Chassis, Engine & Gearbox compatibility

[gudgeon]

This is a very basic question from an E30 greenhorn.

Is it easy to re-engine E30 cars in general. For example, can I easily (without any welding etc...) put an M20 engine in an M40 chassis and vice versa? What's involved?

Would an M20 manual gearbox fit an M40 engine previously automatic? Does auto/manual make much difference (would I need to change the driveshaft, diff... etc...)?

Thanks in advance for the excellent advice.

[daimlerman]

Best advice is to buy Andyboy's book, The E30 Restoration Bible,by Andrew Everitt.Available from Amazon.

[toneh]

Everything on a face lift e30 shell is the same,m20 or otherwise , theres the odd bracket missing here and there on m40s and auto,s but nothing that cant be sorted pretty easy

so you can bolt anything no mater what engine on to any shell ,

[1an]

ive just converted my 316 m40 powered car to an m20 325 and everything is plug and play, but as toneh said that are the odd bracket that is missing etc but nothing major.

[Brianmoooore]

Not only can E30 engines be swapped, but engines from later models can be made to fit as well with varying degrees of difficulty - E36/E34 engines, E36M3 engines, V8s, even v12s.
All in the forum archives.

[suzie650]

As above. And as for this:

Would an M20 manual gearbox fit an M40 engine previously automatic? Does auto/manual make much difference (would I need to change the driveshaft, diff... etc...)?

4 cylinder boxes are interchangeable between them. 6 cylinder boxes ditto, as are the 8 cylinder ones. But not interchangeable between 4 6 and 8. (Bellhousing is different)
If you change the engine for one with a different N° of cylinders, you are likely to need a propshaft. And you might want to change the diff for a different gearing, but this is not obligatory.

[gudgeon]

Great, tells me what I need to know.
Thanks for all the info.

[aceraf]

To jump onto this thread...

My brother needs a new engine for his convertible. (long story, ask him and he'll explain!)

We'd like to add a bigger engine into it at this point (always lacked real power).

We will need to get the work carried out by a garage, and therefore need the easiest/quickest option.

Should he source a m20b25 complete with engine/wiring/gearbox/propshaft/diff and use that (as it's claimed most of it's plug and play)

Or would he be better off getting a cheap e36 (possibly a write-off???) and using all the parts mentioned above from that?

The benefits of the m50/m52 would be slightly more power, possibly lower mileage and better economy (i think), but will involve changing things on it like servos, radiator, gear linkage, exhaust manifold???? (from the very brief research i've done)

Despite numerous attempts from me to get my brother to learn something about cars, and especially his engine conversion he still seems to be relying on me to do everything for him, so basically i need to know which ever method will make more sense in the short and long term.

He plans to keep the car for some time, so will pay whatever needs to be paid, but obviously he's already spent quite alot of money on the car, and i need to try and keep him from blowing stupid amounts on the conversion.

We don't have a drive/garage hence why we can't do the conversion ourselves, although if there are any zoners who would help/accommodate with the conversion i'm sure we can come to some sort of deal.

I know I've dragged on, but I'm hoping you can help me out so i can get it sorted out.

[Nelly]

Raf, i'm a bit far from you + your brother but i'd carry out the conversion for you if he supplyed the parts to a degree?

Neil.

[aceraf]

Raf, i'm a bit far from you + your brother but i'd carry out the conversion for you if he supplyed the parts to a degree?

Neil.

you have pm

[aceraf]

More info on this would be appreciated.