With all of the E38's selling on BAT lately and the interest in S62 swaps from many bidders/commenters, I felt it might be a valuable resource to list all of the S62 swapped E38's in one thread. Particularly since most of us know each other well and could certainly help others considering the same.
I still find my car to be the best out of 30 cars owned in my life and it always puts a huge smile on my face. The E38 continues to age so well and actually seems to get better looking as time progresses. It's also the best chassis of that generation IMO. Sure I think about selling mine every now and then until I get behind the wheel.
There are bound to be more and some builds aren't on here. Feel free to add to this list. Scott/E34play on IG recently finished building my cars sibling.
http://www.speedhunters.com/2018/08/...w-never-built/
This is the Petrolicious article done on my car and then the build thread on here. My car was built by Trevor, Paul and Brian who did the interior. This was the first time I ever contracted out a car build and they all did an outstanding job!
https://petrolicious.com/articles/th...mw-never-built
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...xt-E38-project
Trevor's
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...38-swapped-S62
Paul's
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...ation-S62-swap
Nick's (sold on BAT)
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...-S62-Swap-pics
Tyler's (sold on BAT)
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...joins-the-club
Tyler/Trevor's joint estoril E38 (my previous car)
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...toril-blue-S62
Last edited by RVAE34; 10-16-2018 at 08:39 PM.
Hey man just want to say I’m a big fan of this build and been following it for quite a while now. I’ve been wanting to do an E38 for the longest time and I’m thinking of pulling the trigger. At first I was first toying with the idea of using an LS2 with that kit that one shop down here in Florida makes but I’m starting to think I want to keep it in the BMW bloodline and go with an S62. My dad had an e39 M5 back in the day and I fell in love with that engine. Hate to be that guy but I was wondering how much the powertrain, swap, and rear diff ended up setting you back? Just want to have an idea before I jump in. Not gonna go for forced induction right away as I want to make it my daily with just some Dinan bolt ons exhaust intake etc. Any info would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Thank you! I would suggest reading through a few of these build threads to get started. You can learn everything you could possibly need to know for the most part within these posts. That was the main reason for this master list, to provide an easy place to access all of them without having to search out individually.
The S62 drivetrains are starting to get harder to find it seems so prices may vary from what we all paid in the recent years. I would expect to pay $3500-7000 for a good complete engine depending on mileage. The rest of the parts can be all over the map. Adam/Clemster on M5board is my favorite source for parts but he already has a few in line looking for a good engine. For other items, you would want to have done some homework and then email him a parts list and he would reply with availability and pricing.
If you wanted to have someone else do the work, Trevor would likely do more of these cars and you could message him directly.
Last edited by RVAE34; 08-26-2018 at 10:22 AM.
Thanks RVAE34 for putting these links in one place. Great Sunday morning reading!
Yeah man for sure gonna be lurking heavy for the foreseeable future. Have a couple 38’s I’ve spotted on various sites in mind. One in imola which is really the one I’m thinking of pulling the trigger on. Anyway I saw you replying on a different thread about a 2j swap, did you or that other guy ever find out what kind of custom mounting would be needed for that? That’s another one I’ve been toying with if getting a hold of a 62 and getrag proves to be more trouble than it’s worth. Thought maybe even a coyote from ford if I wanna go v8.
Last edited by straightE36; 08-26-2018 at 10:10 PM.
I wouldn't have a clue about those swaps. You would want to visit the engine conversion section for alternate engine choices. Lots of crazy swaps going on in that sub section.
Man, I need to get back into an E38. I regret selling mine every single day, and it has since been wrecked.
RVAE34, thank you so much for your initial post.
I'd like to pick your or Trevor's brain about the wiring diagram
I tried to send Trevor a message on M5Board, but I only have 16 posts and it will not allow me to send a message there.
I just picked up an 82k Mile example 2001 740i M-Sport and I have an entire e39 M5 sitting in my driveway. both cars run perfect and have no check engine lights.
i can see that the most challenging parts are the subframe and the wiring.
any advice on these specifics that anyone can tell us?
i love the Alpine White build, good job man!!!
The front subframe doesn't need to be changed and the rear subframe only needs to be modified if you want to swap in the m5 diff and/or add a sway bar.
I cannot help you with wiring as Trevor did my install as well.
so what you're saying is that my M-sport 740i has half the work completed from the factory; since it comes with a 3:15 diff ratio in the Sports Package, that's more than likely the exact same differential as my m5; so I shouldn't have to change that; right?
if i don't need to do the subframe, then it should be a matter of mounting the engine and transmission, 750 axles, and extended driveshaft, and coding the ECU and doing the wiring to connect to the e39 ECU (mss52)
anything else i'm missing?
if i don't need to do the subframe, which was going to be the most daunting part of this swap, then i can't wait to get started.
also, I'd like to keep my mileage on my cluster, obviously... so what advice would you have there?
Last edited by fmalik00; 10-03-2018 at 04:06 AM.
The e38 diff is not lsd. You dont "need" lsd to do the swap although it is highly preferred. I just meant the fromt subframe does not need to be swapped.
The m-sport has the same ratio , did the m-sport 740i not come with an LSD ?
regardless, thank you for your help.
Last edited by fmalik00; 10-03-2018 at 08:03 PM.
Updated the original post with the latest project by Trevor and Tyler.
Hello Guys,
My first ever post on the forum.
I have 2000 e38 735il(first ever bmw after selling my mercedes) and I will be doing this swap soon.
Now I have been reading all these wonderful s62 swap threads. But my questions/doubts are as following:-
1). My car is rhd. Do I need to take special care of something? Like finding s62 wiring from rhd car only?(as much as these engines are getting rare, rhd setup would be even more rare to find). Since most of the thing are easy swap wise in e38 chassis from e39. So most of it will be my stock harness only after coding???
2). I want to retain auto box(I love manual but I think auto would do more justice to il chassis again its my personal opinion). So this box will hold power?? I will also be adding supercharger for sure so considering that in mind.
I'm not sure if the automatic will handle the S62. I do know that some user did swap in an LS and kept the automatic transmission. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmZNXrpDLVo&t=322s
Yes.
His and levels performance both ran auto but this is all together GM engine and trans. I would love to keep it from BMW lineup if I can.
How do you make a small fortune in car racing - start with a large fortune. The v8 e38 cars come with a 5hp24 automatic - rated to max torque of 440nm. The S62 from the M5 has a max torque rating of 500nm. You will go thru a lot to make an automatic S62 car, and you will find every weakness in the 5hp24.
Can the bell housing be upgrade in the 5hp24?
I believe the real issue with auto vs manual is the lack of trans shift mapping for the S62 since it never came with an auto. But I'm not a doctor.
Bell housing? A manual from a 540 or a M5 are the same - I think the bell housing will likely bolt up. The issue is strength of the mechanical and hydraulic innards in the 5hp24.
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