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Thread: E38: Twin Turbo 760iLs

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    E38: Twin Turbo 760iLs

    So.....
    One of my best friends asked me to help him out with his LS swap. He's always wanted a e38 and stumbled across a good 750iL with a busted engine and possible transmission problem for dirt cheap. Car came with a spare V12 that was sold to a guy that's doing a M73 e34 locally in Houston.
    Anywho, i figured i start the thread for you guys to see and keep it updated. Goals are 800whp, twin turbo lq4 with a 4L80e. Engine is getting rebuilt at Scroggins with stock crank, forged pistons, forged rods, ARP2000 everything, and their set of LS3 heads. It'll have street usage but will be more show oriented. Will run on Holley Terminator X Max with drive by cable. Power goal is the end result. This year we'll run it N/A to get it going and then once funding is available, get a pair of twins, which we're still researching. Originally he wanted to tackle a 6.0 swapped ti but abandoned it because there chassis he got was going to need a lot of work.









    Junkyard LQ4 longblock for 250$


    Dropping off at Scroggins...






















    Engine should be done early next week. This Sunday we're going to pull the engine and transmission and mount a bare block that scroggins let us borrow to take measurements. Mounts are from Levels Performance which we're not too happy with but since we have them, we'll use them. We're looking into using the Hooker cast manifolds for the exhaust for NA and look at our options for turbo later. Also, we're going with an electric water pump and electric power steering but we do need A/C, so we only need a low mount alternator bracket and figure out if use a GM compressor in stock location or use the e38 compressor with a custom bracket. Corvette LS2 balancer will be used so any help or advice with brackets is greatly appreciated.
    Fuel will be aftermarket lines with a in tank Warlbro 525 "hellcat" pump running 93 pump gas. Injectors at 85-90lbs and aftermarket pressure regulator.
    Thoughts? Opinions?

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Washington
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    BMW 525i
    Looking good, excited to see progress!
    2002 BMW 525i - 6.6L LS Turbo Swap
    Follow me on Instagram at @LantzFab
    Link to LantzFab.com
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    Link to my build page

  3. #3
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    M-Z3,535i, 320,Vette
    Oh....I though you were going with this-

    Attached Images Attached Images

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lantz View Post
    Looking good, excited to see progress!
    Thanks. This is one reason why i asked about your headers and if the n/a ones would fit. Another reason was for my e39 wagon, but that won't get started for a while.

    Quote Originally Posted by Richard454 View Post
    Oh....I though you were going with this-

    You know, i forgot all about that engine. Don't know how reliable they are either.

    So this weekend we weren't able to pull the motor since we didn't have much time but some progress is better than none.




  5. #5
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    2001 740il
    moar

  6. #6
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    I have a 3 month old so it's hard to make time to go to my buddies house and continue this project. Engine should be ready this week from Scroggins. Many parts have arrived but we still need to source a 4L80e.

  7. #7
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    So fast forward several months and a pandemic and we finally have the engine and trans in. Since February we found out that the tired M73 does not compress water. Lots of extensive damage was done to the block and it's now a side project to make it a coffee table. Most likely the previous owner hydrolocked it during Hurricane Harvey here in Houston.
    Car was taken to our buddies shop, Uptown Automotive, and had the engine bay painted and the body polished. Brought the car back and got the engine in after a lot of procrastination.
    Specs on the build so far: LQ4 with stock crank, forged pistons and rods, ported and rebuilt 823 heads, Morosso steel front sump pan, Edelbrock LS3 Crossram intake, FIC 60# injectors, Meziere electric water pump, Holley low mount a/c kit, ATI FBody balancer, LSX Innovations low mount alternator kit, rebuilt 4L80e with Yank 3600 converter, Terminator X Max, Aeromotive fuel regulator, Jegs oil cooler for trans.
    Still need hoses done but we're currently looking into running SS tubing instead of hoses. Other things needed are Volvo PS pump install, banjo bolts for the steering box, oil filter relocation kit, banjo bolts for steering box and oil filter kit, radiator and cooling lines routing, steam vent tubes, Vibrant Performance Catch Can.
    20200529_131600.jpg20200529_141909.jpg20200529_143601.jpg20200529_142034.jpg6135200321.jpg

  8. #8
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  9. #9
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    '99 LS-swapped 323i vert
    That is more like it! Nice going.
    Diving in at the shallow end!

  10. #10
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    '92 BMW 735i(W/383 GM)
    Very nice, I love the intake! Will it clear the hood? Tell us more about the electric power steering.

  11. #11
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    No, the hood won't close at the moment. The engine mounts would need to be cut to move the engine back about 2 inches and down about half an inch.
    We're following this thread by unnatrl.
    https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...-6-0-E39/page8
    My buddy wanted less pulleys up top and also allows for more flexibility for the twin turbos later. Hopefully it'll be enough to steer the car
    Attached Images Attached Images

  12. #12
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    God dammit, the last posting was yesterday. that means I have to wait for updates and shit instead reading 20 pages to end. hmmpphhfff

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zedbimmer View Post
    God dammit, the last posting was yesterday. that means I have to wait for updates and shit instead reading 20 pages to end. hmmpphhfff
    Ask and you shall receive.

    So update.
    Haven't had much time to go to my buddies house but finally did this week and made more progress although it felt like we didn't do much at all.
    First off, the e38 engine and trans mounts by levels performance places the engine too far forward and high to close the hood. With the Moroso oil pan were using, the oil filter relocation holes are directly above the cross member. We sourced the shortest 10an elbow and it's too close for comfort so now we're going to space the engine upwards about a 1/2 inch at the most. The 4l80e does hit the tunnel lightly so we had to do some massaging to give it clearance however, we need to change to 6an banjo bolts for the trans oil cooler because there isn't much room for regular 90 an elbows. On the drivers side we're going to have to cut the metal directly in front of the trans connector because the Terminator X plug harness rubs on the metal.
    Measured the driveshaft length and we got 67 inches.
    For the shifter, we went with a B&G shifter cable. The stock one would work IF the transmission were moved back about 2 inches and a custom bracket made to hold the cable in place.
    Headers are eBay and the drivers side fit without issue. The passenger side header would be fine IF we can relocate the abs unit somewhere. Otherwise the 4th pipe would have to be rerouted.
    Ran all the fuel lines with summit an fittings and they all leaked. Summit sent replacements but haven't gone around to redoing all of it. Small issues that lead to bigger problems.
    Could use some advice on relocating the abs unit. It's placement isn't the nicest for a show car regardless.
    On to pictures. Didn't take pictures while under the car but did of the top to show the header issue.







  14. #14
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    More progress...
    Fuel line fittings we're replaced and it seems that these are holding.
    Turns out that Moroso sells a 90° oil filter relocation outlet that'll help with the install. We tried installing 90° shallow -10AN elbows but that didn't work since they hit each other. Because of this, we should be able to lower the engine an inch and hopefully be able to close the hood.
    We cut the metal where the trans connector is and it worked great. Plenty of clearance now. Banjo fittings for the trans cooler lines are in place. We secured the intake manifold and started looking into the throttle pedal since we're running cable throttle bodies. I ordered a pedal at the dealership and got sent from Europe. It's meant for the early 6 cylinder e38s. Replaced it and turns out the hole is already stamped through the firewall. The cable were using is for a dual throttle body motorcycle and were thinking it should work just fine.
    We returned the ebay headers and now maybe doing stock manifolds and adding vbands instead. Still haven't made a final decision on that yet though.
    Finally we also tapped the block for the low mount alternator. Ordered the kit from LSX Innovations and made it pretty easy.
    On to pictures.








  15. #15
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    Loving the minimal accessories and looking forward to details on the electric steering.

  16. #16
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    What steam port kit is that? Also really like what you did with the fuel press reg and the lines.

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stumboat View Post
    Loving the minimal accessories and looking forward to details on the electric steering.
    Thanks. Yes, the idea is to keep accesories to a minimum and low. My buddy landed a deal on the water pump so we got that. Otherwise we were looking into a remote water pump kit.
    As for the power steering, there are a couple of other guys that went that route here on Bimmerforums so we're following that.

    Quote Originally Posted by mrallande5020 View Post
    What steam port kit is that? Also really like what you did with the fuel press reg and the lines.
    Steam vent tubes are the Jegs kit.
    https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS+Performa...RoCXrEQAvD_BwE

    Motion Racewoks makes a rehulator bracket that places the regulator there. Figured it's not a bad spot.
    https://www.motionraceworks.com/prod...RoCopUQAvD_BwE
    Last edited by ponchiz318; 12-13-2020 at 04:02 PM.

  18. #18
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    Twins arrived. VSR Gen2 66/73 Billet T4 .91ar

  19. #19
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    Looks great, do you guys have a HP target in mind? Lots of boost available.

  20. #20
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    Goal is 850whp....
    We're told these are capable of 1400hp....
    Fuel will be the limitation

  21. #21
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    Another update.
    Our goal was to start the car but unfortunately we couldn't.
    Our buddy Juilio came over and helped setup the throttle body cable. That alone took quite a bit of time to get right. We were able to mount the remote oil filter where the horns were and finish up the -10an hoses for that. Got started on the wiring and then ran into a problem with the power supply for the Terminator x max. The power cable is long enough to reach the battery in the trunk but we have to decide if we're going to pull the carpet and run the cable inside following the stock power cable, or run it under the car next to the fuel lines and find a spot to go into the trunk. Things we need next are a aftermarket 4l80e dipstick, a slip yoke, and find a location for the Vibrant catch can.




  22. #22
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  23. #23
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    First start happened yesterday!
    https://youtu.be/A9z1YQgQpj8

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