 200k on it) The 2.5's (they were only available from 87-91) are all the same internally, but the 6/88-91 versions have better, more tune-able engine management if you are going to re-use that.

But if you're bent on a stroker i think my combo is the cheapest/best/easiest way without sourcing the rare 323i head from Europe. It uses the I head on E block but uses the rare 88 super eta pistons to raise the compression ratio and provide a better match with the contours of the i head. The compression ratio is still pretty low - like 8.8:1

If you can find the 323 head it is supposed to raise the 2.7 cr pretty high (9.7:1?) and has the same ports as the 885 head on a 2.5.

[JohnN]

Drop me an email:

jnevius at spiritone dot com

Cheers!

John N

[albawhore]

Check out www.strictlyeta.net and Jeff Irelands site.

Strictly eta lays out how to build a stroker from a curious conglomeration of parts.

Jeff Ireland sells stroker kits for the 2.5l m20 from the 325i to '91, his kits range from 2.9l to 3.2l.

I am planning on going with Jeff's 3.2 kit, he was not really willing to give any numbers because there are so many tuning variables. I asked if he thought ~240 hp was attainable and he said yes.

Metric Mechanic sells built engines in a range of sizes priced from ~$5000. They guarantee their engines and say that they are uber reliable.

If you go with the factory set up of 2.5l i engine and ECM with a chip you will only make ~150 bhp with torque in the 170 range and the car will be as reliable as any e30. This is an attractive set up for many because you can find a used e30 with a decent motor and trans for ~$1000 and you have all of the parts (less motor mounts) at your finger tips.

I am going to go big with either carbs or ITB's and probably the latter with a megasquirt type set up of some sort.

I am also going to try and "splice" in the rear suspension from a 5 lug car so that I can get beefier rear ends to hold up against a heavy foot and, hopefully, huge torque numbers.

Cheers

JB