Newbie- not even bought the damn thing yet, mod questions!

Mon Oct 29, 2007 12:02 pm

Hi there.

Well, I may moving down in the world (wink), from e34s to a nice old 320i. Hopefully firming up the sale today and maybe picking up on the weekend if all goes to plan. I love this forum (e34ers got nothing like this), have been looking at it for ages as I've always been tempted by a 325i tourer, but ended up plumping for another 525 because of the m50 engine. so good!

So anyways, my first 5 was an old m20 engine and i had endless problems with it (although to be fair it was a shady car). So the thought of going back to the m20 is worrying me to be honest, despite this new one looking like a total peach.

So been sniffing around the modifications. Obviously very interested in an m50 conversion, but don't know if anyone is doing the professionally (I am not capable of such magic myself) and if so how much it would cost. Would it be stupid to consider dropping a facelift (ie. motronic) 2.5 m20 with a good chip in? I guess it would be quite an easy swap and would certainly change the car for the better, anyone got any experience of this? I'd consider upgrades on the current engine, but am concerned that I might be limited by the fact that it's an old jetronic. Do good chips and other stuff exist for these engines? Can I update the injection system? Any advice would be much appreciated! Or if anyone can point me towards some threads, sites, people who have modded similar cars that'd be great, I'd really appreciate some help. I have a lot to learn!

And of course i'll post some pictures if and when I get the car. Looking forward to talking to all y'all.

Adam

Mon Oct 29, 2007 12:18 pm

Plenty of people have done the conversions. A well maintained m20 is a solid engine. in 2.0l form, smooth if underpowered. Both engine swaps are viable. I suggest posting your location as there are people dotted all over the place that could work some 'magic' for you.

HTH

Mon Oct 29, 2007 1:21 pm

Thanks for the quick response! I'm in Newcastle upon Tyne. Have come across some guys in Teeside doing it, but I'm afraid I have mistrust of smoggies bred into me ; )

Just joking of course. Have been reading up a bit on the 2.5 m20 swap, seems a little more complicated than i first thought due to possible wiring loom changes. any advice?

Thanks again for getting back to me. Can I add my location to my profile or something? I'll try...

Mon Oct 29, 2007 1:39 pm

Smoggies and mackems!!!!

Howay the lads!!!!

The m20 change should be straightforward. No loom swap AFAIK. Need ECU and relevant oil cooler bits. The difference is power is supposed to be quite substantial. Apparantly worth doing sump gasket as well as cam belt and water pump while it's out. Sump gasket is supposed to bea koont when the lump is in situ.

Thu Nov 01, 2007 3:46 pm

yeah these old 2.0 jetronics are only like 125bhp or something, so stepping up to a motronic 2.5 with a chip or summink would definitely make a difference. Thanks for the advice! Anyone know any basic mods for squeezing a bit more out of these old 2 liters?