1982 628CSi rebuild

[Nullified]

You're right, the engine needs to be placed in the body from above which means the subframe and body needs to be separated to affix the subframe first to the body and then the engine. Adaptations may need to be made to the subframe/engine mountings if the engine needs to be repositioned further back. The further back it sits the better for weight distribution.
The S62B50 has distinct advantages over the M30 engines, the V8 is lighter and shorter and as such already sits more towards the middle of the vehicle creating a better weight distribution. Moving the battery to the back will make it more balanced too. I will use a gel battery I think as they are lighter and maintenance free, and can be placed sideways as apposed to a tradtional lead-acid battery. Reason I want as much kit between the rear shock towers as I can get. It will be a bracing, a battery and maybe the power distribution / electronic fuses and relays. I will use products from EcuMaster for the electric system and ECU.

The process is exactly as I present it, the pictures are also date stamped telling what was done when. Reason is there are many people here with great ideas and when I have questions I hope folks will give advice.

[jmpower]

I often look at what people do in the various conversions and think how would I do that. It depends on what facilities are available. You have a nice setup there. The lift and the jig are a great help.
I have put in engines from the top/bottom and front. The front is the easiest I have found. Having removed the front panel complete from my e24 because of rust repairs (It is still of the car) I would go that route if I was putting the e39 engine in.
If you remove the front panel then the engine and subframe can be moved in and out with ease. Your set up makes it simple. The picture of the e39 shows the space available without the front panel in place.
Being able to move the engine in and out easily would make the process much easier as it allows you to mock up manifolds, subframe, suspension and any other parts in the engine bay.
Removing the front panel can be done fairly easily and could be made to be temporarily bolt on for issues like engine/bonnet clearance.

[Nullified]

On Monday a start will be made to take the full nose part off the car and also the chassisrails are to be cut open to make place for the engine. Spaceframe it is...

[Nullified]

Work on the nose has started yesterday to make room for the M5 engine. I've also added watermarks to the pictures as you may never know where they'll end up.

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[jmpower]

I was looking for some parts and found this site https://www.classicbmwparts.nl/
They do some sheet metal parts. They look like a good pressing but may be the same as the Valcasgarage parts. If they were close to you they might be worth a look.

[Nullified]

Good find, I believe they are Valcas Garage parts though, but then a lot pricier. They are close to me but the mailman makes anything close

More pics:

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[Nullified]

Some parts of the front have been taken off and it doesn't stop there, I might just say the car is becoming a CSL model, or Coupe Sport Leicht as more and more metal is cut off.

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[Nullified]

The car has been taken of the two post bridge and sits in the rotissery.

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[Nullified]

Engine has been stripped of the accessoires and drivetrain parts.

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And we've encountered a deformation in the body of the vehicle as the rear end is rusty; the back has warped while hanging in the rotisserie. Imo it just stresses the need for a tubular frame to strengthen the body. A frame will be added at some point probably with a scanner tool to create a proper fit.

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[jmpower]

That is unfortunate about the damage. Hard to tell from the photo but it looks to have bent inwards on the rear panel. I used 50x50mm box section inserted into the two rear bumper mounts to support the car without problems. There is another centre mount which is not used on the later cars. So three openings slightly more than 50x50mm. Maybe your car being an early car is different mounting. The centre mount in yours is not present, just a round hole. Possibly a higher point load on the mountings.

[Nullified]

@jmpower: I think that the third support mught have helped prevent this or maybe the back has just rusted too much anyway.

I have some engine pics to show:
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The coils are from 1999 and are original as the donor car is produced in 1999, it has a confirmed odometer reading of less than 199.000 km.
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A view of the headers; I've been suggested by a few people to 'slap on a set of random headers from the breakers' to see what fits, but in Europe V8's are rare and the S62 engine is even more scarce and there are certainly not random headers I can slap on for shits and giggles. I was bemused by the remark to say at the least
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The accessoires: I want to convert to an electric steering rack as you can dial in how much support and range you want given you use the right controller.
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[Nullified]

More engine:

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[jmpower]

Looking at the photos of the rear I think the rust on the lower rear panel probably lost the strength to support it. I believe the exhaust manifold is a double skin which may make it harder to modify.
Looking forward to seeing the engine in place.

[Nullified]

Looking at the photos of the rear I think the rust on the lower rear panel probably lost the strength to support it. I believe the exhaust manifold is a double skin which may make it harder to modify.

Thats my thought...

Looking forward to seeing the engine in place.

Here you go:

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I have more pics to post but there is a five picture limit per post, but after a reply I can continue. Hint: if anyone posts after I place pics I can continue spamming with pictures.

[TowJamma]

Really like where this is going!

[Nullified]

Really like where this is going!

Thanks!

I've got some more pics of the engine; it can't be positioned any better as we need to buy a lifting table.
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[jmpower]

I asked and you delivered. The photos can be deceiving, it appears that in one where the engine looks level it is to low and in others it looks like the gearbox is tilted down. Do you have to cut the transmission tunnel to raise it up? I did a six speed 6 cylinder into an e12 based chassis and it needed the transmission tunnel modified to get the engine and box high enough.
What issues have you identified on the first installation?

[Nullified]

I asked and you delivered.

You're welcome, progress is slow but it is coming along

The photos can be deceiving, it appears that in one where the engine looks level it is to low and in others it looks like the gearbox is tilted down. Do you have to cut the transmission tunnel to raise it up? I did a six speed 6 cylinder into an e12 based chassis and it needed the transmission tunnel modified to get the engine and box high enough.
What issues have you identified on the first installation?

The engine is not positioned correctly yet as it is seated on a jack and that is at its limits, however, the tunnel is fine at this moment in housing the transmission. There is some two to three centimeters of space left. Also, the transmission support / crossmember is not mounted to make the mating easier. When that is remounted we will know more. The engine sits a little too far towards the firewall atm, there needs to be room for brakelines, wiring and isolation and that means +- 5cm forward. The transmission will also benefit from this as when it moves forward the widest part moves out of the tunnel, freeing up space.
In other words, it looks like the tunnel doesn't need to be cut but in the next few days that should become clear.
Issue: we can't position the engine in the correct position with the jack and we need a lifting table.

[Nullified]

Moar pics:

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[Nullified]

And the last two from the batch: the digital level shows it is almost horizontal. As the engine is supported by the jack this doesn't say a lot atm, the next step is to weld a construction into the chassis where the subframe will be mounted to. I don't want to change the subframe as I wish to retain the full and unchanged drivetrain from the M5. The only thing that will change is the length of the main drive axle between gearbox and differential as the M5 has a wheelbase of 283 cm and the 6 only has 263. As the gearbox is also longer, the diff is larger (and longer on the front side??) AND the engine position is not determined yet I don't know how much shorter the axle will become compared to the original from the 6.

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[jmpower]

That looks good in there. In the photo from the front is the engine at a slight angle to the chassis leg? I have noticed that when I did an M3 evo engine into an e30 the engine was not parallel with the chassis leg.
Does the gear lever line up with the opening in the tunnel? This is where it gets interesting, sorting all the issues out.

[Nullified]

That looks good in there. In the photo from the front is the engine at a slight angle to the chassis leg? I have noticed that when I did an M3 evo engine into an e30 the engine was not parallel with the chassis leg.
Does the gear lever line up with the opening in the tunnel? This is where it gets interesting, sorting all the issues out.

The engine wasn't placed straight, now we have an engine lift to straighten things out. More on the gear lever to follow.

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[Nullified]

Unfortunately the nose is damaged from hoisting the engine in, an unfortunate accident. I wasn't happy at all.

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[slownrusty]

Amazing work and sorry to see the damage to the nose.
Keep the updates coming.

[Nullified]

Amazing work and sorry to see the damage to the nose.
Keep the updates coming.

Thanks, I have a lot of pics which I can post after a reply

These pics are interesting as you can see the difference between the carrier of the chassis and the E39 subframe, the position of the engine mounts compared to the carriers and just like the E30 that had a myriad of engines and tranny's the E24 has sliding tranny mounts to make it easier to pick-n-build. Not that the Getrag 420/6 is a plain bolt-in as seen by the tranny subframe compared to the chassis...

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