Location of brake servo

[Tedswagon]

Hi All.

i am working on an M50 swap at the moment. I have a clio servo already and expect I will just follow the wiki.

the reason for my post is my e30 is a 316i from 1991 and there is only a brake reservoir by the servo. There is no additional reservoir beside the battery tray.

When the build is complete - if you relocate the battery to the boot, which I plan to do - there is a lot of space where the battery tray is and there is not very much space where the brake servo and inlet manifold are.

I was looking back at another car I used to own to see what the layout was for it and I noticed the location of the servo was the battery tray. I didnt do this conversion, and to be honest not having owned a compact before I didnt realise the servo had been moved!



Can any of you tell me what advantages and disadvantages there are moving the servo? Some others must have done it.

Many thanks.

[Tedswagon]

just had a thought - because of the location of the ABS pump I guess there would be more plumbing!

[jmc330i]

Was the 316i an auto? The reservoir by the battery tray is for the clutch fluid on a manual E30.

[Brianmoooore]

Moving the brake servo and master cylinder to the RH side on an E30 involves considerable modifications to the pedals and bulkhead, and would only be done where the engine being fitted made it close to impossible to keep them on the left.
However, it is possible to move the servo and cylinder slightly to the left on an E30, and I believe I may possibly have been the first to do so on here (although it was shortly before I joined).
With a 'standard' M50/52/54 conversion, the OE servo can be retained if it is move over as far as the inner wing, or, if you use the smaller Clio servo, that can be moved even further across, giving clearance (possibly - never tried) for S series inlet manifolds.
Front battery tray can be used for the ABS pump, if it's standard position fouls an engine conversion, or provides a location for LPG reducers.