316i to 325 engine conversion

[pac1982]

Just got my self a 316i lux coupe, been after a E30 for some time and ideally i wanted a 325 but when i came across this 316 which was in lovely condition I had to have it.

My question is how straight forward is a engine swop for a 325 lump?
I’d also like to upgrade to rear discs is this just a case of swapping parts straight over of is there some modification involved?

[leeparkes]

quite an easy straight forward swap
been done plenty of times

[town325i]

if your going to swap the rear to discs it would worth while putting new bushes in at the same time not to dear from the dealer either

[pac1982]

How much needs to be changed for a rear disc set up? do they just bolt on where the drums used to be or do you need to swop the whole lot over?

[town325i]

you need the trailing arms that came with discs and fit those to your car

[pac1982]

I think my best bet would be to source a crash damaged 325 or one with a really rusty body then I can get all the bits I need for the engine and rear disc conversion from the same car and save quite a bit of cash while I'm at it.

Does it matter what year I buy?

[snoops]

Not really but a facelift would be preferred as it will just plug straight in. You could get a pre facelift but then you'd have to change the engine loom for a facelift.

Keep your eyes peeled on ebay and the for sale section on here, plenty of cheap engine donors come up.

HTH

[hongkongfuey]

hello mate, 325rick has a 325 engine and gearbox for sale.

[pac1982]

cheers for the info but I'm not looking to buy the engine/donor car till the summer going to focus on finding the mtec bumpers, bbs alloys and leather seats first off unless of course a good donor car comes up with loads of the bits I'm after.

Been looking at a few 325 estates they seem to sell for a few hundred quid, anyone know if I can use the rear discs and arms from a estate on my coupe?

[hongkongfuey]

yep, and they are known as touring's not estates. i don't care what you call them but some on the zone are quite anal about it

[GrindCulture]

The rear on a touring is the same as a saloon, only the springs are different (to cope with the extra weight). All tourings have rear disks, no matter what engine.

[Brianmoooore]

For a safe and roadworthy conversion of a 316 saloon, you need to use the entire suspension and brakes (with appropriate springs), from a 325 saloon, any touring, a 318iS or any cabriolet.

[e30-unit-soldier]

Not really but a facelift would be preferred as it will just plug straight in. You could get a pre facelift but then you'd have to change the engine loom for a facelift.

Keep your eyes peeled on ebay and the for sale section on here, plenty of cheap engine donors come up.

HTH

Sorry for hijacking thread but i think ive been posting wrong thread
I wanna do the same conversion on my 318i jreg cab is it better that i get a facelift 325i donor car? as you are saying that the wiring would be just ready to plug in? or have i lost it completely

[pac1982]

I think that may be the case

[Brianmoooore]

I wanna do the same conversion on my 318i jreg cab is it better that i get a facelift 325i donor car? as you are saying that the wiring would be just ready to plug in?

completely plug and play, EXCEPT, check out my wiring warning sticky thread at the top of this forum.
It probably won't apply to a J reg cab, but it's worth making sure!

[zimm_zimmer]

so if i were to get a 316 and get a 325 engine, box and diff i would not require anymore than this or would i require the ecu and is there anything else as sometimes and engine doesnt come with everything such as afm, many thanks for any info.

[initial_g]

from experiance (ive done afew honda swaps) buy a accident damaged 325 and frag the parts of that itl work out cheaper in the longrun

[Brianmoooore]

A complete engine includes the wiring loom, ECU, and AFM/filter. You'd also need the radiator, oil cooler (or a 320 oil filter), gearbox linkage and prop. and probably one or two other bits I haven't thought of.
The 316 had better be a touring or a cab, as well!

[zimm_zimmer]

so why cant it be fitted to a saloon, are they shorter or something, it seems like a lot of money is envolved, i only ask as i got my pug 306 im trying to shift for an e30 and been offered a 316

[pac1982]

Since my 316 has now been written off my plans have changed a bit gonna use my insurance payout to buy a nice E30 which already has the engine and leather what sort of money am I gonna have to spend to get a tidy fully loaded 325 sport?

[GrindCulture]

so why cant it be fitted to a saloon, are they shorter or something, it seems like a lot of money is envolved, i only ask as i got my pug 306 im trying to shift for an e30 and been offered a 316

I can be dropped into a saloon but the cabs and tourings have the appropriate brakes and suspension (bar the front springs).