Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Interesting swap idea........will it work??

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    4
    My Cars
    95 M3, 01 M3, 09 Cayman

    Interesting swap idea........will it work??

    The idea of a V8 swap in an e36 M3 has me very intrigued, so I've submerged myself in this forum for a couple of weeks reading up on the subject. It seems the biggest PITAs are as follows;

    1. Steering linkage and header conflict
    2. Relocating the ABS, and reworking brake lines
    3. Of course wiring and engine management compatibility

    I have converted a handful of German street cars into caged wheel to wheel race cars, and I absolutely hate the wiring stuff.

    So.............here's my thought, a carburated MSD ignition small block ford or chevy with a working tach and appropriate temp/pressure guages......that's it. No A/C, no cruise control, no ECU's. The only thing that I can think of that would be missed is ABS. Will this work, or am I missing something?

    As an alternative.......if one were to run say an LS1 EFI motor, do you really need the BMW ECU anymore if this is a gutted/caged track warrior?? Again, sacrificing the ABS system.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    West coast
    Posts
    1,316
    My Cars
    '00 540 6.0/4L80e/S480

    Interesting swap idea........will it work??

    Yes a carb (insert your choice of engine) would work. My E36 has no ABS, don’t miss it. If you can master threshold braking you are golden. ABS is merely for lazy people .

    The BMW dme goes away regardless what swap you do. It absolutely is not needed on an E36 when the BMW engine is no longer there.
    Last edited by unnatrl; 02-09-2018 at 04:08 PM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    3,241
    My Cars
    96 328is 6.0L
    Like mentioned above, BMW ECU goes out with an engine.

    Going a carb route is really silly in my opinion and is nothing more than a pain in the ass. Also I don't understand how much wiring are you saving VS EFI? You are pretty much the same on the wiring stuff, but don't need to deal with a stupid carb.

    Also, ABS is pretty independend and stand along system, which should be kept at all costs, especially if you are doing track (not a strip)! If you are tackling engine swap, not being able to extend few lines is is just not an excuse. No offense to anyone, but don't listent to anyone saying it's fine just learn how to threashold brake. As experience showes 90% of them will go back to ABS after their first incident. Any experienced track guy will tell you the same thing and will not advocate the delition.
    - 96 328is 6.0L. (LS1 to LS2 build thread: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...ad.php?2098938)
    - 96 328is 5.7L. (LS1 build thread: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1289987)
    - 95 ///M3 6.0L. (LS2 build thread: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1619249)

    - 97 ///M3. (e46 Fender Flares/track car build thread: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1727098)
    - 96 328is (Dual Fuel Pump to Surge Tank thread: http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...ad.php?1964025)

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Houston, Tx.
    Posts
    5,639
    My Cars
    '10 X5, '98 M3 - 302
    6 wires for my swap. Ignition switch, starter, tach, water temp, cel. I have the full mustang harness and running a Mustang computer. Going standalone this year.
    Carb swap will be just fine or you could do efi carb, which will require you to install wires anyway.
    Regardless, I would keep the abs if it's going on a road or autocross course.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    4
    My Cars
    95 M3, 01 M3, 09 Cayman
    ok, good info. somewhere along the line I thought both ECUs were used. Thinking about a NASA American Iron Mustang as a donor, and just swapping everything. Motor, drivetrain, dash and guages......the dash is just fabricated sheets of metal holding after market guages, no speedo. The goal would be to compete in NASA ST.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    4
    My Cars
    95 M3, 01 M3, 09 Cayman
    Well the e36v8 website FINALLY worked for me! I feared they went out of business. That website FAQ pretty much answered all my questions. I'm sold on the 5.0 Ford.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Metro DC
    Posts
    826
    My Cars
    79 323i, 94 325is, 13 M3
    The wiring took me a while. There are loads of internet diagrams and information on the Fox Mustang wiring harness and that helps a lot. I just took my time with it, and made a boatload of notes in case I had to back track. The Mustang setup is pretty self-contained but there are still about 15 connections that need to get made over to the chassis wiring.

    Speedo worked just fine off the T5/Mustang VSS speed to the Ford ECU. I used a tach converter SIG-8 E and that's good too. The EEC-IV on-distributor ignition module pin # 6 sends an RPM squarewave signal out of the distributor, and it can be connected directly to the stock tach, but it will read high, like 6000 RMPs on the 302 will show as 7980 on the dash. I preferred to feed the RPM signal through the Dakota Digital SIG-8 E and get a true reading.

    Patching the BMW coolant sensor into the 302 intake so I could use the panel gauge was a waste of time. The BMW gauge is buffered and it would read "normal" all the way to boilover when I was trying to get the radiator fan thermostat adjusted right.

    I was making mine a track car, and I was really glad I did temp gauges for water and oil, as well as an oil pressure gauge. I have seen all 3 factors get to levels of concern at various times on the track while we were shaking out the bugs. Dorman 69015 is a M20 x 1.5 threaded metal plug that fits in the stock hole in the side of the oil pan where the Ford oil level sensor goes. With a crush washer, it was a leak-free seal. So I just drilled and tapped that Dorman plug in the right threading for an aftermarket oil temp gauge. Engine coolant and oil pressure sensors can be screwed into the stock locations on the 302.

    It was s worth the hassle in my book to retain the ABS. I did it as my first step with the engine bay cleaned out so I had lots of room to work on bending the new lines and getting them joined up tight. This $30 flaring tool, and this Eastwood deburring tool, gave me beautiful bubble flares with no misfires. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 .

    I solved my steering problems by using two passenger side shorty headers, front-dumping the one on the drivers side. I stuck with the stock shaft no prob, but I did use the Flaming River conversion joint on the bottom for the connection to the rack. The stock rubber unit was too close to the header collector for my taste. Front-dumping the passenger-side header would've let me get by with one set of headers, but it's more work fabricating the collector than I wanted to mess with. It's easier to dump it out the rear so I only had to fabricate one goofy wrap-around header collector for the driver's side. There is plenty of room for dual 2.5" exhaust all the way back.

    The other big hassle was making a bracket to mount the BMW power steering pump, getting the PS hoses fabricated, and getting the right size serpentine belt.

    It's a fun track car. Gobs more torque than stock-motored BMWs. The 5th gear in the T5 is USELESS with the stock 3.2x diff ratio on the M3 but with tallish tires (24.5" or better) I still have so much TQ that I just blast around in 3rd and 4th gears and I run out of front straight before I run out of RPMs. Overall mine is a little faster than a well-maintained E36 M3 but not a ton faster. The stock-ish 302 needs a top end upgrade to breathe, and I'll reserve final judgment until I have that installed and sorted.
    Last edited by JBasham; 02-20-2018 at 05:33 PM.
    If God meant for man to motor-swap LS engines into track cars, He wouldn't have created Corvettes.

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 8
    Last Post: 07-28-2010, 11:06 AM
  2. swap '92 engine into a '91 car will it work?
    By racer222b in forum Engine Conversions
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 07-16-2010, 04:45 PM
  3. Fuel Pump Swap Question - Will it work???
    By DanAgnew in forum 1983 - 1991 (E30)
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 12-11-2009, 12:40 PM
  4. Heated steering wheel swap from not heated, will it work?
    By badwayz in forum 1996 - 2003 (E39)
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 08-22-2007, 05:10 PM
  5. Replies: 8
    Last Post: 02-11-2003, 01:34 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •