Let the swap begin... M52 into my '83

[epmedia]

For that m52 also check:
1) If there's oil in any spark plug holes - replace the valve cover gasket.
2) If the t-stat housing is not aluminum replace it with an aluminum one.
3) Inspect/replace the heater hose on the back of the head.
4) Inspect/replace the vacuum hose on the fuel pressure regulator.

[e21Terry]

For that m52 also check:
2) If the t-stat housing is not aluminum replace it with an aluminum one.

This is a MUST DO! Don't even ask how I @%#&ing know!

[lasvegascop]

This is a MUST DO! Don't even ask how I @%#&ing know!

Yup...I just dropped an aluminum one into my daughter's M50....along with a nice cooler T-stat

[audioscience10]

So no progress this weekend... the girls kid was sick so I got placed on babysitter duty. On the plus side I'm getting really good at Black Ops

The plan is to have the rear subframe and suspension out today. Then have the e36 shell out of the garage by tomorrow. I have to get it out before the e21 can come in to get torn down.

[audioscience10]

Alright folks so I'm a day behind... The girl decided to shred a tire yesterday so after work finding her a new one was priority. (well replaced both rears)

Got to do some work today. Pulled the rear subframe out of the e36 and took some measurements before I pull the shell out of the garage. It actually looks like it will be fairly easy to mount the rear suspension from the e36 into the e21. I will be sticking with struts instead of the shocks and springs setup that the e36 has (should be as simple as mounting a strut where the shock goes on the suspension.)

Out with the '96 in with the '83 tomorrow.

[Tom D]

I got a question for you, is there a reason for going with the E36 rear axle other then 5 lug wheels and because you can? the reason I ask is because the E36 has a multi-link back end and handles much different the semi-trailing arms of the E21.

I love driving with trailing arms and its one of the many reasons I won't buy a E36. if I was to get one it would be the 318ti because it maintained the E30's rear trailing arms, but I would ditch the M42 in favor of the M52.

[audioscience10]

Tom, Is this the part where I should get all butt hurt that you questioned me? Lol. The main reason is because I really would like to start drifting with this car and as far as parts go there really aren't many options for this application on the e21 that I can find where they are all over the place for the e36. But I also get the added benefits of like you said the 5-lug swap and rear discs. In the end its 6 one way a half dozen the other. I'm going with the option that I feel is going to fit my application better. And because I can!

[audioscience10]

Out with the new and in with the old. My temporary cart barely made it... by the time I pushed it to where it is now the support bars were more like skis... I hate not having a paved driveway!
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Pretty much all thats left in the e36 that I still have to pull is the harness and ecu. Gonna strip the '83 down to nothing, take care of any rust I find, while I have it apart I'm gonna run new fuel and brake lines, and seam weld it for strength. Then the real fun will begin...

[Tom D]

Tom, Is this the part where I should get all butt hurt that you questioned me? Lol

you twit! I'm liking the slammed look, but I think your rear wheels could be bigger.

[audioscience10]

you twit! I'm liking the slammed look, but I think your rear wheels could be bigger.

Oh no Tom. I'm kickin' it old school... This is a throw back to all those giant Impala's rocking hydros and 10" Daytons!

[Tom D]

I see at least two motorcycles in that picture, maybe three. what's that all about?

[audioscience10]

Lol yeah there's a few of them there... Actually if you look really close there are a total of 4 bikes and 1 frame in the picture. Bikes are what I normally do, I like cafe racer stuff. '78 Suzuki GS750 and '81 Honda CB750 on the other side of the car (actually just a roller, the motor is in the garage.) '79 CB650 and '71 CB100 that you can see over the windshield. And '72 CB360 frame hanging on the wall of the garage (the rest if the bike is in boxes.)

I usually buy and sell the bikes but I don't really have time that I own a couple Bimmers.

[Tom D]

I'm first a bike guy and then a sports car guy. I have currently in my stable; 1973 triumph bonnieville, 1973 Honda CB350 with 6700 miles, 1984 BMW R100RT, 2002 BMW R1150RS. I just got back from a 9 month, 25,000 mile trip around the country with the RS.

[audioscience10]

Damn dude that would be awesome. Yeah I have the feeling I'm not gonna get to ride a whole lot this year... My girlfriend and her 3 yr old daughter moved in and I've been tasked with taking her kid to school every morning. So I went out and bought a Solstice Gxp for a daily. Its not quite like the bike but I can put the top down. I've been contemplating building a sidecar for my GS750. I'd have to come up with something that would look badass and fit the theme. Heres the only shot I can find right now (oh and my dads Harley that I stored for him over winter):
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- - - Updated - - -

On a more productive note... Yesterday I started to dismantle the e21. Pretty much everything but a couple grounds is disconnected from the motor. I pulled the AC out because I thought maybe someone could use it so I didn't cut the lines like I did on the e36 (it is an aftermarket kit, not oem.) C'mon ppl start buying some of the stuff I don't want, as of right now the only thing spoken for is the trans.
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Not the car but I drained the coolant into my oil drain pan and I thought it looked pretty sweet.
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[audioscience10]

Didn't get much done on the Bimmer over the weekend. I think all I did was get the exhaust ripped out. I got stuck working on the girls Saab most of the weekend.

I did get a few minutes to teach her how to weld and run a grinder though...
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She was super excited!

[audioscience10]

Got done what I planned on getting done yesterday. The motor and trans are out of the '83!

Decided to take this one out the top.
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Gonna try to pull the sub-frames today if all goes well.

[jollE21]

Got done what I planned on getting done yesterday. The motor and trans are out of the '83!

Decided to take this one out the top.
<img src="http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=456053"/><img src="http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=456054"/>

Gonna try to pull the sub-frames today if all goes well.

She seems to be coming along very nicely. Awesome job buddy. Keep the updates coming.

[lasvegascop]

You might wanna get a photobucket account cause you'll run out of space on here if you're planning on documenting the whole build ask me how I figured that out? Plus, viewing your work on a cell phone and trying to zoom in really bites...

Cool stuff man....

[audioscience10]

You might wanna get a photobucket account cause you'll run out of space on here if you're planning on documenting the whole build ask me how I figured that out? Plus, viewing your work on a cell phone and trying to zoom in really bites...

Cool stuff man....

Thanks Ski, Yeah all my pics are on Facebook actually and just linked to here. Go download the Bimmerforums app then u can click on the pictures easily just like from your computer.

Anyway on to progress... Both front and rear subframes are out of the car. It went pretty quick since I didn't bother pulling the brake lines and just cut the soft lines (which I planned on replacing anyway) and e-brake cable (that I'm not using, planning a second rear caliper and hydraulic e-brake.)

Now on to Narrowly avoiding disaster! Somewhere along the way on pulling the rear out my front jack stand moved a little bit and when I lowered the jack with the rear subframe the front of the car tipped to the ground.
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Luckily it tipped really slow and stayed on the 2 jackstands until it rested against a motorcycle engine on the other side. Had to call the girl out of the house to help jack the car up while I made sure the 2 remaining jack stands stayed in place. Disaster avoided. The car is back up on all 4 again and all is right with the world. Just a little reminder to verify all 4 everytime you lift any portion of the car!

[lasvegascop]

wow.....

[vtbimmer]

And now we know what a e21 would look like with hydraulics.....lol

[Tom D]

I'm really liking your floor jack.

[audioscience10]

Thanks Tom. Its a low profile high lift 2 ton from harbor freight. Got it for 100 bucks a couple weeks ago.

[audioscience10]

Alright guys this a pretty exciting update for me because instead of just tearing stuff apart I finally started putting stuff back in...

First I put a new bolt pattern in for the e36 struts. The strut towers are only 1/2 closer together than the e36. This is just for mock up. I'm going to weld in reinforcement plates that have caster adjustment on them and I'll be going with a coilover setup with camber plates. I was really happy with the way the Megan Racing setup turned out on the e28 so maybe I'll build a set for this car as well.
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Next I raised the subframe into place with some racthet straps and bolted the hubs to the struts. It pretty much sits exactly how it needs to be in the center of the wheel well. And I get 5-lugs and a brake upgrade as well.
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So it looks like I'm gonna have to come up with some narrower motor mount bushings... They sit a little wider than the frame rails.
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Now I had to see how a wheel looked on there. Pretty damn good. May need a little less rubber in the end but the stock 16" wheels are gonna be great for now.
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Anyway that is my exciting update. I'm gonna shoot for having the front subframe/cradle in the car for real this weekend.

[Tom D]

details on the mounting of the lollipops when you get there.