e36 derv into e30

[cypriot_boy_2k7]

has anyone done this, is it easy? what would i need to do?

[e301988325i]

Drive to the moon and back to recoup the cost of the conversion.

Then drive to the moon and back again to recoup the costs for replacing the worn out injection pump.

The E36 325tds and gearbox uses a 2.56:1 diff.

It is essentialy the same block as the m50, so mounting should be similar turbo depending.

An m20 325 (getrag 260) gearbox should bolt to it at an angle, and say an E30 M3 diff at 3.25:1 should work.

The engine will require a low pressure diesel supply, an intercooler, diesel igniton barrel for glow plugs perhaps??

[gareth]

guess what i'm about to say (and amazed that it wasn't mentioned above)

LPG it

[e301988325i]

Hmm, I've lost the faith and 25bhp. LOL

[gareth]

i've lost nearer 40bhp
still got more than a healthy M20 at full chat though and there's scope to set it up better to lose less power

and to be fair, a M51 diesel (from a 325tds) is about 140bhp so probably less power than any M20B25 on LPG AND less economical

[Brianmoooore]

Hmm, I've lost the faith and 25bhp. LOL

Get an injection front end then!

[e301988325i]

That's the plan, after a couple of neccessary maintanence pieces to do first, a whole new exhaust and 4 tyres + wheel refurb

[Brianmoooore]

There was a LPG powered car in last years BTCC, with the LPG bits prepared by my good friend (not), my local LPG fitter. Car was competitive enough, even if the driver wasn't!
There was also a LPG powered Vectra in the Vectras only BTCC support race a few years back, which ran normally around mid field, so the potential for LPG is clearly there.

[cypriot_boy_2k7]

m50 lpg sounds interesting

[Brianmoooore]

m50 lpg sounds interesting

Running one of those at the moment, using a BRC injection set up.

[gareth]

how does it fare economy and grunt-wise to a mixer system on a M20 brian?

[Brianmoooore]

This M50 isn't in an E30 - it's in my E34, bought for just over £300 on ebay; the only car I've ever bought there, and bought primarily for its gas kit, the front end of which is/was intended to end up on the M52 engined touring that I'm very slowly producing.
Car seemed to good to scrap right away, and had plenty of MOT left, so it's been kept on as a tow car - a job it's extremely good at.
Since then, I've aquired another injection front end kit off of some Japanese (s)crap that was "passing through", so it's not even required for its original purpose now!
Performance wise, there's absolutely no difference detectable when switching between gas and petrol, except for a slight flat spot on gas around 2000 RPM. If I could get hold of the BRC software, I expect I'd find a lean spot here which I could tune out, but the software and associated dongle don't seem to be around.
Economy wise, I'm not entirely sure, since I try to avoid depressing myself by calculating these things, but it's somewhere between 25 and 30 MPG.
What I do know, since I've just had the monthly account, is that my round trip of nearly 500 miles to the pod and back cost me £60, but I left home with a 2/3 empty tank, and returned with a near full one.

[gareth]

that's pretty impressive especally for a heavy E34.
my approximate figure for cruising (usually teerering on the edge of naughty speeds which will hammer economy a bit) is 100 miles to a tenner on LPG. which is in the 20's. varies hugely as usually cruising kills off another warranty replacement oxygen sensor causing it to run rich. just bought a NTK one so hopefully that's a problem that won't re-occur

Incidentally, have you noticed LPG prices going up your way? a few weeks ago, the LPG near me was 55.9p, then went to 57.9p, now it's at 59.9p not a huge deal but i guess a pro-rata 8p/litre on petrol would cause upset! the only places nearby that do it are proper service stations too, no gas calor suppliers with a pump that i know of.

i hate having no competition for LPG prices near me, most overpriced motorway service stations are cheaper than everywhere vaguely 'local'.

[e301988325i]

my local price has gone up 2p to 51.9, that's a 4% increase! My fuel costs are a fraction over 10p/mile on lpg over 3k miles, now I to tend to cruise faster on lpg due to the lower costs!

[Brianmoooore]

Local BP is now 60.9p/l !!!! Fortunately there's a Flowgas depot about a further four miles away which is selling at 48p/l - quite a difference.
All the fuel for the Santa Pod run was bought on my Countrywide Farmers account, using the pumps (three times) at Wellington (J26, M5) and Swindon.

[e301988325i]

where's that flowgas pump at 48ppl?

[Brianmoooore]

where's that flowgas pump at 48ppl?

On the coast road between Bideford and Barnstaple at Yelland Business Park.

[e301988325i]

That's cheap for that far off the beaten track! Guess they must do a lot of trade for home tanks around there.

[Brianmoooore]

Probably won't be long before they realise that they don't need to be a whole 12 - 13p/l less than the only local opposition. Saves me around £7+ on a tank full at the moment.

[Brianmoooore]

Probably won't be long before they realise that they don't need to be a whole 12 - 13p/l less than the only local opposition. Saves me around £7+ on a tank full at the moment.

They're learning! Up to 50p this week!

[e301988325i]

good things aren't meant to last. LOL

[Brianmoooore]

Still a lot better than 61p three miles away!

[gareth]

Still a lot better than 61p three miles away!

oh go on, rub it in... i'm paying 61.9p/litre now

oh well, beats £1.xx so i shouldn't grumble

[Brianmoooore]

53.5p/litre!!

[DanThe]

Went up 3p per litre last week here, now 49p

[e301988325i]

They must have been on the brain trianing games. . . . 51.9

[gareth]

59.9