E30 Zone

Right well as a few of you will know my E30 is currently off the road with various problems all of which being engine related, I’ve already thrown a new M42 in it once and if I’m gonna chuck another engine in I want to go for something bigger this time.

I’ve got a second car now in the form of a E36 316i compact which I will be keeping as a daily, before now I’ve always been of the opinion that the old 325 lumps drink to much fuel to warrant there performance but now that the E30 is gonna be a weekend car and not a daily I can just about justify the poor performance/MPG of the older 325 lumps.

I know roughly what’s involved and the costing of fitting a 24v in the E30 which is what I would ultimately like to do but I’m missing the old girl already so it got me thinking how straight forward would it be to put a original 325 lump in.

What would I have to change or does it just drop right in, I know I’d need a new ECU but can I use the existing loom? Will my gear box mate up? And if it is just a case of ripping out the 1.8 16v out and dropping in a 2.5 what sort of money do these old boat anchors sell for?

How about M30? Doesn't drink much more than 2.5 but more power

I happen to have one for sale, complete drop in kit. Really easy swap just like a M20 swap, no fabrication required
http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... highlight=

chu346 wrote:How about M30? Doesn't drink much more than 2.5 but more power

I happen to have one for sale, complete drop in kit. Really easy swap just like a M20 swap, no fabrication required
http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... highlight=

Bit more than i wanted to spend tbh, for a few hundred quid more i could do an M52 conversion for that money.

Was just looking at a cheap fix for the time being until to get me back on the road

More powerful than m52

I wouldn't change from an IS to an M20. The work involved chu346 has a point. An M30 would be a better addition.