Frank's E30 M60 V8 Swap Build Thread

[Garageaholic]

So here is the swap build thread of my E30 M60 swap – Most of this is “PLANNED” and hasn’t been built/incorporated yet, but provisions are being made to execute to this plan.

E30 – 1989 325is/5– 70k original miles, Bronzit. And yes, I love the color having been recently repainted.

E34 – M60 Engine out of a running 540i/6 – 123k. This was my daily driver up until I began disassembly in mid-Jan 2012

Cooling – E34 540i Radiator with a SPAL 16” fan. Push/Pull & P/N to be determined

Transmission/shifter – 6 speed with shortened shifter. (short shift kit is TBD at this moment. Not sure if I want to go this route)

Differential – S3.15

Electrical – Simple use of X20/C101 adapter with corresponding pin mating. Should be easy. I’m thinking about a Mark D chip to add some extra usable torque. Not sure about this yet.

Steering – 1995 M3 3.0 turns lock-to-lock short ratio. Small M-Tech I Steering wheel (370mm). Steering shaft Mod to remove rubber bushing – Using E34 steering knuckles connected via straight length of pipe.

Suspension – Bilstein HD shocks with stock M3 springs. Turnermotorsport sway bar kit to keep the car level in the turns.

Driveline – UUC E39 Clutch kit & lightweight flywheel combo, driveshaft professionally shortened by Driveline service of Atlanta. Engine mount brackets came from www.e30.de and I went with motor-position II (the more rearward position). I used the Stock E34 M60 motor mounts.

Exhaust – Custom exhaust branching off of E39 540i headers (4 into 1)

Brakes – www.300mm.de Cross-drilled 312/394mm rotors with caliper adapters for installing E34 540i calipers. Lucky for me, I had the calipers already on my 540i. Easy part out. UUC stainless steel brake line kit. ABS being relocated to a TBD location. Likely will be moved behind passenger strut tower. Pedal setup has been completely modified. Using complete E34 linkage system, including the E34 Master Cylinder.

Wheels/Tires – Azev A 16x7.5 ET20 with 225/45R16 BFGoodrich G-Force T/A KDW 2

Timeline for project – I started the project on Jan 20th, 2012 and I want to be done 100% with this car by Gutenfest timeframe (Late May). If finished by then, I likely will not be bringing it to Gutenfest due to the long drive and questionable reliability so early-on (kinks need to be worked out as you drive).

See below for my timeline that I made on excel for the tasks I need to complete each month:


Overall goals – I want this car to look, handle, and drive completely stock with a very moderate drop. It will be modified by only factory parts. i.e. moonroof, ‘is sideskirts, radio…etc. No ebay crap, shortcuts, or subpar quality. It will have factory options including a fully functioning climate control system (AC & Heat), Factory weight distribution, and interior. This car will be an occasional daily driver and there are no plans for it to see the track. It will be a cruiser to be reserved for car shows and I plan not to drive it in the snow or rain unless absolutely necessary. It will be garaged every day of its life and will be indulged to the T.

Start of project – Jan 20th.

Here is the E30:



Here is the E34 from which the M60 came:


Taking the M60 out:


This is me doing some organizing. Note the Rockwell Jawhorse in the background. Hands down, my FAVORITE tool!


Started disassembling the interior - Replacing cracked dash


Got the M20 out and all other peripherals and is just about ready for the M60:


Original Pedal setup - Needed to be modified to hook up to E34 Linkage


Painted parts:



My first time welding, but it's pretty strong:




M60 waiting to be test fit:


Cleaned up the E30 engine bay - Shaved unnecessary bracketry:


Some extra parts lying around, including 95 m3 Rack, 540i calipers, E34 Brake setup, and some other shit:

I'm running out of room!!!


Some pics of the modified firewall. I need to figure out what to do with the heater core inlet/outlet as it would be a direct interference with the cylinder head given the rearward position of the engine that I desire:



Tires: BFGoodrich 225/45/16


Yesterday, I threw the engine in there to test fit: It was a shoehorn, but it worked.





Test Fit Complete:

[Helion42]

wow, this thing's gonna be pretty sweet, definitely subscribing. I have that same engine hoist! Gotta love Harbor Freight.

[about6]

I'm into this...looking forward to the finish! Nice work man!!!

[e30blitz]

Subscribed . That baby's gonna roar

Sent from my iPhone using BF.com

[naika]

Good luck with the project
I just finished my OBD1 M62B44 swap in the e30 a few month ago and it took a lot of work but it is definitely worth it!

Did you manage to put the engine in the car with the 6 speed tranny attached? I had to slide the tranny from under the car as it wouldn't go in one piece.

useful website you may already know of:

http://www.rtsauto.com/e30-bmw-m62-v8-swap-3/

[SWISS]

This is crazy, my E30S52 is retarded fast. I can only imagine how wide the tires will need to be on that thing.

[Spyke]

Sweet man! You're going to love those tires too.

[Rob Levinson]

Awesome project, can't wait to see it completed.

With all of that exotic stuff, why are you sticking with heavy cast iron calipers?

You need the UUC Direct-Fit BBK: [ CLICK HERE ]

[nevsy]

thinking of doing this swap in mine thats certainly a good link, is there any problems that you come accross that i shud be aware of. just priceing everything up at the min, what tranny u running too cheers

[THEPOOLEMAN]

subscribed !

[B10 BITURBO]

Very nice ,,,

[Akiyo]

Has this Project gone anywhere?

[HenryMethBreath]

Love the color. Good bump

[ndame09]

Don't know if youve considered this, but it looks like youre adding almost 100kg to the front tires... (203kg dry vs 117 kg)

I would want a stiffer spring rate up front to compensate.

[peteclat]

Has the project been finished? I have a bronzit 325ic with the s50 engine and i was wondering how much more performance you got out of that engine.

[magicgreenman]

yes. BUMP

[emhallad]

Sick. I'll look forward to hearing how it goes.