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Thread: E31 with LS motor swap

  1. #1
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    E31 with LS motor swap

    I have been toying with the idea of getting an 840 that needs a motor and performing a corvette swap. This is not yet a plan, but may grow into a plan soon. Has this been done here as yet? Any tips or advice?

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  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by thelongeride View Post
    I have been toying with the idea of getting an 840 that needs a motor and performing a corvette swap. This is not yet a plan, but may grow into a plan soon. Has this been done here as yet? Any tips or advice?
    Good luck finding a really dead 840, I've only seen one pop up nationwide because of trans failure.

    There's a couple 850s here that need TLC, sub 6k.
    Last edited by XAlt; 02-18-2017 at 05:16 PM.

  4. #4
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    Advice? Buy a Corvette if that's the feel you seek.

  5. #5
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    It's not that bad a idea and is easy, We have one supercharged putting out 1100hp.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by olinjohnston View Post
    Advice? Buy a Corvette if that's the feel you seek.
    perhaps but i think an 8 series looks better and is at least a little more civilised it just lacks a little HP

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by 8eights View Post
    It's not that bad a idea and is easy, We have one supercharged putting out 1100hp.
    Interesting! Now we are talking.

  8. #8
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  9. #9
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    Lots of LSs in BMWs... I have seen quite a few E39s with the swap. Maybe something to be learned from those builds.
    INSTAGRAM: jellismotorwerks

  10. #10
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    And in Australia they like to install Toyota Turbo engines in the older BMWs. Usually the older 1JZ Turbo or 2J 3000cc
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  11. #11
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    I have an E36 M3 with a stock LS3 dropped in it and it flies, ask my mate with an R8 how quick it is! My advice would be to look for a lighter car if you are just after performance.
    Personally if I had an E31 with a dead motor I would look to an unstressed big block with 572ci or more, a real torque monster.
    E30 1992 335 Cabriolet - Transplant nearly finished
    E31 1992 850ci - Hartge H8 6.0 conversion
    E34 1995 540A - Stock, low mileage, hi spec and soon to FI'd
    E36 1994 M3 - GM LS3 Transplant
    E38 2001 735 - Daily driver
    E46 2002 330 Cab - Stock
    M62B46 with TTV flywheel, dual plate clutch and 6 speed box sitting in a corner waiting for me to decide where to put it.

  12. #12
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    As Shogun said, I did an old school L98 in my 7 series. I suspect your biggest issue will be the driver's exhaust header. followed by the rear crossmember and oil pan interference.I wanted to do an E31, but could not find one I could afford. Snoop around the engine swap forum, you may get some ideas. I have never seen the swap done, but it deserves doing.

  13. #13
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  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by yamoda View Post
    I have an E36 M3 with a stock LS3 dropped in it and it flies, ask my mate with an R8 how quick it is! My advice would be to look for a lighter car if you are just after performance.
    Personally if I had an E31 with a dead motor I would look to an unstressed big block with 572ci or more, a real torque monster.
    Thank you. Worth considering.

  15. #15
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    8eights, on an e31?
    Quote Originally Posted by 8eights View Post
    It's not that bad a idea and is easy, We have one supercharged putting out 1100hp.

  16. #16
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    The guy I got my E31 from was planning this same thing about 5 years ago. I ended up buying the car instead so he never got to do it.
    Random Sig below (refresh to see new image)


  17. #17
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    This was at my muffler shop when I went to get a new cat for my 635csi. It is a 840 waiting for a LS1 transplant.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  18. #18
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    I had an E34 and looked heavily into an LS swap for it back in the day. While swap kits and plenty of info exists for swapping motors into E30's, E36's and to some extent E21's, there is much less info available for swapping an LS in an E34/E32/E31 (and even E46).

    This was a few years back, mind you, but a quick google search now shows that not much has changed.

    Personally, I'm not that much of a loyalist when it comes to resto-modding. Depends on the budget, I guess. If I had an 840i the first and most likely only thing I'd do is install an M5 V8 powerplant as it all bolts right in.

    But I love the LS series engines. LS1's are pointless these days, but an iron block LS clone (much cheaper) with FBO and a cam kit will, as someone here has already said, make over 500 horsepower with ease. My good friend has an FBO + 231/236 cam on his LS3 Camaro and it put down 450 to the wheels through an automatic. (before anyone who knows anything about LS's tells me it isn't an LS3, no it isn't. It's the near identical L99 with an AFM delete and LS3 conversion kit).

    Ironically, it's the V12 that is much harder to mod as there isn't a factory power package that will fit straight in (like with the M60/2). If I had enough money, my way would be to drop in the V10 from the E60 M5. I feel that suits the car much better than an LS swap, although it is most likely a much more expensive project.
    1992 BMW 850i/6speed. Stock as stock can be.


  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shoomakan View Post
    I had an E34 and looked heavily into an LS swap for it back in the day. While swap kits and plenty of info exists for swapping motors into E30's, E36's and to some extent E21's, there is much less info available for swapping an LS in an E34/E32/E31 (and even E46).

    This was a few years back, mind you, but a quick google search now shows that not much has changed.

    Personally, I'm not that much of a loyalist when it comes to resto-modding. Depends on the budget, I guess. If I had an 840i the first and most likely only thing I'd do is install an M5 V8 powerplant as it all bolts right in.

    But I love the LS series engines. LS1's are pointless these days, but an iron block LS clone (much cheaper) with FBO and a cam kit will, as someone here has already said, make over 500 horsepower with ease. My good friend has an FBO + 231/236 cam on his LS3 Camaro and it put down 450 to the wheels through an automatic. (before anyone who knows anything about LS's tells me it isn't an LS3, no it isn't. It's the near identical L99 with an AFM delete and LS3 conversion kit).

    Ironically, it's the V12 that is much harder to mod as there isn't a factory power package that will fit straight in (like with the M60/2). If I had enough money, my way would be to drop in the V10 from the E60 M5. I feel that suits the car much better than an LS swap, although it is most likely a much more expensive project.
    perhaps even a N74 V12TT would be a goer rather than the V10

  20. #20
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    Would the earlier, OBD1 e31 cars be simpler to perform an LS swap than a later OBD2 car? Some of the newer OBD2 BMW's incorporate other systems into the ECU.
    Regards,

    Brian
    Cave Creek, AZ

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by merlin840 View Post
    perhaps even a N74 V12TT would be a goer rather than the V10
    It is hard enough to find an aftermarket ECU solution that will reliably and efficiently run a 6 cylinder direct injection engine, let alone a 12 cylinder one with 2 turbos... Your idea would be lovely in theory, but nearly impossible in practice. The M5 V10 motor has been successfully transplanted into E30's, E46's, and even Z3 and Z4 cars. It's a much more realistic option. Besides, even the "lowly" N54 would be leaps and bounds better than the M70 in terms of power and efficiency. And since they made that motor in much higher numbers than the N74, it would be a better place to start (if you don't mind going from 12 to 6 cylinders).
    1992 BMW 850i/6speed. Stock as stock can be.


  22. #22
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    Hell yes I’ve been thinking the same thing only now have I come across that ls v12 OMG I think she’s the one I won’t do it to my invidual though I’ll have to buy another for that project love the idea though and will continue on that journey 👍👍

  23. #23
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    Forum member TPIolds did a small block conversion on an early 850i years ago. Can't remember which GM engine he used but it wasn't an LS. Saw his car this summer and I was impressed with conversion and unique body mods. Hopefully he will see this post and reply.

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by pollack138 View Post
    Forum member TPIolds did a small block conversion on an early 850i years ago. Can't remember which GM engine he used but it wasn't an LS. Saw his car this summer and I was impressed with conversion and unique body mods. Hopefully he will see this post and reply.
    I sure hope so. I have been doing quite a bit of reading on the subject. E31 information is hard to come by. As with my Supercharger build, and with my suspension upgrade, I will research and then just do it... Steering box, headers, engine and transmission mounts, and of course wiring, are but a few items to work out. It seems like based on all the data that I looked at, the swap is almost a given for some situations.

    Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

  25. #25
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    I always follow these threads with interest, so please update if you bite the bullet and go for it.

    I've mentioned elsewhere around here that I'm sorely tempted to swap in the turbodiesel from a 335d, mated to a manual transmission. (I think there is at least one which will bolt right up, but I'd have to look at gear ratios and differential ratios to make sure things would work out in a reasonable fashion.) I haven't bothered researching, but I think that it might result in the world's first / only BMW 835d. I suspect performance wouldn't be terribly different, especially from a GT standpoint, and fuel economy should easily jump to 30+ mpg on open road. One of the major things keeping me from doing it is that I have a six-speed 850. I could always resell the driveline to someone who wants to row gears, but I would have looked for an automatic or a grenaded-engine example if I had been thinking about a swap when I wandered into E31-land. Unfortunately, the driveline / chassis are the most solid parts of my car -- the body shell and interior need lots of cosmetic work. A swap candidate should have a great body and junked driveline, and I was in "restoration mode" when I bought the one currently out in the shop.

    I've done the M70 swap into another chassis, and engine control for that unit is very well understood at this point -- I can think of at least three control systems which can handle it. There are probably a dozen system for an LS engine, being the world's most common swap. One challenge I've run into is how to operate the OEM gauges... If I could figure that out, I'd probably junk a large portion of the wiring under the hood of this thing and go to a distributorless aftermarket system.

    Cheers, John

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