'71 2002 M20 Conversion

[cjreents]

Nice project......I've got a 75 torn down to the shell that I'm building up for track. I was originally planning on doing an m20 conversion and that's the main reason I looked for a automatic, and found the non-sunroof auto, that I'm using. I've decided for now to build an M10 though, I've always wanted sidedrafts on an m10

Anyway, good luck with the conversion, I'll be watching closely to see if I want to take that route in the future.

Lance

Tha Couve, Wa.

Thanks for the comments, you should also check out Mike's M20 conversion. He's located in the Vancouver as well.

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,57/page,viewtopic/t,292271/highlight,m20/

[cjreents]

It's been awhile since I've posted... accomplished a few things and still gathering parts.

Here's a pic regarding the different water pumps - really enjoyed replacing it twice:

Along with the water pump, I replaced the timing belt and tensioner:

Had to remove the a/c unit:

Cleaned and painted the engine... not sure what the color of the car is as the previous owner did not know. Was hoping that is was Agave (071) as that appeared to be the darkest green of the '02 colors - was still too light.

Also began cutting out the nose of the car. I'll be using a radiator from a 82 323i for which upper and lower rad hoses should fit without any splicing.

Removed the driveshaft (thanks to my dad for his help with this and the center link - that was a total P.I.T.A):

Mounted the 323i trans to the M20 and dropped it into the engine bay. Still a couple inches away from being mounted. Will try again tomorrow...

[70roundtail02]

progress looks really good i'm jealous that i haven't made that much progress on mine

[cjreents]

Thanks Tristan...

Just came in from spending another couple hours in the garage trying to get the engine mounted. I'm seriously only an inch or so away from fully mounted (no pun intended) - my sway bar is now in the way. Looks like I'll have to figure out what to do with it - maybe drop it a bit with some spacers (hopefully that'll work).

[djm1968]

Hey Chris.

Great project Chris! I am in the middle of a similar project -- though I am going for s14 power and a m3 CR gearbox. I'd love to come take a look at your car sometime, especially to see your radiator support modifications...I am planning something similar.

I'm in Portland, not far from PIR raceway, actually...

Drop me a note sometime, if you'd like.

Cheers,

Dominic

dmaraglia at gmail

http://www.madracing.net/media/sp_index.php?dir=./bmw02

[cjreents]

Dominic -

You're more than welcome to come by and take a look. As you can tell, I'm having some problems with the right side motor mount that I purchased. The angle is way off and it looks like I'll have to find someone to re-weld it or use Matt's technique described above. Once I get that worked out, then I'll be able to test fit the 323i radiator.

Give me a couple weeks to get the car a bit further along then you can come down for a visit to West Linn. I also just posted in regards to your s14 vs m20 post, let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks,

Chris

[cjreents]

Been awhile since I've had a chance to update. Think I finally figured out the motor mount issue. Had to have the passenger side rewelded by a shop, but it's still 1/4" off or so... will have to drill new holes in subframe and make an adapter plate - thanks to canadaMatt for the pics!

In the meantime, I borrowed a buddies welder and tried my hand at that for the first time today. Somewhat sloppy but it should do the job for my transmission mount. (Still have to drill holes in the tunnel to mount permanently).

I also shortened the shifter platform...

And the shift linkage... getting really short! Hope it works...

Also ran the new steel fuel line, but am waiting for my filter and to remove the engine again before finishing it off.

[cjreents]

Wow - I can't believe it's been since June that I posted on my project. Summer went by fast and most weekends were booked solid, however, I did manage to make some progress... including fabricating a mount for my e21 323i radiator

Quick pic of my mount for the AFM (still need to clean up the wires):

[cjreents]

You'll notice that back in June I shortened the shift linkage and platform to fit in the stock hole in the trans tunnel. However, after test fitting the engine and trans multiple times, it would not fit. Cutting a new hole in the trans was not my worry, my worry was that moving the hole back a couple inches meant that the ebrake would hit the shifter surround. The surround contains the controls for the electric windows which I didn't want to rewire and reconfigure. After weeks of contemplation, I decided to cut the new hole which meant shortening the emergency brake...

Here's the new hole in the tunnel & the shift linkage and platform that I shortened again:

[Schweineback]

Do you think it would have been possible to lose the shifter link all together and connect the shifter directly on the gear box? Of course this would require some welding for a new pivoting point. I'm soon challenged by the same problem.

[cjreents]

That was my challenge... the end of the selector rod fit perfectly under the old hole in the tunnel. However, the selector rod is (from what I've been told) hardened steel and is difficult to weld. I posted this awhile back http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,50/page,viewtopic/t,311896/highlight,/

In the end, I thought it was best to leave the linkage in place given the side to side motion that is needed when shifting. I figured you need the "play" in the linkage to make gear shifting smooth and not forced. Mind you, I'm not a mechanic and have never stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.

Got any pics of your conversion?

[cjreents]

It's running! After several nights and weeks of trying to sort out some of the wiring (no power to ecu or fuel pump), I headed out to the local junk yard. Found a 90 325i and purchased all the relays. Took 'em home, popped 'em in, and viola!

Oil cooler, electric fan

Rad and oil cooler mounts

Power distribution block

Not as close as it looks...

Fuel filter

Fuel tank

[cjreents]

Finished welding up the exhaust as well... still think I may paint the whole thing...

Using 325e downpipes into 2.5" single exhaust

Center Resonator: http://www.justmagnaflow.com/cgi-bin/shopper.exe?preadd=action&key=CARS10436

Muffler: http://www.justmagnaflow.com/cgi-bin/shopper.exe?preadd=action&key=CARS12636

[powelli]

Looking good Chris.

Nice job cleaning up that wiring. Is your ECU mounted on the underside of your glove box?

Good luck wrapping it up and getting it off the stands.

[cjreents]

I'm having to rebuild the center console since I no longer have A/C and since I also had to move the shifter back a couple inches. So, my plan is to mount the ECU in back of the center console and keep the glove box usable.

Should be able to put some more pics up later this weekend.

Go Blazers!