E30 Zone

anybody done this swap? anybody know where i can get wiring diagrams for both '87 e28m5 and '90 325se?

this is the s38 engine isnt it.
do a search on s38 in engine swaps.
im sure its been done!

isnt that the m30 3.5?

m88/s38 I casnt remember which, Hartge did the conversion when e30's were worth something

e28 m5 is the 3.5 litre 24v m88/3 (early version of the s38) the e28 m535i has the m30 3.5 12v.

Assuming you're proposing to put the engine in to a right hand drive car, the exhaust manifold is going to be the main difficulty. You will need to get one made up by the likes of Hayward and Scott to do a proper job and that will cost around £1000. Other than that you'll need to give the bulkhead some attention with a hammer to get clearance behind the cylinder head, fit a smaller servo, or move it across. Use the e28 m5 radiator with an electric fan mounted in front of it (there isn't space for the standard viscous fan). You will need custom engine mounts, these are available from www.300mm.de and you will need an e30 m3 propshaft or get one made up by a specialist like reco prop. Some decent brakes and suspension would probably be a good idea too!

An e34 m5 engine would be a better bet as it uses a superior duplex timing chain, the m88/3 uses a single chain which should be changed at 100k miles, which is rather costly. It also has 29bhp more, which is always worth having.

In addition to the above, you'll need an e30 325i gear linkage and transmission support, which will possibly need shortening. The exhaust needs to something like twin 50mm pipes throughout, an aftermarket e30 m3 system would be ok. The oil cooler will need a bit of fiddling to fit, I got some custom hoses made up at a hydraulics specialist.
The sump and oil pump will need to be swapped for the e34 equivilants (I have these if needed)

If the e28 m5 is in decent condition I wouldn't bother pulling it apart. They are lovely cars which are fetching good money.

29 bhp

That is a shame, but you presumably bought it for not alot and will end up with a very cool car if you do the conversion. I wouldn't bother using the e28 LSD, just sell it and buy an e30 LSD it will quite happily put up with the torque. I also don't think that using the 5 stud parts from the m5 is feasible, you ideally want e30 m3 parts for this (which I could sell you) or you can do some sort of specialbrew bodge-up with various e36 compact and m3 evo parts.

Is the M5 rad intact? If it is, i'd be interested in buying it off you. Have you got any pics of the M5?

Oh, I'd want £60 for the sump and oil pump.