E30 Zone

hey people,

this time last year i put the m20b25 lump into my 316 touring, i am begining to tire of the powaz

i have given a little thaught to putting either an m60 or m62 engine in there, but was thinking about the costs and practacility of it, obviously it will involve a hell of alot more than the m20 conv

i was wondering if anyone could shed any light on what kind of costs i should budget for and how god damn hard will it be

2stroke

i'm barely even started with mine, i've chucked 350 at the engine, 600 on a 530 for the gearbox and various other bits, and probably 200 on other related bits. i'm also changing the bouncey bits and stopping bits to keep up so thats going to cost about a grand at least. i view it as one of my hobbies though so i'm not really bothered what it costs within reason. i also rent a workshop to do it in

if you can afford it i'd go for it

work shops and shiz wont be a problem but although i think i am prety nifty with a spanner i am a little woried about what i might let myself in for.

i know of a fair few people with scrap 530's i could poss pinch bits off of but yeah i will have to shell out for the lump, im also happy to see how my brakes and suspention fair up against v8 meat, but if not i guess i could always swap it for the shiz off a 5 series with a little choping and welding

im sure someone who has done this will correct me but i believe the engine mounts and exhaust manifolds and brake servo are the biggest pains on an m60/62 swap. iirc you will drive yourself nuts taking the engine in and out of the car to get the manifolds on and off to fettle them.

I am dying to do one , there is a 740i in the breakers beside me and they are only looking for 500 euro for the engine. I am hoping to start one when i get finished with my other projects .
I believe nickso is right exhaust manifolds are a pain and remember late m62 had electronic throttles and I believe all m62 have ews2 so you will need ecu / ews / and key from the donor car . Then m60 had nikasil so caution is need there , I think late m60 are alusil and you can check engine number .

Get an early M62, cable throttle and no ews. Yes it is a pain and costs skyrocket. I'm using a twin M/C setup, with uprated brakes.

Costs so far:
Donor car with conversion: 400
Exhaust: Stainless 2 1/4" 500
Brakes: 2 sets of 4 pots 600
Brackets and discs 300
Twin bias setup 100
New M/C 140
Custom Rad + Donor rad 210
Electric fans 60

total so far: 2310

That's not including time and effort, various nuts/bolts, shop space etc etc etc. Clutch, lsd, wheels, pads etc. Yes I was lucky where everything was done and I just transplanted and completed it, but it's still not cheap. 2nd time round was easier, but getting some manifolds made up properly (If I get my job, I'll be doing this) will cost roughly 1.5-2k.

Costly? yes.

Fun? YES!

Grin factor: Priceless!!!

its looking ever more like im not going to afford to do it this summer, but keep the information coming as ill save it all on the comp for when the time comes,

looks to me like the main costs are going to be the engine, running gear and related electrics, as for manifolds, breaks and other shifty anoying little bits, i should be able to do those myself, as i have a fabrication shop to hand readily

thanks guys and keep it comeing ;)

Hmm.. 2 stroke, where you based?

What year did early m62 start? the one in the breakers yard is 95 but cant get up to see engine or vin number

I think you should be fine with that. Can you get the rego plate? Fairly certain 95 should be ok.

OH I hope your right , I must get a good look at it soon , I can get reg plate (its Irish)

if you get it, you should be able to get the year.

From this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M62

You need a 96+ car. Though wiki can sometimes be wrong, It's usually right. Sorry!

hey im based in hinckley nr leicester

Cool stuff. The m60/2 is the main option for my drift car later this year. Manifolds are no problem to make up, my brake servo is already switched round to be where the glovebox should go, and making mounts etc isn't a problem. I'll just use a nice big e28 rad, or, funds permitting, a nice shiny aluminium one from weld solutions.

Just have to save up my pennies to get the engine and box.

My other option is the Toyota 1jz-GTE so the v8 should be childs play compared lol.

Standard 316 brakes will be fine too It's all about the drums.

Just blank off the fronts. You don't need them when you drift do you? that way you can left foot brake and step the rear out like using the handbrake!

Well well, it all depends on how much you're willing to rebuild the engine.

In my opinion there's no sense in "just putting the engine in". Water-pump, clutch, belts etc etc are smart to replace as the engine is out of the bay. When it's in, there's just simply no space to change the clutch without unmounting the whole thing.

Also, suspension and brakes need definitely upgrading, no sense whatsoever to drive 300hp / 400Nm engine in a car which is designed 30 years ago to handle 170hp / 250Nm..
Engine bay needs to be painted etc etc...

I'm doing M60 swap at the moment, my suspension-setup (fully adjustable, made by me) doesn't need upgrading but the brakes do and the engine needed to be "freshed up". Realistic budget for me is around 7500€.


Yes, it's quite a lot of money but i'm sure it'll be worth it

Anyone after an early v8 3.0 auto GWO please pm me with offers