V12 Touring Project: Anyone need M50 525i parts?

[kalevera]

Edit: (mostly) gone.

[525fourthew1n]

PM sent

[atl530i]

Got any pics of the 550iT in pieces?? :)

[CSmith1]

I'll get that exhaust assembly from you if you still have it. 200 plus shipping right?

[tfritz]

pm'ed

[Johnny 5]

Nice. The V12 is a 60° with SOHC heads and the V8 is 90° with DOHC heads. I assume it's about the same the length as the M20. How is the clearance elsewhere in the compartment?

What wishbones are you going to use?

And do you work at Midwest Motorsport?

[atl530i]

That's sick. Very kick ass.

[Alpine535i]

Wow, if you don't mind me asking what does something like this cost, not that I have any intention to do this but it is just so awesome!

[525fourthew1n]

my god. that Touring. owns. all.

man i want to drive it so bad! (when it's done of course)

[HE53]

Very cool. Not an easy task for the power, but very cool and authentic. Keep us posted.

[Mr Project]

Absolutely awesome. Keep us updated, I love seeing a unique Touring project!!

[attack eagle]

If you can do the lifting, dismantling, installation and wiring, it's actually pretty cheap using the 750's automatic/4hp-24. 750 parts cars are cheap, unless you want a motronic 1.7 car, which is what I was after. Motronic 1.2 cars are all over the place and both of those sedans run M1.2
The 4hp-24 is actually lighter and smaller than the S6S-560G. But who wants an automatic in this kind of car? Not me.



I do, I do! Love having an auto in a "cruiser"

But seriously, which would be your prefered starting car for ease of swapping, the 530iT or the 525iT? Seems like the 530 would be an easier physical swap, though I know squat about the electronics side.

[MPD47]

I sent ya an email after we talked in PM ;) Just fyi.

[LJSE34]

That's a very interesting project, keep us updated!

[TouringDan]

PM me with a price on the cats - forward.

Thanks!

[Roderic E34T]

Just wondering...

How about the weight issue with a M60/M62 in the front?

[Flamewerks]

Oh My God!!! V12 ftw!!! That's awesome! Keep up the good work!

[dmenheere]

Any progress on the swap Lowell?

Any chance you could put together a build album or something for those of us that are interested?

good luck,

Dave Menheere

[oekundar]

Do you have any interior pieces from this car forsale? I'm looking for the master window control module...thanks!

[dmenheere]

Thanks for the update Lowell! Just wondering why you are buying a new transmission and not a used one?

Car should be great when your done .... nice pictures.

cheers,

Dave Menheere

[kalevera]

I wrote an update, then accidentally closed the window and lost it. Shucks.

Dave -- finding the transmission on the used market is hard for two reasons: 1) they were delivered on '90/1/2 and I think a few '93 850i and '94/'95 CSi cars, 2) all of the E31 guys clamor to get them.

I saw one used unit for sale two years ago, and that went for around 3 grand on eBay. Most junk yards don't know about the interchanges and will try to sell you a V8 6 speed.

I just ordered the trans yesterday. For the extra money, it has a nice long, unlimited mileage warranty on parts and labor (hahaha) serviceable at any BMW dealership in the US. It's also a new, never shifted transmission. Never mind that it cost, with the core charge, more than what some M5s were selling for back in December.

I also ordered a full set of E32 engine bay brackets. I was thinking about doing some kind of hybrid install, but the ABS control unit is unique to E34 525 cars. Both the donor and the touring don't have ASC+T (edit: the donor does have ASC+T, the touring doesn't), so I'll use an early E32 750 ABS hydraulic unit and just leave out the ASC hydraulic unit.

The other good news is that my firewall grommets showed up, so I'll do the pedal cluster assembly, install the EML pot for the accelerator and cut out the old engine bay brackets. When the new brackets arrive, I'll weld and do paint. After that, I just have to bend a few lines and install the modules, drop the engine in, do the electrics and modify the shift console. Lots of little things to address -- A/C lines, coolant return line for the expansion tank -- in the meanwhile, but those are the broad strokes. Should take me at least a month, depending on how fast I can get the engine bay together.

Oh, and someone asked about starting off with a 530 vs 525. There are benefits and drawbacks to both.

You can't just dump the V12 into a V8 engine bay, the brakes still have to be modified. In the case of the 530 pictured earlier, Korman, or whoever set up the engine bay used an aftermarket remote oil filter housing on the passenger's side of the car (versus stock) and relocated a few brake components. Hydroboost takes less space than vacuum boost. The 530's brake booster also prevents having a proper air box, unless you were to route both intakes to the right side of the car. Another difference is the location of the B+ terminal. On V8 cars, it's next to the passenger electrics box. On I6 and V12 cars, it's mounted forward of the heater valves. That's not a huge problem, but it adds to the wiring work and clutters the install because the engine harness gets in the way.

The I6 engine bay needs different brackets, hydraulics, and a few other little things, but starts off with less clutter.

[dmenheere]

Nice explaination of the brake choices.

I knew the transmissions were rare but I had seen some on www.car-part.com before. I think I had heard of somebody trying to adapt a T56 to the M70 on another forum ... probably a lot of work with a custom bellhousing etc. I will try searching.

Good luck and keep the updates coming.

cheers,

Dave Menheere

[e24mpwr]

I wrote an update, then accidentally closed the window and lost it. Shucks.

Dave -- finding the transmission on the used market is hard for two reasons: 1) they were delivered on '90/1/2 and I think a few '93 850i and '94/'95 CSi cars, 2) all of the E31 guys clamor to get them.

I saw one used unit for sale two years ago, and that went for around 3 grand on eBay. Most junk yards don't know about the interchanges and will try to sell you a V8 6 speed.

I just ordered the trans yesterday. For the extra money, it has a nice long, unlimited mileage warranty on parts and labor (hahaha) serviceable at any BMW dealership in the US. It's also a new, never shifted transmission. Never mind that it cost, with the core charge, more than what some M5s were selling for back in December.

I also ordered a full set of E32 engine bay brackets. I was thinking about doing some kind of hybrid install, but the ABS control unit is unique to E34 525 cars. Both the donor and the touring don't have ASC+T, so I'll use the E32 750 ABS hydraulic unit and just leave out the ASC hydraulic unit.

The other good news is that my firewall grommets showed up, so I'll do the pedal cluster assembly, install the EML pot for the accelerator and cut out the old engine bay brackets. When the new brackets arrive, I'll weld and do paint. After that, I just have to bend a few lines and install the modules, drop the engine in, do the electrics and modify the shift console. Lots of little things to address -- A/C lines, coolant return line for the expansion tank -- in the meanwhile, but those are the broad strokes. Should take me at least a month, depending on how fast I can get the engine bay together.

Oh, and someone asked about starting off with a 530 vs 525. There are benefits and drawbacks to both.

You can't just dump the V12 into a V8 engine bay, the brakes still have to be modified. In the case of the 530 pictured earlier, Korman, or whoever set up the engine bay used an aftermarket remote oil filter housing on the passenger's side of the car (versus stock) and relocated a few brake components. Hydroboost takes less space than vacuum boost. The 530's brake booster also prevents having a proper air box, unless you were to route both intakes to the right side of the car. Another difference is the location of the B+ terminal. On V8 cars, it's next to the passenger electrics box. On I6 and V12 cars, it's mounted forward of the heater valves. That's not a huge problem, but it adds to the wiring work and clutters the install because the engine harness gets in the way.

The I6 engine bay needs different brackets, hydraulics, and a few other little things, but starts off with less clutter.

I love this project! Where are y'all located? You mentioned Korman, who is here in NC, so I'm hoping you're close!

[miroxz]

I do, I do! Love having an auto in a "cruiser"

But seriously, which would be your prefered starting car for ease of swapping, the 530iT or the 525iT? Seems like the 530 would be an easier physical swap, though I know squat about the electronics side.


second that...why not an automatic...anyhow this is going to be the king of tourings, hands down !!...GL man.

[HE53]

driving and owning automatic cars always leaves me with a voice in the back of my head saying, "When is this thing going to fail and leave me stranded on the side of the highway at 2am?" It's happened before...

+1

[orion176]

any updates with this project?

[E34nication]

Just wondering...

How about the weight issue with a M60/M62 in the front?

The m60 actually isn't very heavy. It is slightly lighter than an s50/52.

[orion176]

pics would be awsome.

[AlfaJam]

It must be possible to use adapter to Getrag 260 or 265 (the latter split so better?). Why hasn't this been attempted? If it was, the v12 would become a very viable transplant. If a kit was available, I'd be first in line for my '89 535iM whose m30 is getting tired.

[miroxz]

pm me with a price on the tranny...yes the 525...its a loooooong story ;-))

[98Tahoe17]

do you have an m50 intake/manifold? If so what do you want to get for it?
Oh, and it should bolt right up in place of my old one right, it'd be going on a 95 525i.
Thanks

[hooRAH]

this thread is over 6 months old guys

[RVAE34]

Yeah.... What ever happened to this project?

[kalevera]

do you have an m50 intake/manifold? If so what do you want to get for it?
Oh, and it should bolt right up in place of my old one right, it'd be going on a 95 525i.
Thanks

Yeah, actually I do, and I'd really like to sell it, too. In fact, I just posted a thread on it in the FS section.

Here's the link --

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=845912




pm me with a price on the tranny...yes the 525...its a loooooong story ;-))

Miro, Original Touring tranny's long gone, sorry to say.




It must be possible to use adapter to Getrag 260 or 265 (the latter split so better?). Why hasn't this been attempted? If it was, the v12 would become a very viable transplant. If a kit was available, I'd be first in line for my '89 535iM whose m30 is getting tired.

....The V12 ISN'T a viable transplant. It's a CRAZY amount of work, it takes a LOT of time, effort and expertise to get things right. The PTG car took YEARS to build, then I'm told it sat at Midwest for a year when it was converted to a 6 speed, and that's (mostly) mechanicals with little custom work. The first one of these that Koala built took from sometime in 2003 until early 2005. That's from a shop that does complex conversions, jobs that no other tuner in the world has or would attempt. Just about the only cheap part in the conversion is the engine, because you can buy one in a car for a grand or two. Everything else is expensive. Keep in mind that 95% of used M70s need expensive maintenance: valve cover and intake gaskets, probably also wires and a bottom end reseal. There's a reason why E32 750s are 1-2 gee cars these days.

There is a guy (maybe on this forum?) who mated a 265 to an M70. I am not sure how he did it, or if it's even that big of a deal. The V12 flywheel is larger in diameter than the 240mm units used in everything G265 that isn't an E30 M3. Perhaps it still clears the bellhousing. Keep in mind that the 265 is a totally different beast than a 260, and no E34 535 has a 265 from the factory. I'm sure you could find someone to machine an adapter, but it's not viable in large numbers. The amount of work needed to just get the engine in place will prevent all but the crazies from drinking the kool aid.

[kalevera]

Yeah.... What ever happened to this project?

uhm, I finished it? :)

[ThoreauHD]

Could you post some pictures when you get some time. I think it's worth recording.

[attack eagle]

looking ofrward to updates as well

[flipwils11]

uhm, I finished it? :)

Uhm, how would we know w/o some pictures? :confused