Any advice on the BEST/EASIEST engine transplant? 325 to M3?

[funkdocta]

Morning team E30ers,

I own a 325i cabriolet auto 1991.

I'm looking into the idea of either changing the engine, turbocharging or supercharging, as well as fitting a maual gearbox.

My budget will be circa £2000 but I may be able to stretch to £3k at a push.

I was thinking of an M3 lump and gearbox (preferably an Evo 3.2) - sorry I'm not familier with my engine codes (what's the engine code for the 3.2 evo M3 lump?) but I'm not sure if I have the time or the skills to get the job done! (Especially the wiring.)

I want to balance my budget with a farly straight forward job and biggest power and torque gains (along with a manual gbox). I don't mind if someone else does some of the work budget permitting.


Any advice much apriciated!

I love the car but the auto box is starting to bug me, along with the lack of power! My last car put out 265BHP/325Lbs Torque so i'd like to aim for something similar. Thanks.

[buster]

the m3 evo ( S50B32) engine will cost your full budget just to buy,although you may get a gearbox with that.
Then if you can do all the work yourself and approx another 2-4 thousand ontop.Its not cheap or easy.
You can get the 3 ltr m3 engine cheaper ( S50B30 ) approx £1200 mark.But then depending on your skills another 2-3 thousand to complete it properly.If you cant do the work yourself then you can forget it with that budget.
Maybe a turbo conversion by Ant @ A-tech could fall into your budget.Give Ant a pm ( search for Ant).

If you do decide to go ahead with any conversion then theres plenty of help and info on the site.

Good luck and keep us informed

cheers,
andy

[funkdocta]

Thanks buster, needed to hear it - I had my doubts.

If I take the turbo road, what would you recomend about a manual gearbox? Do I jyst find a standard 325i gbox or should I go for a tougher one from another engine typre? Is it easy to convert?

Thanks again

[buster]

the autobox will handle the power.Its up to you if you want manual or auto.

[funkdocta]

Ah, ok. It still gets on my nerves a touch though.

I really would like to convert. I'll do a search and look into it, as a seperate project.

[dark_sounds]

i recently converted my auto to manual ,,,, not a bad job,,,, just tedious,,, ideally you want the engine out,, makes life a bit easier,, also a ramp!

pedalbox is alright, bit fiddly
prop is a doddle
mastercylinder was ok,
you can still use the auto rad
the pipe from the master cylinder to the slave cylinder ,,, i fitted this without the engine inside,, was very easy obviously,, not sure how easy if engines in there though??

all the bracketry should be there for the pipes, slavecylinder etc,

dont forget the flywheel, clutch etc etc,,

well wroth it though,,

good luck,, realistically for the power you want,,, you may need to up the budget to 3k,

[funkdocta]

Ok, thanks.

What did it cost you (roughly) to convert to manual and how long did it take?

Did you go for standard 325i gbox?