Thoughts on doing an M52 conversion...

[MrT8064]

I've owned a 318iS for just over a year now, and have loved every moment. I bought it with a few issues ”“ some of which are now fixed ”“ however at some stage soon, it's going to need a new timing chain + some other engine work.

A few days ago I saw a trashy E36 2.8 cabrio on eBay ”“ I put a bid in, and surprisingly won.

I now have a difficult decision to make baring in mind I have very limited mechanical knowledge at the moment:

Either I should attempt the M52 conversion ”“ using money that the M42 timing chain job would cost to buy parts.

or I should try and MOT the E36/strip it for parts.

Would appreciate any thoughts on this ”“ the M52 guide looks complicated but not ridiculous. Any ideas on rough costs for the M52 conversion would also be helpful.

I can post an eBay link to the E36 for those interested...

[ross_jsy]

Budget around the £2k mark to do a good job of it

[leeparkes]

Post the link, im nosey

Never understand where the 2K mark comes from, even if i didnt frag the E36 mine is still under 1K.

[jimbom30cab]

especially with an 318iS as a base car, should be even cheaper....

[MrT8064]

1K sounds much more doable than two from my point of view ”“ since my iS is a little tired already.

Heres the E36 I have just picked up:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271568596308

Hopefully I haven't been stupid getting it!

[leeparkes]

Bargain! You cant go wrong

[Brianmoooore]

You can't really go wrong at that price!
Stick an E34 M50 sump, dipstick and oil pick up on the engine, and it'll drop straight into your iS with some suitable engine mounts.
The problems that will be encountered are that the exhaust manifold gets intimate with the steering shaft and the inlet manifold is too close to the brake servo.
Brake servo problem is most easily solved by replacing it with one from a Clio, and the exhaust problem is sorted by cutting, welding and fabricating. There's more than one way of doing it, but the way I favour is to fit a standard E30 325 system, chopped in front of the gearbox mount, move the offending flange on the manifold, then fabricate pipes to fill in the gap.
That leaves the electrics, which aren't difficult at all.
You won't make a fortune out of selling E36 parts, but maybe there are some cab. specific parts which might possibly be a bit more valuable.

[leeparkes]

Even if you got all the parts in off Danthe you'd still be under 1k
Donor car £200
Manifolds + 325i exhaust £300
Loom £150
Sump £150 or by one from an E38 like i did for £60
Mounts + miscl parts like gaskets/service items etc £200
Clio servo £20
Then you got the E36 to break or pretty much just weigh in!

[ross_jsy]

Guess it depends how properly you like to do things. For example my AKG mounts cost about £200 by the time they were delivered, new clutch, clutch line and slave, decent exhaust, water pump etc etc.

Or you can lash it in with 15 year old parts and hope for the best

[MrT8064]

Well thanks for the enthusiastic replies. If I can do it all for under 1k then I think i'll go ahead with it.

Welding and fabricating is all well beyond my capabilities at the moment ”“ but nuts and bolts, I think I can deal with!

I'll have to put another £100ish into an engine hoist, but can always sell it after the job is done.

[ross_jsy]

Using bits from Dan it becomes a bolt in job with no fab or wiring to worry about

[Motorhole]

Using bits from Dan it becomes a bolt in job with no fab or wiring to worry about

Deffo worth it to save the aggro.

The engine, gearbox, prop, ECU, donor loom & EWS system and electric fan can all be taken from the donor car - swipe all the fuses and relays you can too! But as you have a 318iS to begin with, it will prove significantly cheaper to use your existing M42 gearbox and prop. Then you won't have to source a new diff which can be a fair expense.

AKG engine mounts are reputed to be the best around but they are expensive and, it now appears, rarely in stock! Condor Speed Shop to some UHMW mounts for $100 or so - about £90-£100 all in once you get them here. They do the job well without too much extra vibration. Alternatively, a pair of hockey-puck E28 M535i mounts will do the job.

To do a 'proper' job if it, there's the new water pump, aux belt, thermostat, prop guibo, centre bearing + new plugs and oil for the motor to consider on top of the various conversion parts. A new radiator is recommended too - an E36 328i one or E36 M3 one. Then once you've got it running, you will most likely decide you'll want better brakes and suspension too! The 318iS will already have the bigger front struts, so some 325i springs should be all you need suspension wise to get rolling. You will also need a 325i exhaust (centre section and rear section from a 3-piece) to mate to DanThe's manifold and downpipes.

[jimbom30cab]

You can get brand new e36 328 rads of ebay for £40

[DanThe]

These unbranded ones Jim?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Radiator-BMW- ... 51a1e8e03b

I wouldnt bother TBH, I fitted a EIS (cheap ECP part) to the 540 in November as genuine quality rads were over £200, ended up taking it back for a refund after it cracked down a moulding seam, and now have a good used Behr which cost me £40.

Especially when a Nissens is only £80

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-328i-E36- ... 5aea49a4a3

Just replied to your pm John, thanks for the recommendation Ross/Lewis

[Motorhole]

I wouldnt bother TBH, I fitted a EIS (cheap ECP part) to the 540 in November as genuine quality rads were over £200, ended up taking it back for a refund after it cracked down a moulding seam, and now have a good used Behr which cost me £40.

Especially when a Nissens is only £80

I also had an EIS radiator that lasted all of 2 minutes. Replaced it with a Nissens one (about £80 too), which also seems to be more efficient on the road than the EIS was for it's very brief service life.

[MrT8064]

Made the Euro Car Parts radiator mistake on my E30 ”“ I filled it with coolant and moments later it was all over the drive ”“ massive crack somewhere in there!

This E36 apparently has a new (functioning) radiator, so should be OK on that front.

Starting to add up the costs of doing the conversion: I hadn't realised that the E36 would be one of the cheaper elements! I should get a second opinion on the health of this engine though before taking anything apart.

Got a quote to put the E30 on a classic/limited milage policy today ”“ £150/year... result!