My S50 swap.. Progress and questions

[Jhonno]

I was looking at angling it yeah, it does allow you some extra room, but then possibly complicates mounting (im using a 1.6 as a base therefore have no clue how much flexibility there is in the standard mounts

[Brianmoooore]

One question I also have: The E36 reverse wiring is in the engine loom correct? Is this also true for the reverse on an automatic M20 E30?

The reverse light plug on both manual and auto E30s is under the centre console, near the base of the gear lever. Reverse light wiring doesn't go anywhere near the C101.
For any E30 engine conversion, use an arrangement similar to the E30 manual loom.
If the gearbox has the switch on the RH side, you should be able to fit an E30 reverse light switch and use an unmodified E30 loom.

[Jhonno]

My reverse loom snapped when the engine was taken out, n now i cant find the end to lengthen it again.. Switch is on the right side yeah

where does the loom run to when it gets into the car?

[jmc330i]

As the Mocal cooler is narrower than M20 cooler, you will need to fab up some extended brackets to reach, so any angling could be done there by twisting the brackets.


This is what the M20 mounts like, there is about 460mm between the 2 mounts....


I reckon if you were to cut along the plastic grill (somewhere along the yellow line) that would give you enough room to angle the cooler forward and run it up quite close to the front valance....


Just a couple other pics to show the whole thing - I couldnt get it all in one pic, there wasnt enough room....



I might make a cardboard mock-up the same size of that Mocal cooler and see what can be done.

Ive really got to go now - girlfriend has just shouted at me for taking pics and messing about on the PC "all cause of that bloody car!!". We were meant to leave at 8, maybe I should of said we would go out at 9pm

[jaistanley]

Tell me about it, I live 100 miles away from the missus, I work 9-5 in the week and now weekends are spent sourcing parts or bolting them to things.

Doesn't go down well... I do though, through neccesity. Keeps 'em sweet...

Jai

[Brianmoooore]

My reverse loom snapped when the engine was taken out, n now i cant find the end to lengthen it again.. Switch is on the right side yeah

where does the loom run to when it gets into the car?

loom from the gearbox switch ends just inside the car by the bottom of the gearlever. Wire in the car part of the loom goes across to, and back, the LH sill to the reverse lights.

[jaistanley]

When I took the M20 auto out, the only plug I remember removing is a multipin type affair that I assume went to the ecu in the boot. Does this have the feed in it?

Jai

[Brianmoooore]

no, the auto reverse switch is on the selector lever and plugs into the socket I've already mentioned.

[DanThe]

This is what you boys need



I belive it is South African spec but I dont know about dealer availability. It really is stronger than a brick shlt house
I have had a few bangs which would of definately smashed the sump, as you can see by the grazes, mostly from uneven road surfaces at speed.
Its got to be the strongest E30 guard out there, it mounts on the subframe and chassis rails, I can jack the car up on it!

If the battery is in the front (as yours appears to be), then they both simply go to the +ve terminal of the battery. If the battery is in the boot, then there's actually a separate fused terminal on the bulkhead junction point for the smaller red wire.

Ian.

What is the purpose of the smaller wire Ian? I have connected everything up to the terminal on the heavy wire.

[jaistanley]

On the oil cooler front: How do you intend to fit the Mocal pipes to the S50 outputs?

Jai

[ian332isport]

What is the purpose of the smaller wire Ian? I have connected everything up to the terminal on the heavy wire.

I believe it's to help stop the voltage feed to the injection electronics from dropping too low when cranking.

On cars with the battery in the boot, there are actually 2 wires running the length of the car. The big fat one is direct, and powers the starter. The smaller one goes via a 50A fuse and is dedicated to the injection electronics.

Ian.

[jason90m]

On the oil cooler front: How do you intend to fit the Mocal pipes to the S50 outputs?

Jai

i used the TMS adapter w/ -10an fittings.

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html/de ... TEN9910200

i actually used the stock cooler, extended the stock cooler lines, then had 10an ends fitted. works nice. cheers, jason

[Jhonno]

On the oil cooler front: How do you intend to fit the Mocal pipes to the S50 outputs?

Jai

i used the TMS adapter w/ -10an fittings.

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html/de ... TEN9910200

i actually used the stock cooler, extended the stock cooler lines, then had 10an ends fitted. works nice. cheers, jason

I used the Turner kit also

[jaistanley]

You had the stock lines extended? By that measure I could have my stock lines cut, and have lines with 10AN fittings put on there.. I'd have a Mocal (or equivalent) oil cooler with 10AN fittings, going to std BMW pipes and fittings into the engine.

Jason: Where did you get your pipes done?

Jhonno: How much did it cost to get the Turner adaptors over here and how long did it take?

Many thanks guys.. Keep up the good work!

Jai

[Jhonno]

Think it was about £60 all in n was here within a couple of weeks!

[buster]

If you buy the standard double ended pipe fitting then just turn down one side and fit O ring.
Very cheap ! And you dont have to use AN10 fittings ,you can use bsp or unf or what ever you want.

[jmc330i]

You had the stock lines extended? By that measure I could have my stock lines cut, and have lines with 10AN fittings put on there.. I'd have a Mocal (or equivalent) oil cooler with 10AN fittings, going to std BMW pipes and fittings into the engine.

Have you got the S50 cooler pipes, but not the S50 cooler?

How much did it cost to get the Turner adaptors over here and how long did it take?

I got mine in under 2 weeks, should be about £35-£40 plus shipping. Mine came in at about £45 cause I was cheeky with the shipping - its very handy if you know someone in the US

[jaistanley]

I have the S50 pipes and cooler but the cooler is damaged beyond repair and the pipes are only good at the engine end. The cooler end has been mangled with the impact, along with the cooler.

Jai

[jmc330i]

So yeah, your easiest route would be to use the S50 pipes from the engine end and have some bsp/unf fittings braized onto them (assuming they are metal like the M20 ones), go for a mocal cooler or similar and have 2 short lengths of flexi hose to connect them together.

[bigpimpin]

Right now I plan to take it easy and drive the engine sensibly

ha ha ha ha. No chance.
The minute you jab that throttle for the first time there is no going back. It could be driven sensibly but thats not why you build a 300 bhp E30.

On the oil cooler subject I picked up an E46 M3 cooler off ebay which I mounted under the front panel crossmember. It looked far to low but once the Tech2 valance was stuck on it covered it up nicely. I messed around for ages trying to get hoses for it made up but in the end I managed to get the E46 ones to fit.

If I had known the ARP bolts were £80 a set I might have fitted them. Spinning shells may have been what caused the damage on my first engine but that was probably down to the way the ripping off cnut that sold it to me treated it.

[chicozoo17]

You guys are so smart!

[jaistanley]

ha ha ha ha. No chance.
The minute you jab that throttle for the first time there is no going back. It could be driven sensibly but thats not why you build a 300 bhp E30.

Cant wait for the first

Jai

[Jhonno]

ha ha ha ha. No chance.
The minute you jab that throttle for the first time there is no going back. It could be driven sensibly but thats not why you build a 300 bhp E30.

Cant wait for the first

Jai

Ditto.. 2 yrs in the making, the 1st time it drives down my road under its own steam shall be awesome

[Jhonno]

what audi master cylinders can i use? dont necessarily want a 25mm one.. 23mm will do

[jaistanley]

Sorry, which calipers are you using?

The Audi 23mm one is more like 23.8mm which is ideal for the E30M3 stuff.. It'll be slightly firm with a std E30 set up but I like a firm pedal...

Jai

[Jhonno]

Yeah think i found that out.. i'd like the 23.8 one for now, tho may go larger when i uprate the front brakes later

[Jhonno]

Gonna at least start tackling the wiring 2mo.. Anyone got any tips for how's best to organise it all? Think i might end up using a 4 pot cover ala Buster but for now i'll use what i have

[buster]

ala Buster ! i like it
Start at pin 1,thats what i did

[bigpimpin]

If you want to use the 4 pot cover I think you need to have the ECU on the passenger side. My ECU is in the original location under driver side dash and I just couldn't get that bitch to fit around my wires!

Oh, just got another set of rear tyres fitted today to fix my "rubbing" problem. The tyre place couldnt get 215x40's to fit on the 9 inch rim so ended up getting 225x45s. The were still rubbing on the way home but I had 4 wheels and 6 tyres riding shotgun !

[jaistanley]

If you want to use the 4 pot cover I think you need to have the ECU on the passenger side. My ECU is in the original location under driver side dash and I just couldn't get that bitch to fit around my wires!

Oh bugger... I was hoping to have the 4 pot cover and have the ecu in the std position under the steering column. That's not possible then?

Jai

[ian332isport]

If you want to use the 4 pot cover I think you need to have the ECU on the passenger side. My ECU is in the original location under driver side dash and I just couldn't get that bitch to fit around my wires!

Oh bugger... I was hoping to have the 4 pot cover and have the ecu in the std position under the steering column. That's not possible then?

Jai

I'm sure with a bit of work it can be made to fit okay. I don't think there's going to be any problem on Ste's car to clip the cover in place. I appreciate there's a few more wires on an S50 loom, but I reckon it will fit.

Ian.

[Jhonno]

Well its now sporting an e30 loom plug

With the positive power cable that would have been for the e36 fuse box, there is what looks like an earth wire.. Does that need cutting and tidying also?

[Jhonno]

Did lose hrs to play on it today tho, after my mum gashed her leg open on some flat pack furniture n had to be taken to hospital for stitches! Hoping to play all day 2mo..

[buster]

ouch hope she's ok

[ian332isport]

With the positive power cable that would have been for the e36 fuse box, there is what looks like an earth wire.. Does that need cutting and tidying also?

You should not be cutting any earth wires at all. Assuming these are a few different sizes of brown and/or brown /orange wires in a black sleeve, then they should go to the earthing point on the drivers side strut tower (or any other suitable earth point).

Ian.