First car build ever s52 e30 or sr20det 240sx

[Shift253]

I've allways wanted to build my own car but now I have 12-14k to build a car. I love the look of the e30 and no one has them in my area. I've never done hard core mechanical stuff just basic stuff oil changes cv joint etc but I gotta learn somehow so I was thinking about buying a stock 240sx and a sr20det and tranny and swapping in its a fairly easy swap and a good way to get started I've done a good amount of research but I know a few people with 240s and I don't want a car that everyone has and I really like e30s but would I be able to do the s52 swap with hardly any experience? Is it a lot harder that? How much more expensive will it be? I've been trying to look it up but haven't got any straight forward answers so I made an account here to ask. Thanks in advanced

[BimmerBreaker]

It is my personal opinion that with stuff of this nature, if you have to ask its too hard for you to do

[Shift253]

I'm completely inexperienced but you gotta learn some how I'm just looking for advice for my first build

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It's not going to happen for a few months still doing research but I'm the type of guy who believes it ain't yours unless you build it

[ELVA164]

Timeline aside, I think it would be good for you to find a decent E30, do a fair amount of "regular" maintenance work to it (timing belt/water pump, suspension bushings, brakes, etc.) to ease into mechanical work, then think about the motor swap a bit down the road. Walk before you run, so to speak. This is coming from a guy who built his first car from parts of three cars.

[Shift253]

I've done basic manintience I've replaced a power steering on a dodge a water pump on a Chevy cv joints on my jetta i work at jiffy lube so everyday I change oil, fluids I've just never done hardcore mechanic work and I want a car that's fast and I love e30s i know I could do the sr20 in the 240 in less then a week with my friend and I have lots of soldering experience

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I have like 100 or more hours of research on the sr20det 240 swap its a really easy straight forward swap and cheap It's hard to find m52 engines and s52 and I can't find any m50s or s50s but I can get a sr20det engine trany harness ecu ac ps everything with 60k miles for cheap like 2k but I don't even know a good place to buy bmw engines and I don't have welding experience but I'm willing to learn but idk I wish I could put an sr20det into a e30 lol

[DavidD123]

m/s50 swaps in an e30 are easy. It's a VERY documented swap and there's TONS of information on the web about it. Go with what you like the most!

[BimmerBreaker]

Yeah swapping in an S52 is basically like doing an oil change. Sounds like you have the skills to pull it off. Go for it.

...dibs on the half-finished E30 S52 swap in 3 months

[Shift253]

Lol don't gotta be rude man I'm just looking for advice I'm going to build a car I don't have a lot experience but what better way then by getting hands on experience

[NL328i]

Hey man,

i currently have a s50 swapped e30 touring. Your first step, as others have mentioned is research. Research research research, until you know exactly what all your options are for the swap. While a Nissan swap may be different, I think sticking with the tried and true x50/x52 swaps will make you happier, but it's a personal decision.

Once you you have researched till you're blue in the face (I know you say you've done 100s of hours, but I can tell it has not been enough) the I suggest you create a spread sheet with all the parts you have determined that you need, and the approximate price they seem to fetch. This way you can start to see how much the swap will cost (it all adds up way quicker than you realize). What I would do then is input the actual cost of the parts next to the estimates as you collect the parts. That way you can see if you're over budget.

I would strongly suggest collecting most if not all of the required parts before digging in. It is frustrating getting to a point and realizing you're missing something that holds everything up.

I I would further suggest that doing it right the first time is cheaper than doing it twice, so don't cheap out on parts.

Even though it has been done a 1000 times you will still have issues you will have to troubleshoot. People will help.

I didn't have the tools, space, or know how to do the swap all myself, so I got a hobby mechanic to take the lead with me helping in his garage. I made sure that I was the expert on the swap procedure so that I could answer most questions he had, and I would know exactly what we were doing and why.

All that said, the best place for x50/x52 swap info is r3vlimited.com. E30tech is ok too, but r3v has loads of good info.

i went with a s50 because it is already obd1 which makes it a little easier.

Here are are some questions you need to start asking yourself:

s50/s52/m50/m52?
will I try to get an adapter for the wiring harness or have someone actually rewire it (I had Markertmotorworks do a rewire that worked perfect)
what transmission will I use? This will impact on what driveshaft/diff you will want to use
what cooling system components will I need/use. Do I want to use an electric fan?
what did ratio will I want and do I want an LSD?
what maintenance should I do to the engine before installing it?
what engine mounts do I want to use?


just a starting point. There are lots of oem parts that can be used or specially built aftermarket specifically for this swap.

Good of luck and happy swapping.