s50 conversion, why does everybody say its expensive?

[mikekean]

when ever i ask someone about a s50 conversion they allways say its is going to cost like 6k minimum DIY. where does this figure come from? having never done the conversion i dont no all the parts you need. but from my understanding i will need

- engine+ecu&ews approx £2500
- engine mounts approx £200??
- clutch, flywheel, hoses ect lets say approx £900-1000
- manifold i will modify the standard one to fit untill i can get the btb one.
- servo mastercylinders ect £200
so that comes to £3900 and for arguments sake lets say £4000

im going to use my standard box make a new mount and modfiy the linkage.

so where does the 6k figure come from, or have i missed something out?

[d6dph]

This has been covered a handful of times now and everyone agrees that their thinking when starting was "Nah, It's never going to cost 6k" and it does all the time!

There are always large costs that occur along the way. Modifying your standard manifold can work out expensive.

[1an]

depends how handy you are with the spanners at the end of the day

[maxfield]

Prop? Diff?

Brakes and suspension to handle that power?

Radiator?

Sump and oil pick up?

[d6dph]

Ian332sport, Jhonno & James (jmc332?) have done the work and have said it easily runs into 6k Ian.

[oze30]

ive done the M60 conversin and thats probably into the 4ks and thats with some of he work done as well! 6K is not an unreasonable amount to spend. You'll find you'll need bits and bobs to tidy things up, and then there's always when things go wrong.. New prop bearing guibo, fluids, plugs, rad-I'm looking for an alloy one or someone who can braze my old rad. Don't forget the rubbers. Brakes can go waaay over the 200squid mark. Im running no servo assist and twin M/C and thats gone up to 200 alone. And that;'s buying everything used.

Uprated brakes so you can stop.. expect close to a grand to get it done properly.. and I don't mean the 750 caliper route.. Im talking proper 4 pot stuff. Then you'd might as well do your bearing while your at it. And the top mounts as the new engine will make a used bush feel really bad.

it all adds up.

[Jhonno]

its easy to budget beforehand but its not how it works out..

Mine has extra cost of needing a head rebuild, but its all been DIY so far and over 5k without the head..

[jaistanley]

i'm standing at around £3500 to £4k and mines not in yet! Still need to sort back part of exhaust, radiatoer, oil cooler and prop and I got a lot of the bits for 2K in a full crash damaged MCoupé..

It WILL work out more than you think dude.. I was exactly the same as you! LOL..

HTH

Jai

[mikekean]

the engine is ment for my rally car. all im really looking for is about 250-260 brake that can be acheived with some reliability. and for not much more than £4500 the car is a 325i sport. was thinking maybe a 2.8 on throtle boddies. or rotrex it and uprate the internals a bit later on then put it up to 14 psi

[Jhonno]

You are going to rally a sport with an S50 in an 17" Burger Kings?!

[corsashmorsa]

you lot realy spend that much on conversion?!!? i never spend over £1000 on mine. i know they're the cheaper ones but i've never got that much to spend on cars, you lot are luck!

[mikekean]

no lol. s50 or watever i choose to do will be after this years rally. and considering the comments im getting about the alpina's the will NOT! be going on the car anymore lol might just keep it on 15's but i can see alot of brake fade coming on with only 280mm wilwoods trying to stop atleast 250bhp's worth of power

[curryp]

manifold and exhaust will take you nearer 6k.iv just paid £1300 for my system from btb for my s50

[bigpimpin]

Trust me it can easily run to 9K!
and I had zero labour costs.

[e21Jason]

the engine is ment for my rally car. all im really looking for is about 250-260 brake that can be acheived with some reliability. and for not much more than £4500 the car is a 325i sport. was thinking maybe a 2.8 on throtle boddies. or rotrex it and uprate the internals a bit later on then put it up to 14 psi

Turbo m10 or N/A S14 cheaper & easy install

Jason

[mikekean]

ive been looking for an s14 for like forever and i just cant find one.

[mattyb]

ive been looking for an s14 for like forever and i just cant find one.

theres an s14 on ebay at the minute

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-M3-E30-S14-DT ... dZViewItem

[mikekean]

that auction is just for the exhaust manifold unfortunatly

[mikekean]

manifold and exhaust will take you nearer 6k.iv just paid £1300 for my system from btb for my s50

was that for the manifold and exhaust? and was that in mild steel?

[jmc330i]

manifold and exhaust will take you nearer 6k.iv just paid £1300 for my system from btb for my s50

was that for the manifold and exhaust? and was that in mild steel?

I think thats just the manifolds and X-pipe, the rest of the system is extra. It is stainless steel, not mild.

These posts always make me giggle, nearly all of us who have done or are doing this conversion have come in at around the £6k figure, some slighty less, some more - its no coincidence.
There will be cheaper was of doing it, but 'M' stuff costs and to do it properly will cost. Id rather pay the extra to do a conversion like this right first time rather than do it on the cheap, only to have to pay out more again in the future when it all goes wrong.

[ste]

the engine is ment for my rally car. all im really looking for is about 250-260 brake that can be acheived with some reliability. and for not much more than £4500 the car is a 325i sport. was thinking maybe a 2.8 on throtle boddies. or rotrex it and uprate the internals a bit later on then put it up to 14 psi

Would love to know what class you intend to run that in.

[e21Jason]

Hi

ive been looking for an s14 for like forever and i just cant find one.

Your not lookng in the rigth places in two years I have bought 3 (blown) ones at £500 a go.

Mosley Motorsport, Bexley + several other Tuners normaly have S/H units

try s14.net or s14power.com and a wanted ad on here.

£1.5-2.5k for a running engine is typical

Jason

[mikekean]

the engine is ment for my rally car. all im really looking for is about 250-260 brake that can be acheived with some reliability. and for not much more than £4500 the car is a 325i sport. was thinking maybe a 2.8 on throtle boddies. or rotrex it and uprate the internals a bit later on then put it up to 14 psi

Would love to know what class you intend to run that in.

unlimited class dont really intend for it to win anything as it will mostly be used on tracks and to do hill climbs ect. the jersey rally is only once a year

[fuzzy]

i have no experience of the s50 conversion but i do know with my experience of doing 2 ford cosworth conversions on non ford cars that the final bill will by far exceed the original quote before you can drive it away. £5500 is the lowest ive paid after being quoted £4000+. the e30 cosworth cost me about £7000+ after having the extras like brakes, suspension and tyres done to handle the power. and with extra power it puts extra strain on old parts like bushes, balljoints,mountings etc that usually end up needing replaced very soon after.