E21 350 sbc swap

[diesel1245]

So I bought a e21 a few weeks back with no drivetrain.


The car is fairly good for a car that’s been in New England for the last 10 years
It came with a m50 and a Getrag transmission.

After looking over everything that the car came with we decided that for the amount of odds and ends needed to do the swap, especially the e34 oil pan, it would be easier to use some thing we already had.
So we did a thing

After test fitting the new engine, it looks like it will actually fit. It has a turbo 350 trans on it now that we’ll switch to a t5 which should save some room.


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[glashaus]

Well that explains why I didn’t get a response from the seller (the ad is still running in the Boston CL). Congrats on the purchase Tony. I remember that car when it was new here in St. Louis, I was going to bring it back here for a 3.5 M30 conversion, oh well.

All the best.-Bill

1968 IMSA RS 2002
1974 SCCA ITA 2002 tii
1975 Miller & Norburn IMSA RS 320
1977 SCCA ITB 320
1980 ETCC/STT/Div2 320/6/3.5 turbo

[diesel1245]

Well that explains why I didn’t get a response from the seller (the ad is still running in the Boston CL). Congrats on the purchase Tony. I remember that car when it was new here in St. Louis, I was going to bring it back here for a 3.5 M30 conversion, oh well.

All the best.-Bill

1968 IMSA RS 2002
1974 SCCA ITA 2002 tii
1975 Miller & Norburn IMSA RS 320
1977 SCCA ITB 320
1980 ETCC/STT/Div2 320/6/3.5 turbo

Yeah I see it up there all the time. Always looking for a cheap e30.


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[pofo]

going to very front heavy but should be fun

[diesel1245]

going to very front heavy but should be fun

I wanna say it’s an additional 100lb over the m50.

I have no idea what the spring rate is on the coilovers but it seems to sit at a decent height.






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[maxthegearhead]

Oh boy, here we go...

I'm curious what kind of hacking is going to have to go on to get that engine to rest comfortably on the existing crossmember.

Either way this is certainly an unusual E21 build, and I applaud the audacity of the project. Most people don't dare go heavier and bigger than an M50/M52/S52.

Good luck to ya

[diesel1245]

Actually once we switch the pan out it’s should sit in perfectly.
As it sits now the sump is a little front of center on the crossmember. So when we switch pans we should be able to move it back another inch


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[Somjuan]

Remote mount reservoirs for the brakes down the line?

[diesel1245]

Realistically this will never be a super competitive track car, not without spending a stupid amount of money and time. As it sits now we’ll have to remove the booster and reservoir to get the engine in with the other head installed.
Considering just ditching the booster but with the extra weight in the front I think that’d be a mistake.


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[Somjuan]

There were remote mount boosters that went in later generations, you might consider those. Since the battery is already out that's a great spot for it.

[diesel1245]

There were remote mount boosters that went in later generations, you might consider those. Since the battery is already out that's a great spot for it.

I’ll have to look into that once I get the driveline squared away.
The battery is mounted in a strut tower brace in the rear.


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[pofo]

There were remote mount boosters that went in later generations, you might consider those. Since the battery is already out that's a great spot for it.

Most people with E30's and E36's use left hand drive boosters when doing V8 swaps.

[Tom D]

Considering just ditching the booster but with the extra weight in the front I think that’d be a mistake.

just ditch the V8, it's a stupid idea, plain and simple!

[diesel1245]

just ditch the V8, it's a stupid idea, plain and simple!

That’s cool.


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[WantingAfunE21]

Interesting Project! Once Sorted it should be a blast on the street, and with coilovers you will be able to adjust the front spring rate to get decent enough handling (may also need a thicker front sway bar). 1sh Gen VW fox's have manual Master cylinders that are properly sized for the stock brakes and may be viable.

Love the wheels, if you decide they are not for you... please let me know.

[diesel1245]

Interesting Project! Once Sorted it should be a blast on the street, and with coilovers you will be able to adjust the front spring rate to get decent enough handling (may also need a thicker front sway bar). 1sh Gen VW fox's have manual Master cylinders that are properly sized for the stock brakes and may be viable.

Love the wheels, if you decide they are not for you... please let me know.

I’ll look into the manual booster
As for the wheels they’re drag dr20s. Fairly cheap for the set.


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[HipMF]

I wanna say it’s an additional 100lb over the m50.
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Don't know about an M50, but an M42 is probably heavier than an M10, and an LS is lighter than a small block, and the difference between an M42 and an LS is about 180 pounds.



Also keep in mind that the rear of an e21 gains a ton of camber when the rear squats under acceleration. If your goal is to go fast, you'll be very disappointed. If you don't care about handling or straight-line performance, but want to be able to get a lot of wheel spin in every gear you'll be satisfied with the results.

[Richard454]

The Gen 1 SBC with cast iron block & heads weighs in around 585lbs fully dressed....

The M42 around 350 and M50 around 430lbs.

IIRC the M10 comes in around 280...

That's a BIG wight difference over the front wheels.

If you do go with the SBC- go with the short waterpump and pulleys (AKA the corvette waterpump)- you'll need the clearance.

For the oil pan- look at a 62-67 Chevy II oil pan- should work



As far as the brakes- if you do away with the booster you'll need to go with a smaller bore or an ingenious set up like this to get the extra ummmp needed to kick the rock hard pedal-




Even a M70 V12 will fit... just the devil in the details!!!

[Tom D]

The M42 (weighs) around 350 and M50 around 430lbs. the M10 comes in around 280...

while i agree with you that a M42 is less then a M50 and they're both lighter then a chevy V8, i don't agree that engine weights alone are as important as the engine/trans weights (you're not going to bolt a lightweight G242 behind a iron block V8). also where that weight is placed over the axle has a lot to do with the handling. so a shorter engine like a V8 will have less of a weight effect then that a longer block I6 then initially suspected based solely on engine weights.

the photo above shows the M42 with a heaver G250 trans and ac/power steering at 427 lbs. i weighed an 1981 m10 last year complete with a G245 and ac, it was 450 lbs.

[diesel1245]

Update:
We diced to ditch the small block in favor of using it for another project.
Instead, I was able to track down the original engine that came in the car


It was built by another member here a few years back and passed around until it ended up here.


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[diesel1245]

Side note:

What the fuck is this?



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[autox320]

The dangling switch is the factory fog switch.


I like where they tapped the oil feed for the turbo. Great spot and where I chose to tap for my oil pressure gauge line. Motor seems familiar but I can't place who's it was. Bet it makes plenty.

[diesel1245]

The dangling switch is the factory fog switch.


I like where they tapped the oil feed for the turbo. Great spot and where I chose to tap for my oil pressure gauge line. Motor seems familiar but I can't place who's it was. Bet it makes plenty.

It was built by bionicbelly.
I found him on Facebook and he gave me a rundown on the engine.

“A basic rundown is new pistons, rebuilt head with proper valve seats, MLS head gasket, new timing chain, guides, crank was not machined, but new bearings, and tolerances were perfect, 2.0L block, 1.8 head, the manifold was from boost brothers (probably not around anymore) the coil pack is of a ford escort, as is the timing wheel and trigger. The turbo I put on there was a garrett T3. I think it was off a volvo (twin scroll) I rebuilt it with new seals and bearings. Not sure if that is still what was on there or not. Seems like I remeber one of the owners switching it out fo something bigger. (I don't like lag)”

I’m pretty certain the turbo was swapped out since he had it.


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[OLD MAN]

V8's into an E21s are not a new idea.

Just depends on what you want and how much work you want to do.

bmw-e21-pro-street-2_featured.jpg

bmw-e21-pro-street-3_featured.jpg

[autox320]

It was built by bionicbelly.
I found him on Facebook and he gave me a rundown on the engine.

“A basic rundown is new pistons, rebuilt head with proper valve seats, MLS head gasket, new timing chain, guides, crank was not machined, but new bearings, and tolerances were perfect, 2.0L block, 1.8 head, the manifold was from boost brothers (probably not around anymore) the coil pack is of a ford escort, as is the timing wheel and trigger. The turbo I put on there was a garrett T3. I think it was off a volvo (twin scroll) I rebuilt it with new seals and bearings. Not sure if that is still what was on there or not. Seems like I remeber one of the owners switching it out fo something bigger. (I don't like lag)”

I’m pretty certain the turbo was swapped out since he had it.


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Legit. Yeah T3 all the way man I'm not one for laggy boosted motors as a NA guy. T3/T4 hybrid makes insane power but has lag IMO true T3 on a 2L is perfect in my book.
Nice build man so when is the date the project of marrying the motor into the chassis and run it?