Complete Engine Swap

[tomsbmw325is]

Where do I find complete engine available for Sale for my 1990 E30?
Either E30 M3 engine, E34 M5 engine or E36 325i engine.
And how much does it usually cost?

[nukeduster]

Originally posted by tomsbmw325is@Apr 12 2005, 08:09 AM
Where do I find complete engine available for Sale for my 1990 E30?
Either E30 M3 engine, E34 M5 engine or E36 325i engine.
And how much does it usually cost?

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http://www.bavengine.com/engine.html

4 - 8k

[DJProfessor]

if you are looking to swap, best bet is to find a wrecked car and get everything you need, in terms of cost and finding all the parts you need for the swap.


but in all honestly the motor you should be looking for should come out of a 533i, that would be your best bet. easiest to swap with the biggest gains.....oh and i wouldn't go E30 M motor, you want to increase the displacement not reduce it

[tomsbmw325is]

what year of the 533i? Why this engine over the M3 E30? Can you elaborate?
How many HP does the 533i engine give?

[DJProfessor]

i am unsure of the HP gains with the 533i, but i know you are upping displacement to 3.3 and getting rid of your timing belt woes every 50k cause she is chain driven........i say this motor for a couple of reasons......1) it's a six banger, you mod a six you mod a four, six will always win. there is no replacement for displacement. true stock out of the box the M3 E30 motor is tons of fun, don't get me wrong......but you can mod this motor and be faster than the M3 E30 motor. which brings me to 2) cost.......first of all finding everything for the E30 M motor swap is going to be fun. you will need everything for the swap seeing how you are going from a 6 to a 4 banger......and everyone knows that BMW means Bring Money With you......and M means bring More money with you.......the cost of the M swap would be pricey. and if you split the difference and took the savings and invested into the 533i motor you would probably be faster at the end of the day, if nothing else rocking around with some extra cash in your pocket.....which brings me to the next question.......why not just mod your current motor? you can do the diesel crank drop in, a nice super charger, and/or the MAF and single throttle body conversion and be solid and making some very nice HP gains all for right around the cost of the swap or less........just something to think about.....

[tomsbmw325is]

Thank you for the thorogh explanation.

[htp.bmw]

If you looking to rebuild an engine, for a 90 325i and make it performance and stuff, ive got one...

-Casey

[spiff325is]

an S14 E30 M3 engine is a lot more expensive to purchase then a normal E36 M3 OBDI or II engine. and the E30 M3 takes more maintaince because of the chain, you needa adjust the valves a lot from what i hear.

so at bavengine, id suggest getting the S38(e34 m5 engine) or the e36 M3 OBDI engine(easier and better gains with modifying).

[DJProfessor]

Originally posted by spiff325is@Apr 13 2005, 10:28 AM
an S14 E30 M3 engine is a lot more expensive to purchase then a normal E36 M3 OBDI or II engine. and the E30 M3 takes more maintaince because of the chain, you needa adjust the valves a lot from what i hear.

so at bavengine, id suggest getting the S38(e34 m5 engine) or the e36 M3 OBDI engine(easier and better gains with modifying).

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yes, that is another option, the E36 M motor........would be cheaper than the E 30 M motor, BUT here again you would need everything and i mean everything for the swap seeing how you are going over to a completely different FI system. but if you found a wrecked one, i would say rock it.....that would be an awesome swap

[nukeduster]

the m30 motor is a pretty easy swap from what i hear
bmw actually made a factory 333i using the m30 3.2 engine in the past (187hp if im not mistaken, but more torque then the m20b25 as well, not sure of actual #), so im sure there are motor mounts already floating around you could purchase.

alpina in the 80's also did m30 conversions for the e30 and made a couple different motor mounts, some of which did and didnt require modification of the firewall. the ones that did require modification are the best, as they mount the engine pretty far back.. enough so that they dont upset chassis balance.

or one of the more comical swaps i found was there was a fabricator about a year ago selling 4G63 motor mounts compatible with the e30 chassis. in case you dont know, the 4g63 is a mistu. EVO engine. not a bad engine, pretty light and 280hp.