E46 330i engine into E30

[seanboy]

Has anyone done this conversion? what entails in this conversion? wiring loom? Suppose the engine can be remapped and give A lot more than 231 bhp? Apart from the cost of engine and fitting would there be some serious mods costing serious £Â£Ã‚£Ã‚£ to do this conversion?
Cheers

[Ant]

Looked into this last year, cost wise its not a bargain

M54 sump wont fit into the e30 X member, could swop in an M50 sump possibly but thats the tip of the iceberg

you'd need to convert to Throttle by Wire or have a custom intake/TB made/modded

then there's the EWS nightmare, and the loom itself

Not saying it cant be done, of course it can but @ what cost I wonder.

[seanboy]

Ant what do you mean by EWS?
cheers

[DanThe]

Take the crank and drop into M52 for much less hassle

[suzie650]

The EWS is the transponder antistart. You need to get the controller, antenna, keys and ecu out of the same car to make it work.
... Or take it to BMW to get reprogrammed, with the problem of proving what engine it is. (not a stolen one)

As far as I'm aware (thanks Ian332i) , the other problems are Drive-by-wire and extended Can-Bus -> You need to start with the complete loom, and cut it down, as the engine loom is integrated in it, as Ant mentionned. You also need to use the clocks of the same car (they are apparently coded as well).
Fitting the engine itself wouldn't be a problem. Same solution as an M50/52

Have you been on EBay???

[seanboy]

If you got the one key with the engine and the engines hooky you got no chance of getting another from BMW?

[seanboy]

can get said engine with what is needed out of same car so it just crossing my mind at the moment?
cheers

[E30_BO1]

An S50B30 would be a much better option.

[seanboy]

Ok what is an S50B30 as in what car did it come from and size of engine?
cheers

[Ant]

M3(E36) 3.0 single VANOS lump dude.

Good engine, just check all the r/cover bolts, and coilpack bolts aren't seized/snapped, its very common and a PITA to recctify correctly

[seanboy]

So you would have the same amount of work as A M54 (take it thats the E46 330i) as M3(e36) 3.0 but A hell lot more power.
You still need transbonder antistart?
cheers

[suzie650]

So you would have the same amount of work as A M54

No. You've got a separate engine loom, "just" wire it in the e30 loom. ->easier.
Dropping the engine in is the same, but you might have an issue with the plenum hitting the brake servo (can anyone confirm/rectify?)

You still need transbonder antistart?

No, apart if it's one of the very latest ones.

[seanboy]

Read about someone who did this conversion and bought A carbon plenum but wouldnt fit. Instead he shortend the hoses on throttle bodies I think they were samco ones? correct me If im wrong
cheers

[gareth]

Good engine, just check all the r/cover bolts, and coilpack bolts aren't seized/snapped, its very common and a PITA to recctify correctly

i know of a possile solution to this...

someone at work just bought a tub of 'broken tap remover' off ebay (in the states i think). if you need to remove steel from anything non ferrus (eg, broken tap in aluminium), this stuff dissolves it out!!!

may still need the head removing though.

[seanboy]

Right lads this has got me going and have seen A couple of E36 M3's engines on ebay. Was thinking of doing A M30 conversion but thats becoming very popular on the zone and want to be different but my mechanical mind isnt very good. Then again I have A m20 2.5 block sitting on my drive and was thinking of just doing A 2.7 conversion as I have the block and dont have to source A 535i and strip it as the missus is getting A annoyed with my new E30 obsession .
Who has done this M3 3.0 conversion and what does it entail?
Not deffo serious about this but its crossing my mind
cheers

[Dave_M3]

Well if ur thinking of the S50 transplant, u'll probally hav all the advice u'll ever need on the zone
Good luck 2 whichever route u take