1999 bmw 740il ford 302 or 350 chevy swap

[bmw 7fordyil]

Another timing chain failure has made me decide to swap out my drivetrain for a either ford 302 or 350 chevy, ive done some research and it appears a 302 is a little smaller than the 350 which would make this swap a bit easier, and i like the distributor up front on a 302 for more clearance to the firewall. it will be a carb setup since im not familiar with efi and i do not care about mpg. my drivetrain is ready to pull, just waiting on harbor freight to restock a shop crain to pull it. might i say what a easy job it was to get it ready to pull, im surprised. 3.5 hr job with hand tools and no lift and no rush. this will be a 4 month project just so you know, a weekend here and a weekend there.

ive had my car for a good 6 months with city driving and an occasional 135 mph run out of town, 2 runs but around town drove it nice and slow. first bought the car at a local auto auction for 2800 bucks, sounded perfect and beyond when i drove it home. i noticed a faint vanos like knock/peck after just 1000 miles of driving. it never got worse and still sounded perfect on cold starts, it had to be totally warmed up before it would make any noise, i thought it had to be vanos since it never got worse after 3000 miles of driving and especially after the 2 high speed runs i did, u could barely hear the knock at all. one day i started it cold sounded great and drove it around town, after warm up setting at a light 600 rpm it all the sudden started knocking and acted like the timing was a cog or two off, i slowly pulled into nearest turn and shut it down, started it back up after inspection and drove it home very slow knocking and clanging like a raped monkey, 2 miles back home. people were starring at me cause of the noise it was making, pulled it into garage and pulled apart rocker cover and right side upper timing cover to find the chain was horrible loose and tensioner runner had 1 inch play, tensioner was at its limit and runner/guide could move all the way to touch the the other side, Anyways i tried to space the tensioner and it helped the noise but wasnt going to fix it, also the plastic guides were in the pan broken to pieces, well the u shaped guide in the middle of engine plastic was gone, all the others were ok.


it looks like a hard expensive fix so i figure why take the risk on trying to fix this crap m62 just to find out oh crap i got the timing a cog off and end up doing it all over again, id rather put an american v8 in it with 350 hp easy to work on and i can drive it as hard as i want and never have to worry much.

A running m62 with a flawless shifting transmission is up for sale for anyone who has a fair bid. though i may use the motor mounts and trans cross member and a few nick knacks like the dk motor so i can have drive by wire on the carburetor. but ill get to that point later

im tempted to supercharge the setup, if i can find a good deal on a blower, im having issues deciding on whether to build a everyday cruiser or a 600 hp loud and masssive cammed monster, either way it appears i will not have a speedometer or tac with this new drivetrain so may as well build a street demon out of it.


as you can see the car is quite beautifull, m sport wheels new z rated tires very nice inside awesome paint extremely clean. just needs a good motor

Hoping to have drivetrain out this weekend if all goes well, its all loose, just have to pull it out.

look at that tensioner stretch it legs, lol


I may not get back to you guys for a week or 2, like i said long project. well see how it goes though.

[bmw 7fordyil]

gotter pulled.





Id say there is way more than enough room for a 302, though im starting to lean toward ls series but theres just so many choices.

on the hunt for a cheap ls series now. may take awhile.

[Bluebimma]

You could get an lm7 fairly cheaply. I just bought one with a 90 day warranty for 275 picked up from a very nice junkyard.

[bmw 7fordyil]

Yea a lm7 is what im thinking, ive noticed this m62 is extremely light weight, i can grab it and drag it across the floor with the transmission. it looks like i can get a aluminum lm7 and im hoping its not much heavier than the m62.

I have no idea what im going to do with my wiring harness, im guessing there is no way to hook up my electronics to mate with the lm7. thats why im considering a carbed setup though id love to have efi and distributorless ignition,

Do they make an aftermarket plug and play ecu that works with the lm7, like run 12 v to it and have fun lol.





I want this thing to run with a z06 vette with ease, well see how it goes and what deals i can find used, if i cant have a tac speedo or cruise control i want 600 hp lol. I saw about a 2007 black zo6 vette today, guy was running it open header and romped on it getting on the highway, man that thing was loud but i think i want mine just as loud and with a monster cam,

[hefftone]

Can't go wrong with the LS motors. Plus swap parts are available.

[James39]

I have no idea what im going to do with my wiring harness, im guessing there is no way to hook up my electronics to mate with the lm7. thats why im considering a carbed setup though id love to have efi and distributorless ignition,

Do they make an aftermarket plug and play ecu that works with the lm7, like run 12 v to it and have fun lol.

See here: http://lt1swap.com/2000harness.htm

Scroll down to: Helpful tips for harness modification.

You can use the factory Vortec harness and PCM. You are only working with 3 types of connections... Wires that go between the PCM and <something> on the engine (wires you might not need to modify at all). External inputs (I can't think of anything other than power and ground type connections). Lastly, outputs from the PCM to gauges, turning on fuel pump relay, fans, etc (external controls).

When you are done, you'll have less than 10 wires in your hand with bare ends. You could put the engine, harness and PCM in any car and make it run.

The only "problem" with doing it this way is that you'll need EFILive ($850) because you'll need to make several adjustments and tune the engine to suit the mods you've made to both the wiring and internal engine.

When you start modding, it gets expensive quickly. Figure out a budget first. A camshaft might only cost $350 bucks, but there's a lot more to it than slapping it in and going fast.

I think the 99 740i shares a cluster with the e39's, so to make the cluster work you'll need to re-program it with NCS Expert to accept analog signals from the GM computer.

[JUNEBLOOD]

I have one with a sbc 350 vortec fuel inj turbo email me and i will tell u how youngjune22010@gmail.com

[Zedbimmer]

so there is no way in hell to get the cluster to work for a 01 il?

[James39]

so there is no way in hell to get the cluster to work for a 01 il?

If they are the same as 97-03 e39 clusters, yes you can reprogram the cluster to accept analog inputs.

[bmw 7fordyil]

Man i had no idea u could potentially make the cluster work with a vortec v8, thats awesome to hear. im checking local salvages to see what they get for a lm7. first thing is to get the drivetrain set in place. i looked at a lm7 in a 08 avalanche today, it sure looks simple enough to work on. ls series are kinda scarce, i could build a lm7 to run like a ls6 without to much work, a procharger and fuel mods should do well, im guessing ill end up with tons of room up front for it.

[James39]

Although the code on the truck motors isn't LS, they are the same platform, with same parts interchange as LS1/2/3/6/7, etc.

[bmw 7fordyil]

400 bucks for the ford, pulled drivetrain and sold it for 100 bucks same day. not ,much money in this drivetrain and it checks out great, even drove the ford around town a bit before i pulled.

for now in goes a c5 aod ford with a essex 3.8l a 302 will bolt right up to my trans later if i decide i want more power, 23 mpg isnt bad for the ford 3.8 and setting on top is a nice little 2 bl holley, i guess on the brightside im the only one that will have a 3800 v6 ford in a 740il bmw, lol cant beat 300 bucks for a sound drivetrain. turns out lm7s are kinda pricey and there isnt much local. it will sure be easy to work on.

[bmw 7fordyil]

lets hope it works,




dam oil pans, i need a front sump pan, hope they make one, the rear sump is hitting the cradle, trans bell housing clears great, for now ill just remove the pan and oil pickup tube.



the whole unit needs to set 8 inches down with bell housing behind and below the k member. if it wasnt for the oil pan i was going to start this beotch today. oh well now i search for front sump essex v6 oil pan, well see how that goes.

[Richard454]

Comments???

[bmw 7fordyil]

look at all that room up front, i love it and its going to set 3 inches back from where it is now and way down so tons of room to work with.

say goodbye to all that electronic crap, ill enjoy my easy to work on carb and 2 wire distributor. im even going to do away with the electric fuel pump and run the ford mechanical pump. no more 300 dollar water pumps and 400 dollar timing chain kits. just a simple reliable super cheap and easy to work ford drivetrain.

oh and guess what i have into this entire unit so far............. 340 bucks, how awesome is that.
and ive got a entire bmw m62 drivetrain that im going to sell or part out, transmission has to be worth 500, it worked like new, so how about a free swap lol

[DREWHALL]

Is that V6 even going to move that car? Lol. Seems like a lot of work and head scratching for 150 hp. Good luck!

[Bmwman528e]

Tell me this is a joke? I am all for looking outside the box but this doesn't make any sense at all. Please explain?

[jmil1974]

Tell me this is a joke? I am all for looking outside the box but this doesn't make any sense at all. Please explain?

This...

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...

[Chuck Woolery]

I'm all for putting a Ford in there instead of the same old same old, but a Ford 3.8 V6? Really??? You do realize that those engines ate head gaskets right? You're going to need all that room in order to change out head gaskets.

At the very least you could've stuffed a SuperCoupe 3.8 in there and at least had some power.

Hey it's your time and your money, do what you want. As long as your happy in the end that's all that matters.

[daniels635turbo]

Unreal. I thought from the outset you were putting in a v8.
You know you'll probably have worse mileage hauling that fat ass 7 with the carbed v6.
Does that engine make enough power to run the electronics?
Definitely interested to see how it works.

[bmw 7fordyil]

crap, they do not make a front sump oil pan for a 3.8 v6, may have to get a 302 then, at least my c5 will bolt right up to a 302 or 351. oh well only have 340 bucks in all this junk anyway. found a used 302 for 300 bucks, mabye its good, I was hoping to blow this v6 up then sticka 302 in it, may just have to do what I should have done in the first place 302. yea i got this v6 cause it was dirt cheap and ran like new. anybody need a 3.8l lol

sad cause everything clears well except for rear sump oil pan.

oh and i was wondering does anyone know how the automatic starting will work hooked up to the ford starter, i was hoping it wont just keep cranking the starter after the engine is running, anyone know anything about this? thanks.

[jmil1974]

Please don't desecrate your beautiful car with an anemic engine...look like shoving a turd in a silk purse. A standard carbed 302 will make less power and get worse mileage than your original engine. ..way less and worse. If you decide to hot rod it to get similar power, you'll be at even worse mileage. LS motors are certainly the ticket for many reasons. If you doubt, check out all the fox body Mustangs getting them. If you must use a Ford motor, there are better choices that can be picked up somewhat reasonably...though still significantly more than a nice LM7 or LQ4. EFI is not that difficult...

[edognight]

I was searching for 750 swaps, and I found this thread. Why not find a '78 pinto motor and just go all out?!

How is the project going?

[DieselGhost]

should've pulled the front end off the car... it's fairly easy !

[bmw 7fordyil]

yea im still jackin with it, hope it dosnt take me a year to complete. i sold my bmw m62. still have the transmission to sell though. im still leaning toward a 302 cause of the aftermarket parts you can buy and the fact that i have a c5 ready to go in. im worried a older 350 will hit my steering box, the v6 is the same width as a 302 and the manifold is pretty close to it. the 302 motor mount should have a near perfect shot to the original motor mount brackets on the car. im trying to clear space in the garage to accommodate another engine. hard to get enthusiastic when you work full time. but the car makes our place look great setting outside so thats a plus.