After many years of being off the forum, im back to with another 3 builds, the others will be posted at a later date.
Just wanted to share my current build. I’m basing it off a car I purchased almost a decade ago, a 318ti clubsport. It was 1 of 314 made. I purchased it from the owner of the bmwcca club, installed a control arm and clutch in it and drove it 1k back to Ohio only to swap it and detail it. Was in the process of gathering turbo parts for it and had been t-boned on the way home from a car show.
Years later, found a nearly rust free, hellrot red, 1.9l auto in a Walmart parking lot. Purchased it and began replicating my old car. The interior is very difficult to come by but after 7 months of searching, was contacted about a ti sitting on a guys property for 9 years with the interior. They wouldn’t sell the interior so I bought the whole car.
Made plans to do an lnf swap, 2.0 turbo but chose to keep it bmw which pushed me to buy my e92 swap donor. So far I’ve stripped both chassis’, pulled and tore down the engine, and started swapping the harness over to the 318ti.
Plans are custom intake, relocation inlets, downpipes, m4 midpipe, magnaflow rear actuated, 4.10lsd, ac delete, charge pipe, big front mount, large radiator, and some other stuff. Wet weight should be around 2900-3000lbs.
Budget for the overall car has been set to limitless, engine swap set to 5k. So far I’m at 3500$
Found my new chassis in a walmart parking lot. The owner was a college student, getting bent over by a local shop for repairs on the car. It needed brakes, an exhaust, control arms, tie rods, literally everything you could think of. Brought it to the shop and talked him down to 450 and id be his new personal mechanic on the side.
First came the inspection. Found a lot of small dings, but overall good condition. Found a little rust in the quarter but nothing structural. Bumpers were destroyed. Headlights replaced with OEM Bosche units and 5000k 35w hids. Control arms, exhaust, tie rods, endlinks were all replaced along with all the fluids.
Off to the dyno he goes. Fresh fluids and some plugs. Made a whopping 95RWHp and 99RWTq
Last edited by Bluebimma; 08-06-2018 at 11:05 AM.
2001 E53 X5 - 5.3 Procharged, 4L80E RWD, Brembo, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
2005 E53 X5 - 6.0TT, 4L80E RWD, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
1996 E36 335ti - N54b30, A2W intercooled, ZF 6speed rwd, 4.10Lsd, Speedline magnesium rims, Brembo, S55 exhaust, 245/40/17-295/30/18, idrive, Forge, logic 7
1999 E36 360ti - 6.0, ls6 springs, ls6 cam, hardened pushrods, trunion, racing baffle, t56, ls7 clutch, m3 brakes, 4.10lsd
Mtech bumper cover with fog deletes painted and installed.
Had shopped around for a set of 330i front calipers and rotors. Ended up with Meyle rotors and pads. Also ordered a set of stainless steel brake hoses to replace the original lines from 96.
Managed to catch the nastiest pothole, on the way to work. Broke and bent my ASA rim, bridgestone was still fine.
Purchased a set of 16" style 5s
Wheel gap be gone!
OEM radio installed. Half the speakers wouldn't work with the headunit the PO had in it. Removed that garbage and installed an OEM unit and all better. Added the Bluetooth module to sync my iphone to the stock headunit.
Fast forward a few months to june. Had planned to purchase a set of vaders off a guy in cleveland, the deal fell through, no big deal. Couple weeks later, he tells me he picked up a ti and i have first dibs before it gets listed for a part out. Go figure its a 97 individual packaged. I ask how much for the interior and bumpers, he wants 800. I ask, how much for the whole car, he says 1k. Obviously, just bought the whole car instead.
Summer 2017
Installed 4.10LSD and mroadster differential cover. vmr 18x8.5/9.5 with 235/40 and 285/30 sumitomo htrz3, style 5s, and mpars.
After swapping over the bumper cover, interior, and other small parts, i removed the 1.9 auto and installed it into the donor chassis and sold it to my coworker. In turn, he blew it up three weeks later.
Fast forward to april 5th, 2018 (my bday) i picked up my e92 335i. That began the complete tear down of both vehicles to the raw shells.
Last edited by Bluebimma; 07-28-2018 at 10:17 PM.
2001 E53 X5 - 5.3 Procharged, 4L80E RWD, Brembo, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
2005 E53 X5 - 6.0TT, 4L80E RWD, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
1996 E36 335ti - N54b30, A2W intercooled, ZF 6speed rwd, 4.10Lsd, Speedline magnesium rims, Brembo, S55 exhaust, 245/40/17-295/30/18, idrive, Forge, logic 7
1999 E36 360ti - 6.0, ls6 springs, ls6 cam, hardened pushrods, trunion, racing baffle, t56, ls7 clutch, m3 brakes, 4.10lsd
Last edited by Bluebimma; 07-28-2018 at 10:39 PM.
2001 E53 X5 - 5.3 Procharged, 4L80E RWD, Brembo, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
2005 E53 X5 - 6.0TT, 4L80E RWD, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
1996 E36 335ti - N54b30, A2W intercooled, ZF 6speed rwd, 4.10Lsd, Speedline magnesium rims, Brembo, S55 exhaust, 245/40/17-295/30/18, idrive, Forge, logic 7
1999 E36 360ti - 6.0, ls6 springs, ls6 cam, hardened pushrods, trunion, racing baffle, t56, ls7 clutch, m3 brakes, 4.10lsd
Saved for pics #3
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Purchased and imported an S55 Air to water intercooler from Europe. This will help with keeping most of the extra weight behind the strut tower, aid in throttle response, reduce pressure drop from turbo to throttle body, and overall give a more professional and finished look to the engine bay.
Next, the dreaded waterpump/thermostat purchase
2001 E53 X5 - 5.3 Procharged, 4L80E RWD, Brembo, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
2005 E53 X5 - 6.0TT, 4L80E RWD, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
1996 E36 335ti - N54b30, A2W intercooled, ZF 6speed rwd, 4.10Lsd, Speedline magnesium rims, Brembo, S55 exhaust, 245/40/17-295/30/18, idrive, Forge, logic 7
1999 E36 360ti - 6.0, ls6 springs, ls6 cam, hardened pushrods, trunion, racing baffle, t56, ls7 clutch, m3 brakes, 4.10lsd
Last edited by Bluebimma; 07-28-2018 at 11:04 PM.
2001 E53 X5 - 5.3 Procharged, 4L80E RWD, Brembo, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
2005 E53 X5 - 6.0TT, 4L80E RWD, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
1996 E36 335ti - N54b30, A2W intercooled, ZF 6speed rwd, 4.10Lsd, Speedline magnesium rims, Brembo, S55 exhaust, 245/40/17-295/30/18, idrive, Forge, logic 7
1999 E36 360ti - 6.0, ls6 springs, ls6 cam, hardened pushrods, trunion, racing baffle, t56, ls7 clutch, m3 brakes, 4.10lsd
PO was listening to this track when he wrecked. go figure.
Last edited by Bluebimma; 07-28-2018 at 11:36 PM.
2001 E53 X5 - 5.3 Procharged, 4L80E RWD, Brembo, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
2005 E53 X5 - 6.0TT, 4L80E RWD, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
1996 E36 335ti - N54b30, A2W intercooled, ZF 6speed rwd, 4.10Lsd, Speedline magnesium rims, Brembo, S55 exhaust, 245/40/17-295/30/18, idrive, Forge, logic 7
1999 E36 360ti - 6.0, ls6 springs, ls6 cam, hardened pushrods, trunion, racing baffle, t56, ls7 clutch, m3 brakes, 4.10lsd
IDrive, cluster, logic7 working in e36
2001 E53 X5 - 5.3 Procharged, 4L80E RWD, Brembo, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
2005 E53 X5 - 6.0TT, 4L80E RWD, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
1996 E36 335ti - N54b30, A2W intercooled, ZF 6speed rwd, 4.10Lsd, Speedline magnesium rims, Brembo, S55 exhaust, 245/40/17-295/30/18, idrive, Forge, logic 7
1999 E36 360ti - 6.0, ls6 springs, ls6 cam, hardened pushrods, trunion, racing baffle, t56, ls7 clutch, m3 brakes, 4.10lsd
Based on dealership records, the car had been maintained through dealers its entire life which included DME update, injectors, HPFP, a new clutch assembly, and a few other parts. What I didn't find, turbo replacement. Rather than just letting the dice roll, I decided to replace them. Not at dealer cost, just new CHRA and upgraded wastegate actuators.
- - - Updated - - -
Turbo doing turbo stuff
- - - Updated - - -
Some exhaust porn
2001 E53 X5 - 5.3 Procharged, 4L80E RWD, Brembo, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
2005 E53 X5 - 6.0TT, 4L80E RWD, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
1996 E36 335ti - N54b30, A2W intercooled, ZF 6speed rwd, 4.10Lsd, Speedline magnesium rims, Brembo, S55 exhaust, 245/40/17-295/30/18, idrive, Forge, logic 7
1999 E36 360ti - 6.0, ls6 springs, ls6 cam, hardened pushrods, trunion, racing baffle, t56, ls7 clutch, m3 brakes, 4.10lsd
Damn nice work there, sir!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Last edited by Bluebimma; 08-01-2018 at 11:12 PM.
2001 E53 X5 - 5.3 Procharged, 4L80E RWD, Brembo, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
2005 E53 X5 - 6.0TT, 4L80E RWD, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
1996 E36 335ti - N54b30, A2W intercooled, ZF 6speed rwd, 4.10Lsd, Speedline magnesium rims, Brembo, S55 exhaust, 245/40/17-295/30/18, idrive, Forge, logic 7
1999 E36 360ti - 6.0, ls6 springs, ls6 cam, hardened pushrods, trunion, racing baffle, t56, ls7 clutch, m3 brakes, 4.10lsd
So excited to see more progress!
www.facebook.com/Undr8dEmpireLlc Instagram: @UNDR8D_EMPIRE
Scarlet V2 - #Project333Ti - http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...(-Project333Ti)
The new control arm bushings showed up. Installed, now the downpipes fit without modification. Will still need to modify the front downpipe to fit the xbrace.
- - - Updated - - -
Traded a set of rims and tires, off my 360ti, for the CSR
- - - Updated - - -
The 330 brakes will be removed and e36 m3 spindles, calipers, and floating rotors are to be installed behind the bbs.
2001 E53 X5 - 5.3 Procharged, 4L80E RWD, Brembo, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
2005 E53 X5 - 6.0TT, 4L80E RWD, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
1996 E36 335ti - N54b30, A2W intercooled, ZF 6speed rwd, 4.10Lsd, Speedline magnesium rims, Brembo, S55 exhaust, 245/40/17-295/30/18, idrive, Forge, logic 7
1999 E36 360ti - 6.0, ls6 springs, ls6 cam, hardened pushrods, trunion, racing baffle, t56, ls7 clutch, m3 brakes, 4.10lsd
2001 E53 X5 - 5.3 Procharged, 4L80E RWD, Brembo, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
2005 E53 X5 - 6.0TT, 4L80E RWD, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
1996 E36 335ti - N54b30, A2W intercooled, ZF 6speed rwd, 4.10Lsd, Speedline magnesium rims, Brembo, S55 exhaust, 245/40/17-295/30/18, idrive, Forge, logic 7
1999 E36 360ti - 6.0, ls6 springs, ls6 cam, hardened pushrods, trunion, racing baffle, t56, ls7 clutch, m3 brakes, 4.10lsd
2001 E53 X5 - 5.3 Procharged, 4L80E RWD, Brembo, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
2005 E53 X5 - 6.0TT, 4L80E RWD, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
1996 E36 335ti - N54b30, A2W intercooled, ZF 6speed rwd, 4.10Lsd, Speedline magnesium rims, Brembo, S55 exhaust, 245/40/17-295/30/18, idrive, Forge, logic 7
1999 E36 360ti - 6.0, ls6 springs, ls6 cam, hardened pushrods, trunion, racing baffle, t56, ls7 clutch, m3 brakes, 4.10lsd
2001 E53 X5 - 5.3 Procharged, 4L80E RWD, Brembo, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
2005 E53 X5 - 6.0TT, 4L80E RWD, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
1996 E36 335ti - N54b30, A2W intercooled, ZF 6speed rwd, 4.10Lsd, Speedline magnesium rims, Brembo, S55 exhaust, 245/40/17-295/30/18, idrive, Forge, logic 7
1999 E36 360ti - 6.0, ls6 springs, ls6 cam, hardened pushrods, trunion, racing baffle, t56, ls7 clutch, m3 brakes, 4.10lsd
Impressive project! Hope you get it in the road soon.
I am very excited to see/hear how that driveshaft works out. I've been wanting to do that exact thing for ages now, but have been scared away by the possibility of driveshaft vibrations. If that works out, I MAY even go the CF route. Did you make your own adapters or are they from DriveShaftShop? And is it a 3" shaft?
2001 E53 X5 - 5.3 Procharged, 4L80E RWD, Brembo, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
2005 E53 X5 - 6.0TT, 4L80E RWD, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
1996 E36 335ti - N54b30, A2W intercooled, ZF 6speed rwd, 4.10Lsd, Speedline magnesium rims, Brembo, S55 exhaust, 245/40/17-295/30/18, idrive, Forge, logic 7
1999 E36 360ti - 6.0, ls6 springs, ls6 cam, hardened pushrods, trunion, racing baffle, t56, ls7 clutch, m3 brakes, 4.10lsd
Last edited by Bluebimma; 10-02-2018 at 12:15 PM.
2001 E53 X5 - 5.3 Procharged, 4L80E RWD, Brembo, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
2005 E53 X5 - 6.0TT, 4L80E RWD, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
1996 E36 335ti - N54b30, A2W intercooled, ZF 6speed rwd, 4.10Lsd, Speedline magnesium rims, Brembo, S55 exhaust, 245/40/17-295/30/18, idrive, Forge, logic 7
1999 E36 360ti - 6.0, ls6 springs, ls6 cam, hardened pushrods, trunion, racing baffle, t56, ls7 clutch, m3 brakes, 4.10lsd
2001 E53 X5 - 5.3 Procharged, 4L80E RWD, Brembo, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
2005 E53 X5 - 6.0TT, 4L80E RWD, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
1996 E36 335ti - N54b30, A2W intercooled, ZF 6speed rwd, 4.10Lsd, Speedline magnesium rims, Brembo, S55 exhaust, 245/40/17-295/30/18, idrive, Forge, logic 7
1999 E36 360ti - 6.0, ls6 springs, ls6 cam, hardened pushrods, trunion, racing baffle, t56, ls7 clutch, m3 brakes, 4.10lsd
2001 E53 X5 - 5.3 Procharged, 4L80E RWD, Brembo, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
2005 E53 X5 - 6.0TT, 4L80E RWD, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
1996 E36 335ti - N54b30, A2W intercooled, ZF 6speed rwd, 4.10Lsd, Speedline magnesium rims, Brembo, S55 exhaust, 245/40/17-295/30/18, idrive, Forge, logic 7
1999 E36 360ti - 6.0, ls6 springs, ls6 cam, hardened pushrods, trunion, racing baffle, t56, ls7 clutch, m3 brakes, 4.10lsd
Last edited by Bluebimma; 10-26-2018 at 06:39 PM.
2001 E53 X5 - 5.3 Procharged, 4L80E RWD, Brembo, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
2005 E53 X5 - 6.0TT, 4L80E RWD, 20" alloy, EBC race, Forge, A2W intercooled, Alcantara interior, 3.62 LSD and more!
1996 E36 335ti - N54b30, A2W intercooled, ZF 6speed rwd, 4.10Lsd, Speedline magnesium rims, Brembo, S55 exhaust, 245/40/17-295/30/18, idrive, Forge, logic 7
1999 E36 360ti - 6.0, ls6 springs, ls6 cam, hardened pushrods, trunion, racing baffle, t56, ls7 clutch, m3 brakes, 4.10lsd
On day I'd love to make an e46 n54 swapped wagon, to be my drift car. Going to end up turboing my m54 instead, because I don't have the space to have a donor car for a few weeks while I strip it to put it all in an e46. This is a SWEET build, and I'll be looking forward to more updates!
Besides engine and trans mounts, what has been the hardest issue to solve? Seems like you took the entire body harness over, did you bring every single module too? That seems to be the only way to have a functional n54 swap, unless you go for one of the very expensive standalone options.
Keep it simple: half gutted '01 330i, welded diff, BC coils, SLR Super kit
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