Made a few heater hose joiner things and fitted the heater hoses. Welded some -8 fittings to the Trans cooler hose ends. Made a bracket for the -10an bulkhead fittings for the fuel lines. My mate from Technico racing machined me up a special oil cap so the bonnet can close too also had some parts arrive like a turbo beanie and exhaust wrap and lots of fittings. Then made a list of another 25 or so different fittings i still need : ( Only about a million little annoying jobs to go. ..
This is incredible.
Still trying to get around how big that engine is and being in an E39 bay.
Is the Nissan motor physically smaller than the Barra motor?
The TB48 is a 4.8L I6 engine. It's 99.5 x 102mm (bore x stroke). To me I think the TB48 would be physically bigger or a longer engine than the Barra motor.
Cheers. I would have thought the Ford motor and gearbox would be an easier fit in that case? I get that you already have the Nissan motor and want to use it and it will certainly be an absolute beast when it it's running! You have me wondering if the turbo ford motor and ZF gearbox will fit in one of these now!
I certainly think the Ford engine would be an awesome swap and can't imagine why it wouldn't fit. I didn't have to cut or mod anything to for the Trans to fit in the tunnel.
Where abouts in Aus are you located richzx?
The apple isle. I dearly want to see this machine in the flesh and experience the massive torque this will put out when it's finished! I would like to do something like this myself but unfortunately I lack the skill set you have by quite a large margin, lol. I was curious on the Ford motor because there us so much development been done and parts available in this country for them and it would be a sweet marriage between the car and motor. What's the weight difference between the TB and g/box and the original drive train, do you know?
Well my plugs and stuff arrived for the transmission loom and I've got about 80% of it done so far. Also got a big box of fittings and hose but with one slight problem. I ordered a few metres of different hose but i received them all in 1m lengths. Going to see what i can use and return the rest. Just hope it doesn't hold me up too much work Christmas etc although I'm working through most of it. I'm hanging to get it going and running out of patience because I've been so busy lately doing non bmw things 😤
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I'll be happy to take anyone for a spin once i get it going! As for the weight difference i have no idea but I'll try to find out. I'm sure I've added quite a few kg. The transmission is slightly lighter that the 5hp that was in it but the engine is no light weight and the turbo and manifold alone add 40 odd kg i believe.
Tremendous progress for only 1 month. you sir, have a bad ass work ethic.
wish i could do the fitting on an engine swap in my e39 in less than two months! s54 powered wagon- yes please! alas, running my business and being a dad to a 15 month old do take a lot of time.
one can dream though!
good luck with wiring! i believe 300 whp would be an underestimate.
^ There's an S54 thread info for swapping in that engine in an E39. Plus, I see that you are planning to do a complete suspension overhaul and go coilovers too. You can refer to my suspension thread for all the parts that you need and all the repair info is in there. Althoug mine is a sedan most of the stuff is fairly similar to a touring. Thought I'd let you know.
Op, when do you think you'll be ready to crank her up and have it running?
I'm a little late, but what a cool build. That first post had me saying "thats badass" over and over again.
Cheers guys! I hope to have it going very soon but at the moment it isn't very badass... it's only good for a place to store dust 😕
Still waiting on a few hoses and fittings but made a start on the fuel lines. Made a hose for the power steering as well. From the bulkheads i will run 5/8" anodised aluminum hard-line for the fuel. Also using one of the original fuel lines with a -6 hose which tees into the fuel rail and is supplied from a solenoid near the surge tank. I'm fitting a bosch 044 in tank to feed the surge tank. The solenoid when activated sends the fuel to the fuel real instead of the surge tank when starting the engine because the large mechanical driven pump doesn't make enough pressure at cranking rpm. Once the engine is running it switches back and directs fuel to the surge tank.
Also a few pictures of underneath while i had the phone there
Got a bit done today. Emptied the fuel tanks and replenished with delicious e85. Put some oil in the oil tank, made the lines for the transmission cooler, made a start on the air con lines and fitted an 044 in the tank. Just trying to get everything done so i can install the intake plenum for the final time. I'm hoping to start it up very shortly. I've gone way over time already from what i was hoping to do. Hoping to continue on it tomorrow
Trans lines
Looking good.
You don't muck around, she's almost read to tear up the streets.
First thing on the priority list -
This car neeeeeeds a car wash!!!!!!!!
That's all the dust from the very average concreting job that was done 😤 and the reason i haven't cleaned up the garage much to avoid making any more dust than I have to. As soon as it can move it will go outside for a wash and the garage floor will get sealed. I can't push it out either because i don't have the driveway made yet so there is a drop off that I'd never be able to get the car back in.
Not much to report unfortunately 😐 I spent all the time that i could have been working on the car searching for 2 coil packs that I've misplaced. Turned my garage inside out 3 times and my shed where the engine was previously 2 times. No luck so I ordered new coils and they will be atleast a week away. Need to get more leads made too as they are custom and attached to the missing coils 😠 I ordered a thermo couple module also which had 8 inputs. Think I'll have one for every cylinder and one for my oil temp. Not sure for the last spare. I have one more hose to complete and the fuel system is done too. Hope to get more done this week after work has gone back to normal after the Christmas shutdown.
Well I'd like to be posting a video of the car running but I don't have one. My new coils still haven't arrived but i did borrow some from a mate to try get it going. Then my 044 pump which has been sitting around for a fair while has died. It works occasionally but hardly flows any fuel. So I borrowed one from the same mate again. ... tried again to start it without any luck. No fuel. It starts if I use a starting spray but dies immediately. Turns out my 2200cc injectors are ceased shut from sitting around also. I believe the e85 which absorbs water has done that and caused them to pretty much rust up or something. There is a rusty colour on the inside. Couldn't get any over the weekend but should pick up a set tonight on my way home from work and a walbro 400 or 460 pump for in tank. The ignition lead shop open again today so I'll call them in an hour or so to get two new leads made. Got some wiring done though on the gearbox and ecu. I should have spent time doing little jobs like a throttle cable bracket, bracket for Trans shifter cable etc. But i lost motivation after trying to repair the injectors all day and left it for another day.
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