97 318- what would you do?

**amoler821** · 08-18-2018, 06:46 PM

im a diesel and 4x4 guy myself. not real familiar with bmws let alone mods and swaps but my kid wanted 1 so we picked up a 97 e36 manual trans.its 2 years before he gets his license, so i have time. the 4cy has to go. im a mechanic by trade, so i know my way around the garage and not afraid of any job, as ive done swaps before ( usually trucks). i want to be methodical about it. so my question is what swap works with what suspension, brakes, electrical, etc.? he wants fast and low....i want SAFE. so do these different swaps really have a different affect on steering and braking? is one better handling than the other because of weight? is 1 a better daily driver than the other? a lot of the posts are related to speed and power.
i can pick up an m52 for cheap w a trans and electrical. is the work involved worth putting in a stock 6cyl, or would u do a bigger engine since your pulling it anyway? oh...and on a budget of coarse.

and direction is appreciated!

**jclausen** · 08-18-2018, 07:04 PM

The m42/m44 are strong unique high reving engines, pretty durable too. Put an e36 6 cylinder in it. Get one with the wiring harness dme etc.

**amoler821** · 08-18-2018, 07:51 PM

thanks for the input! as far as upgrades once its in what would be the cost to upgrade to an e36 6cyl, compared to upgrades to say a 5.0? hp vs cost would u still stick w an e36 6cyl?

**jclausen** · 08-19-2018, 04:51 PM

Since the frot clip of the car is just the e36 a 6 cylinder would be a good fit. In sure some body out there has out a v8 in one

**MauiM3Mania** · 09-05-2018, 06:04 PM

Moved from BMW General Discussion sub-forum.

**ed323i** · 09-05-2018, 09:44 PM

I know in the US cars have way more horses than in Europe.. The 318i isn't very fast, but it can be a lot of fun to drive.. It's very balanced. And I think it would be a perfect car in that configuration to learn how to drive before going for big HP engines. Then, for example a year later, when you feel your son is ready for more horses, you could upgrade to an M52B28 or something like that.. Best to get a complete 328i car for cheap, one with damage, so you can swap everything over. Not too difficult and way, way easier than installing a V8 (even the BMW V8 is quite some work). You'll also need the complete exhaust, the differential and the axles.. And then you can also upgrade the brakes. But, perhaps easier to just buy a good 328i by that time.

I've driven and sold quite some BMWs, and one day, a father and his son came to buy my E30 320i (I moved to the E34 then), and during the test drive the 18 year old kid who just got his license would drive, and within a minute I already felt: "hmmm, this doesn't feel too safe", he was so overconfident but very clearly lacked skills and experience. So I warned the father that it could be a tricky car, even though it only had 130HP and he decided to ignore that. I checked the car status 2 months later, and it was shredded (wasn't on the road anymore). And I had this kind of experience more than once. So, something to consider, perhaps.

P.S. With regards to handling, you won't find a better engine than the M42/M44 that's already in the car now. Very light, and makes a very balanced car.
The European M52 engines are aluminum and are also quite light, but when you upgrade to the iron US M52, you will notice that the car prefers to go straight ahead a bit more while cornering.. But still a very nimble car of course.

**amoler821** · 11-13-2018, 08:14 PM

thanks for the replies. the clutch was shot and trans had to come out anyway so i just kept going. looks like the M52 (w turbo) is going in,a zf trans instead of the getrag, and a lsd. going to start with the front suspension rebuild and brake upgrade.
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