Another M30 3.5 is born 2006... going in the tourer now 2011

[nate335i]

nearly got everything i need for my conversion, jst gotta get the head skimmed and rebuild it all!
does any1 know if a 320i prop will fit, or if not how much it needs to be shortened by?
i'll keep u all updated, hopefully will go in over the august bank holiday!!!!!!!!
fingers crossed!

[ed325i]

A 320 will not fit. best to use an e30 m3 prop. It depends what position you are putting the engine in. In P3 you want it to be about 1450mm long.

ED

[nate335i]

ok, can i use the m3 prop even in p3?

[stevetigger]

yes

[ed325i]

ok, can i use the m3 prop even in p3?

Well my engine is as far back as it would go without modding the fire wall, so it could be around P2.5/P3 and there is about 5mm lelft on the sliding joint on the m3 prop.



ED

[gareth]

i reckon it would just about fit. there seemed more like 10mm alt least left on my M3 prop in P3.5. i had to cut that small lug off the rocker cover as mine is further back than yours ed. (my top bellhousing bolts push into the firewall sound deadening!)

[nate335i]

ok, next question, where do i get an m3 prop from?

[ed325i]

You can try here www.s14.net I was lucky to find one on e bay payed about £65 there is a new one on e bay for £400


ED

[gareth]

mine cost me £100 and needed a new guibo and centre bearing...

if you get stuck and have a manual E32/34 donor, you can cut and weld the props to make a hybrid. this seems to cost between £50 and £100 depending on who does it.

[stevetigger]

Mine was £90

[DRIFTBOY]

CharlE30!
Just wondered if you've got any further with your car?
Managed to get any downpipes or substitute?

[Demlotcrew]

Mine was £90

Mines was free, came attached to the gearbox!

Andrew

[stevetigger]

Mine was £90

Mines was free, came attached to the gearbox!

Andrew

Damn those feebies!

[charlE30]

Hello all

I'm back after a long break from car type things. Project will now be going full steam ahead as I've got 10 whole days off at christmas to fit it all into my red 325 so need to finish everything in the shed (Black 325). All that's still left to do is finish extending the ECU wiring loom and fabricate the exhaust. Thanks to our very own Eko I now have downpipes.

[eko]

Nice to see you back Charlie
So we can expect this beast on the road in the near future then?

[charlE30]

Cheers eko

My car insurance is due for renewal january 1st so I want it done for that I've changed jobs and now finish at 3 so it gives me extra tinkering time

[Andy335Touring]

Hi dude

[DRIFTBOY]

Welcome back dude!

Good luck with finishing the conversion!

Keep us posted, with plenty of pics too please!

[charlE30]

Cheers chaps, thread will be kept updated

Tis good to be back...

[ric325i]

oh dudes i just read this from start to finish. great.

its got all the highs and lows of engine conversions. read like a best selling novel.

i love reading all this because i am at the low right now! got the big 5 but need mot in dec which is closing in fast!
once i have the welding done (if i can get it cheap enough-unemployed ) then gall is helping me do the big change!

best when you have a mate helping.

crazy time of year for it!!!!!!!! lets put a huge engine in a rear drive car at the start of winter

i have trouble with major wheel spin in the 325i!!! GREAT FUN!

[Toby_Unna]

crazy time of year for it!!!!!!!! lets put a huge engine in a rear drive car at the start of winter

a suitable time to drag this pic out i think

[ric325i]

yep now that is comedy!



and cold

[gareth]

i did mine over christmas and january

all outdoors too! fitting man-size engines in the winter is what makes us real men!!!!! i did have a rather nice january though!

[awx]

Steer wiv the rear weather.. great engine

[gareth]

all weather is "steer with the rear weather" with a M30 tucked under the bonnet

[charlE30]

Just a little (well quite big) update as I haven't posted anything about it in such a loooong time. I've finally got round to getting it fitted into my other car. This project had been left for the past year due to personnel problems but the time has come as the weather is good and I have the week off

Started on sunday morning ripping the old M20 out which had developed an overheating issue..



by sunday evening the M30 was in place although not bolted in (more bulkhead modification required)



Had a good day yesterday, engine out bulkhead modified, engine back in and all lined up and bolted in place, B&M shifter fitted on the standard M20 linkage, all wiring done and ECU fitted with BBR chip..



All that's left to do is fit prop, heatshields, exhaust system, rad, airbox, PAS pump and reservior, hopefully it'll be finished today

This is the car it's going in..



Can't wait to drive it

Cany anyone just confirm that it is pin 15 on the body side of the E30 loom that need to be connected to the smallest nut on the starter motor to enable the windows and blowers to work correctly???

Cheers chaps

Charlie

[racecar]

great work - bet you are just itching for that first toe down moment to justify that work

[Brianmoooore]

Cany anyone just confirm that it is pin 15 on the body side of the E30 loom that need to be connected to the smallest nut on the starter motor to enable the windows and blowers to work correctly??

Pin 15; black/green wire.

[ric325i]

dude you say you need a e28 rad im using a e34 rad.

just enough space to squash it in


i think its time to start my m30 thread? the engine got dropped in last night

[charlE30]

Pin 15; black/green wire.

Cheers Brian

dude you say you need a e28 rad im using a e34 rad.

just enough space to squash it in


i think its time to start my m30 thread? the engine got dropped in last night

I'm going to be using my 325 rad for now as it's 6 months old and fits really well, I'll just keep an eye on the temperature for the time being. I've heard there are two types of E34 535 rad, one fits the other dosen't. I'm going to try and shift some of my spare parts and get a nice new shiny E28 rad

Definetly start get your thread going

It's quite interesting how conversions have grown into more exotic S50, M60, Turbo's etc when I started this one ages ago the M30 was all the rage... feels quite dated now in comparison.

Ric what are you using for your screen wash tank??

[DRIFTBOY]

Nice one Charlie,

Car looks stunning!

[ric325i]

Pin 15; black/green wire.

Cheers Brian

dude you say you need a e28 rad im using a e34 rad.

just enough space to squash it in


i think its time to start my m30 thread? the engine got dropped in last night

Ric what are you using for your screen wash tank??

hold you horses there! im not at that stage yet! im still undecided on that one?

i wanted to get the engine etc in to see how much space i have. also i need to gather all my parts together as they are all over the place.

i think i kept the smallest washer bottle of the e34 just as a back up for now?

[gareth]

sweeeeet! another one!

your ABS light will probably be permanently on now. check for my thread on M30 related ABS issues to see how to get around this.

have you started it without an exhaust yet? it's compulsary

[charlE30]

Nice one Charlie,

Car looks stunning!

Cheers mate

Start it without an exhaust not this time but I have before

I've read your thread about the ABS gareth but don't know if it'll be possible (for me) to get it working with out getting another loom and starting over again. Mine was an auto loom and I stripped it right back to only what was needed and extended the ECU plug, I don't really fancy doing that one again.

I've got a feeling there may have been a problem with my ABS to start with as the previous owner had disconnected the light

Ric I know you can use the washer bottle from the E30 M3?? but you don't find many of them in the scrap yard and I'm a tight git I had wondered about the washer bottle from an E28 535, from the piccys I've seen it looks narrow enough to fit besides the airbox.. for now I'm using a tourers rear washer bottle mounted up front..

Anyway, today was good and I've just finished the exhuast system bit of a bodge but it'll do for now.. cut E34 downpipes bolted to cut E30 downpipes going into a standard centre and out through a 320is back box. I've had it running with this system on before and it's lovely and quiet but when you get the revs up it sounds awesome. Interestingly the 320is backbox is the same bore as a normal E30 325.

Getting really excited now as all I've got left to do is fit my switch for the fan, fit a new PAS belt and top up fluids.

I'll let you know how it goes

[gareth]

mine had the abs light removed too the swines!

i got a neat washer bottle from a vitara that i mounted on the redundant afm bracket. i drilled a hole in the side and fitted the float switch in too