E36 LUMP INTO A E30!!!

[bootyman]

Ok guy's. As most of you know, i've got the possibility of buying a salvaged E36 M3 with the sole pupose of chucking the engine into the Rieger, but i'm on a really tight budget, so i need to know exactly how much i need to spend before i commit myself. I've asked a few peep's on exactly what's needed for the conversion, but no one has yet given me a straight answer, so i was wondering if any of you guys know an exact or near to an exact list of the parts needed please and what i could use from the E36. I've been told the engine mounts from a 5 series will do the job(Which 5 series please?). I've also been told that the gearbox from a E36 325 or E36 328 is ideal. What else is needed please?

Thanks a lot in advance

B

[nav786]

the best person to talk to would be ian332isport.

[bootyman]

Where can i find him???

Will have to drop him a pm or wait till he see's this thread

[hoshy]

[bootyman]

[buster]

Ben,i have done this conversion,

Firstly you need a m50 5 series sump,oil pump and dipstick tube+dipstick.

M5 engine rubber mounts.

Use the original m3 alloy mounting arms.This will get the engine in.

If you use the 5 speed gearbox it will bolt up with a standard gearbox mount.
if you use the 6 speed as i have then you will need a custom mount making.

Your current prop needs modding.The front half of the m3 prop needs welding to yours.Ԛ£120 at reco prop sorts that out.That was for the 6 speed,not sure about the prop on the 5 speed.

Electrics arent actually that bad once you get your head round it all.I got all the information from Ian Haynes to do this and well my whole conversion actually.I have the wiring info and with Ians permission only i will forward to whoever needs it but like i said its Ian's info not mine so i wouldn't do this without his say so.

The next major head ache is the servo master cylinder clearance issues.
Ian has done this the best way,also the most complex in my opinion but the best.He used a hydraulic booster instead of a vacuum one from a 7/5 series.I chose to use a smaller but thicker servo with an audi master cylinder but i did have to chop a SMALL chunk out of the plenum.

Then the exhaust manifolds need modifying which is where im at now.

Basically the costs can vary drastically thats why no one can give you a price.It all depends on if you do all the work yourself,how picky and neat you want it to look( thats whats probably been the reason mines taking so long,making sure it all looks right !) and where you get your parts from,and obviously the initial cost of the engine and box etc.

If you need any help,give me a shout.

hope this helps
andy

[buster]

also ben if your getting the complete car the power rack could be fitted to your car to do the quick rack conversion,also if you want to go 5 stud then the front struts can be fitted which will give you some nice big brakes up front !

[Conan]

awesome car buster - never realised it was runing an M3 lump. Do you need the grills in the bonnet to cool the M3 engine or are they cosmetic? They look great - really tough

You got some pics of your car - maybe some of the engine bay?

[bootyman]

Cheers Andy. You're a superstar. Is Iain on the forum cause i could ask his permission for the info

Very helpful infor indeed. I dont have to worry about the 5 stud conversion. My wheels cost nearly Ԛ£4k with the tyres (2nd set of wheels and tyres in the last year), so i cant afford to change them again. At 18x12 rears and 18x10 fronts, you can imagine how difficult it will be to replace them again, besides i have a set of 380mm disks with 6 pot callipers lurking behin them so braking wont be a problem I'll have to get some pics up. They are so big you can hardly see any daylight between them and the wheels

[buster]

Cheers Andy. You're a superstar. Is Iain on the forum cause i could ask his permission for the info

Very helpful infor indeed. I dont have to worry about the 5 stud conversion. My wheels cost nearly Ԛ£4k with the tyres (2nd set of wheels and tyres in the last year), so i cant afford to change them again. At 18x12 rears and 18x10 fronts, you can imagine how difficult it will be to replace them again, besides i have a set of 380mm disks with 6 pot callipers lurking behin them so braking wont be a problem I'll have to get some pics up. They are so big you can hardly see any daylight between them and the wheels

Nice one on the brakes,your gonna need them.Also i didn't think you'd want to be buying new wheels,they look well expensive !! Im sure Ian wont mind,he will probably send you them himself,i just dont want to give it all out as it really aint my info to give.

Conan,
then grilles were put in the bonnet when i was running the old engine.I had them put in as i thought they look good.The one above the exhaust kicks out loads of heat !

[buster]

lots of info here on the conversion.

http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... hlight=m50

[stulane]

if you need any help mate, drop me a PM - got loads of info that might help.

[bootyman]

Nice one guys. Might just take you up on that offer. Now all i have to do is go and see the engine to make sure it's a good one and not fcuked

[ian332isport]

Im sure Ian wont mind,he will probably send you them himself,i just dont want to give it all out as it really aint my info to give.

Andy,

I don't mind at all

I do tend to do the wiring details on a car by car basis though. There are small differences between models/years that need to be taken into account, so I tend not to do generic wiring conversion charts.

Send it over to Ben and if he finds anything is different or does not match up then he can let me know what the problems is

Cheers,

Ian.

[bootyman]

Thanks Ian. You're a superstar. All i have to do now is go and see the car to make sure the engine runs ok and everything else is cool before i take this and further and waste my time and you guy's time as well. I will know for sure whether i'm going ahead with it or not by th end of this weekend

[jmc330i]

Firstly you need a m50 5 series sump,oil pump and dipstick tube+dipstick.

And the oil pick up pipe.

Your current prop needs modding.The front half of the m3 prop needs welding to yours.Ԛ£120 at reco prop sorts that out.That was for the 6 speed,not sure about the prop on the 5 speed.

If you use the E36 M3 5spd, then an E30 M3 prop is what you need - fits straight in.

[bootyman]

FCUK me. There's a lot more to this than i though

[jmc330i]

FCUK me. There's a lot more to this than i though

I said that a few times But Id already bought the engine

[bootyman]

Luckily i havent yet, so i can walk away, which is looking rather likely now. I'm just not in a position to be spending Ԛ£5k on a E30 that owes me nearly Ԛ£50k and which has a engine that doesn't need replacing. Might just use the money to redo the blue one up. At least i'd have another nice looking car i can actually use then

[jmc330i]

My M20 engine was/is perfectly good, it was only the clutch release bearing that needed replacing, but I used it as an excuse for the conversion

I'm just not in a position to be spending Ԛ£5k on a E30 that owes me nearly Ԛ£50k and which has a engine that doesn't need replacing.

When you put it like that, I see your point - I guess the time comes when you have to stop.

[jaistanley]

I've just bought an S50B32 with most of an M roadster still attached. I'm in for the long haul now!

This info is very useful as such!

The oil pump I'll need: Is the M50 of sufficient capacity/pressure to run on this engine? What's the best place to get the pump, second hand sump and second hand oil pickup pipe? Will this do anything about the S52B32's known trait of killing big ends and is that problem applicable to my S50B32? (whats the difference in these BTW)

Jai

[buster]

Ben,when you need the info m8 i will zap it over to you,just give me a shout.
You've spent Ԛ£50 grand,another 5 wont hurt

Jai,
yes the m50 pump or the 3 ltr m3 pump are fine,they both are the same.
you could go second hand but new from bmw is best bet for the pump.

[bootyman]

Cheers buster. I'm looking at the car this weekend. If all is well and the engine is fine, i'll be in touch next week

B