E30 Zone

Can any of you experts out there tell me if a later 1.9 is engine from an E36 or Z3 will fit my 1990 318is?
Thanks
Alex

It's a matter of how much of the original car you want to keep.

I can imagine (but not 100%) you could fit the engine only, retaining the gearbox, cooling, electrics/electronics and exhaust from the iS with little or no probs. The fueling would be ever so slightly out but a re-map would fix that.

You could fit the E36 electrics/wiring retaining everything else from the E30. This would envolve a little wiring to fit the EWS from the E36.

If you fit the engine and box together you'll have to source an appropriate prop and diff too.

The 1.9 engine has a different head design internally, using rockers rather than direct hydraulic lifters. The crank is also different (many say inferior which is technically right but nowt in it on the road) and the ECU has a knock sensor making it better for varying grades of fuel.

Not very detailed but hope this helps.

Jai

Get a pre '95 iS and EWS wont be a problem - not that its a great hassle to work with anyway.

Couldnt it be looked at like an M50 conversion? Swap the engine and complete engine loom into the E30 and do the needed wiring at the C101 plug.

Slightly off topic, but will an M40 (318i) gearbox bolt upto the M42 or M44?

Thanks for the info. I understood that the blocks are the same on both engines so the gearbox should match ok. I've just bought a 318is with a rattly engine, could be the usual timing chain problem but I was just looking at other engine options if it turns out to be more serious.
Alex