engine swaps!!

[doeboymr2]

hi all

i am considering doing a engine swap in my 325 touring and im looking to drop the 325 engine and auto box out and drop in a 318is engine and a manual box!

has anyone done this in the past?
i know that it seems odd that i'm going backwards in power and engine size but i bought the bmw as a general everyday car as my main passion lies with my mr2 turbo and my mr2 hibernates in the garage in the winter and i need a winter hack!

the 325 has suprised me in that it is more thirsty that i expected it to be and is therefore not practical in that sense, however the shell of the car and the rest of the car is perfect for what i want and of course with the added benefit of being retro cool!!

i will be looking to get a cheap 318is complete and swap the engines etc over and creating a 318is touring and a 325 saloon to sell on!

im really just looking for advice on the subject from you guys out there that may have experienced this conversion or have just some general advice on it!

what sort of fuel returns am i looking to get from a 318is manual in a touring??

cheers

steve

[fuzzy]

i dont think i can recall anyone thats converted a 325 to a 1.8.

[capri_rob]

Yep definately an unusual swap !

[doeboymr2]

didnt think there would be!!

but there must be some knowledge on here of the differences and therefore some knowledge of what is involved??

just want to keep the touring as she is a straight clean honest car but with a drink problem!!

steve

[SPADGE]

Didn't i spend 20 minutes telling you all this on the phone earlier Steve

If you want to do the iS thing then do it to an M40 manual touring as it will be cheaper and easier and make a lot more sense.

Alternativly get LPG fitted to the 325 and the running costs will be halved!

[oze30]

Insurance will always be high.. It's a 325 in the end. Start with .. As Spadge said, an M40.. A base 316/318 model and add all the goodies to that. In fact.. I know of someone with a VERY nice M40 touring with low miles!

[doeboymr2]

Didn't i spend 20 minutes telling you all this on the phone earlier Steve

If you want to do the iS thing then do it to an M40 manual touring as it will be cheaper and easier and make a lot more sense.

Alternativly get LPG fitted to the 325 and the running costs will be halved!

yeh but i want to keep my touring ideally, as it is a solid car!!

LPG isnt a option as it would mean throwing/wasting quite abit of money at the car which wouldnt be recouped!!

got to think things over a bit more, but a conversion is top of the list as i am getting fond of these old beasts!!

cheers for the advice jules i hope you dont think im wasting your time as it comes across that way, but you have to understand that other peoples advice is valuable to me too!

cheers again

steve

[doeboymr2]

Insurance will always be high.. It's a 325 in the end. Start with .. As Spadge said, an M40.. A base 316/318 model and add all the goodies to that. In fact.. I know of someone with a VERY nice M40 touring with low miles!

could you pm me his number over mate as i would possibly be interested!

cheers

steve

[SPADGE]

Insurance will always be high.. It's a 325 in the end. Start with .. As Spadge said, an M40.. A base 316/318 model and add all the goodies to that. In fact.. I know of someone with a VERY nice M40 touring with low miles!

could you pm me his number over mate as i would possibly be interested!

cheers

steve

Lol Col probably means my white one which isn't that nice 'yet' but will be

If you LPG the touring you will not lose money imo as it would make your already desireable and appreciating car a lot more desireable with the cost of petrol at a fiver a gallon and rising. Also lpg means no congestion charge so someone commuting to london who wants an e30 would no doubt pay a premium for one with lpg.

[casper8r]

Also lpg means no congestion charge...

For now. If I read this correctly it the congestion charge discount for LPG vehicles will be scrapped by 2010.

[daimlerman]

Also lpg means no congestion charge...

For now. If I read this correctly it the congestion charge discount for LPG vehicles will be scrapped by 2010.

Does not apply to converted cars at all,only those that are dual fuel from the factory....

[old_skool]

Oohh no, Peter's gonna see this...

[casper8r]

Does not apply to converted cars at all,only those that are dual fuel from the factory....

Says who?

[Brianmoooore]

Does not apply to converted cars at all,only those that are dual fuel from the factory....

Says who?

Says Lord Ken! Doesn't even apply to all factory fits either, AFAIK; just those on "the list".

[Brianmoooore]

LPG isnt a option as it would mean throwing/wasting quite abit of money at the car which wouldnt be recouped!!

Can be DIYed for about £300 using a mixture of second hand and new parts. That's a payback in less than 4000 miles!

[oze30]

Question:

How thirsty is thirsty? I'm running a 316 and I'm getting marginally better fuel economy than the my 340 touring.. Driving round MK, roughly 200 miles from full to white line before the reserve light. That's lots of stop start, short trips and a dodgey thermostat. (10min to work, no traffic-5 min)

The 325 I had at the start would ghet roughly 250-300 miles to the line.. depending on how it was driven. That was driving from buckingham to bletchley every day.

It's all a matter of how you put your foot down.

Did a 3.5 conversion and got 300 miles to the line driving sensibly out to Gt Yarmouth and back. So sensible driving can net good economy. Just depends if you like the sound of the engine/exhaust!

Yes, the number you already have. I wouldn't downgrade my engine. I'm about to spend silly money getting the V8 LPG'd to get better fuel price, but it's just my tuppence!

[maxfield]

How thirsty is thirsty? I'm running a 316 and I'm getting marginally better fuel economy than the my 340 touring.. Driving round MK, roughly 200 miles from full to white line before the reserve light. That's lots of stop start, short trips and a dodgey thermostat. (10min to work, no traffic-5 min)

I got 170 miles to £20 this week.

All throughout town too.

[12345kevin]

How thirsty is thirsty? I'm running a 316 and I'm getting marginally better fuel economy than the my 340 touring.. Driving round MK, roughly 200 miles from full to white line before the reserve light. That's lots of stop start, short trips and a dodgey thermostat. (10min to work, no traffic-5 min)

I got 170 miles to £20 this week.

All throughout town too.

Rough calculations, that 40ish to the gallon ? Are you sure

[maxfield]

I'm very sure...

I did do about 20 miles with the light on mind.

[jmc330i]

but there must be some knowledge on here of the differences and therefore some knowledge of what is involved??

randomdave325 has done an iS touring swap. Not sure what the touring started out as (4cyl or 6cyl) but its definitely doable.

Should be easy enough if youre getting a complete donor, the only issues would be the coilpack mounts and possibly the AFM mount.
Could be worth PMing Dave (randomdave325).

On the insurance side of things, it will be cheaper if you convert an M40 touring. I was looking to buy a 325i touring, but it was cheaper to insure my 318i touring converted to 325i

[e30bmlover]

i dont think i can recall anyone thats converted a 325 to a 1.8.

you are right fuzzy....... are you mad mate?

[M3Macao]

Wasnt someone selling a beat up malachite green touring with an iS engine on ebay and on here recently? It was in a garage with tons of crap piled around it.

[Brianmoooore]

Another problem that may occur, is that the DVLA tend to be extremely suspicious of cars that are claimed to be fitted with smaller engines, and may insist on a VOSA inspection.