I have lurked on forums for over 14 years learning how to pretend to be a man. So now I begin throwing money into a project I may not be able to finish. Figured I'd document it as well as i could because well... thats what everyone else is doing Here goes nothing.
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Step one: Car.
1994 325i 210,000 Miles. 2 Owner. Paperwork back to original purchasing contract. con: blown headgasket $540.
Step bored: Lurking on craigslist - random buys:
- Assuming before doing any research the rear end in was garbage. Found an m3 diff on craigslist *OH LOOK its out of an m3 it must be good!*
cons: Didnt realize it didnt have output shafts yay! $300
*3.23 LSD
- He happened to have a mishimoto radiator and figured i'll probably need that. About time i made a good call.
Step two: Oh ya it has a blown head gasket... I should fix that.
mmm could have planned it out better i guess. Its fun taking stuff apart... hahaha
Step three: Well i could just replace the headgasket and use arp studs and turbo it. Ehhh ive never built a motor out lets pull it.
Kind of felt like i caught a shark.
Step four: Lets take the transmission off cause taking things apart is easy and fun. Oh ya and lets use that engine stand that I refused the read the instructions and built it wrong.
After fixing the engine stand and mounting it here it is:
WATER PUMP REMOVAL - this is how i did it at least.
1. Take the bolts off the pulley - there is a tool for this but I didnt need to use it.
2. Remove the bolts on water pump - the silver thing.
3. Now the first bolts you removed on the pulley. (Marked in the green circles) Re use two of them where the yellow circles are. Go back and forth while tightening to pry it off.
4. Pull that thing*.
More mindless spending.
Nerptech Control Arm $190
Solid Subframe Inserts $140
Offset RTAB's $135
Oil Pan Removal
There are about 25 bolts on the pan see removed picture for color explanation.
Green circles are all the same size *I think at least visually they seemed the same. Yellow's were Medium length Reds were Long
More random parts... I was able to pick up some sweet Innovate Gauges from a member on here. I'll post pictures later.
- to be continued -
Last edited by Mikecampafool; 06-20-2018 at 09:50 AM. Reason: removed profanity
the output shafts from your diff will literally pop right in. you may have had to swap them regardless.
Yea they are interchangeable, i have a set of M3 flanges id sell.
Good move on the Nerp tech goodies he's the man. Id replace the power steering lines while you are under the car. Mine have been giving me some issues (I assume from the aggressive heat and abuse drifting causes on the PS system) also read the angle kit master thread before you make a decision on anything.
Thanks for the advise! Just incase anyone else reads along and is interested in the thread i'll link it. CLICK HERE
Jumping right into a turbo build?! Nice! Honestly, if I didn't have an m54 engine, I'd probably be thinking about making that jump too. Over my head in my car is basically my natural state of being.
Anyone know of a thread that explains everything you can delete in the engine bay? Want to pull everything out and paint it. Also any advise on removing ac components ?
Id just remove the valve core in one of the sides and back up lol, you can remove all the AC stuff, oil separator, charcoal canister, aux air pump, washer fluid res an hoses, traction control throttle body and cruise control all very easily. really helps to clean the bay up, free space, and add visibility to important stuff.
The best way to tell what can get deleted and what cant is to have a good understanding of everything you're looking at and what it does. Google will be your best friend. Figure out what you need and whats unnecessary and delete whats not needed for your setup. Lots of people keep different things you might delete for reasons irrelevant to you so a thread on it is iffy
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Last edited by keramnitsuj; 06-27-2018 at 04:40 PM.
Sorry its obviously been a little bit. To be completely honest im stuck at a point where im not sure this is 100% worth it. I find more and more on a 350z being a cheaper better investment. The m50 being a little intimidating as im not very experienced in building motors. Im looking for 400 Hp a 1j and ls motor sound very tempting but also way out of my experience. Hopefully i get the itch and start working on the bmw soon. Just need to start shoving money into some type of car.
I've been in the same boat as you, not being sure if this is the right chassis. In the end it's up to you but now would be the time to jump ship and part the car out/sell the shell. I'm past the point of no return so I gotta keep going
A turbo m50 does have potential tho and at this point you might as well plan for next season for it to be ready
It's stupid easy to drop an LSx in an E36, every part you need is available and the swap is well documented. JZs are just about as easy.
Very well documented. It's about cash 10k roughly to get a proper Ls swapped in after all the odds and ends. I have a getreg tranny that I've heard nothing but horrible things after 300/350 hp. So zf swap m50 rebuild/build intercooler turbo etc. I'll be in it quite a bit. Been hovering over the ls swap for sale thread on here trying to get a good deal on some parts but come up short so far. The more time I put take planning it the more money I save and hopefully the more headaches I avoid by trying to be cheap/rushing it.
yep, every quote I've written for a LS/JZ swap ends up being 8-10k no matter the chassis, but going turbo what I would call the "proper" way isn't cheap either by the time you factor in everything.
Good news bad news. Bought a sc300 with a 1jz/r154. I'll have to settle as this financially made more sense. All parts will be posted for sale shortly. Including gauges as this car has definitely gauges already
post a pic of the sc, i bet it rips. that would be a chassis i would love to have but I have a soft spot for cressidas. Either way congrats on the purchase man
SC is not an easy car to make driftable. The front has upper and lower A-arms and the rear is a convoluted multi-link, you’re better off staying with the E36. And as far as an LS swap being $8-10k - maybe that’s if someone else did the work. I have about $9k into my entire car including purchase price of $2,200. You just need to get a complete drop-out from a reputable supplier that includes all wiring, accessories, modules and gas pedal. Makes life much simpler.
What trans are you using? That's usually the killer even with non LS LS swaps. $1500 for a ZF adapter or $1500+ for a T56. My bare bones estimate for CX Junk and a 5.3 using a ZF was still $4052 parts only, and that estimate doesn't have small stuff that adds up like fuel pump, FPR, exhaust bits past the Y pipe, ETC. An actual LS will double or triple the engine price for an LS1, or wildly inflate it for something like an LS3. All depends on what you want.
EDIT
I misread and thought you said your whole swap was $2200
Last edited by Novablue454; 08-14-2018 at 12:59 AM.
I originally had a ZF S5 with an ABC Clutch adapter, but no overdrive with 3.62 gears really sucks on the highway, so now I'm running a 420G. That adapter and clutch was pretty much the only thing I splurged on but I wish I would have splurged on a dog tooth T56 right from the start. Hind sight is always 20/20.
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