Engine Swaps

[m3f_Joe89]

Alright, I know I will get flamed by the "purists", but I'm just here for the knowledge so don't waste your time.



That being said, I think I should get to the topic.

I'm 17 and if you refer to my profile you'll see I drive an old Volvo station wagon.



One of my attractions to BMWs is ethnicity, I'm 75% German so I think it would be appropriate to own a German car



However, I'm just a kid with a parttime job, so I don't have the money to afford a nice M3. :banghead:



I would consider myself mechanically inclined, I think I pick things up quickly so I could handle a project with a little guidance from an enthusiast community.



I love the looks of both the e36 and e30 m3's.



I want to go fast in a bmw and have a lot of room to go faster (solid engine that responds well to FI)



I guess my eventual goal is 500rwhp. Seems like a lot and it is, but it won't be right away, I'd like to start @ around ~300rwhp.



So, what BMW should I be looking for? I'm thinking M3 wouldn't be a smart choice because of upfront cost, which brings me to budget. I got about 6k in cash now, and will have more coming in in the future. I was thinking picking up a mid 90's 3 series chasis, getting a tasteful kit (could someone tell me the nice ones?) that somewhat mimics M3 looks, and putting in a more powerful engine/tranny and upgrading suspension to handle increase in power.



What would you do in my situation? If I look around I may be able to find a blown head gasket 3 series or something for under 1k, that leaves ~5k for engine/tranny/suspension, and then later I'd have enough for kit/paint job. I'd like to do the welding / fabbing / work myself, so don't worry about factoring in labor.



I'm really just throwing this idea out there, and I'd appreciate thought out responses. Thanks guys. :beer:

[m3f_Serious_eeb8859403]

buy a nice car to start out with and mod that there is no point in modding a POS.



honestly i think your looking at the wrong car, you want big HP numbers out of a cheap car get a camaro, DSM, 300zx, vr4.

[m3f_PurpleM3Pursuit]

well if ur looking for 500rwhp in the long run. ur probably picking the wrong car.. there are a decent amount of guys that have 300rwhp... but thats with a pretty nice FI setup.. the guys that have 500rwhp have spent numerous hours and thousands upon thousands of dollars to get it there.. but u definitly don't find that often.. so to me u should probably look towards a supra, rx7, 300zx, or VR4.... the odds of u using the 6000$ to get everything u want is a slim and none chance too.. i wish i could say it was possible, but ur really walking into quicksand...

[m3f_PurpleM3Pursuit]

buy a nice car to start out with and mod that there is no point in modding a POS.



honestly i think your looking at the wrong car, you want big HP numbers out of a cheap car get a camaro, DSM, 300zx, vr4.

ha ya beat me to it.. damn! atleast we had the same ideas.. wierd.. we even wrote VR4.. :rofl2:

[m3f_gobuffs_31191dbf06]

surprisingly the age arguement hasn't come up yet....oops...I just did. :-)

[m3f_PurpleM3Pursuit]

age is a number.. maturity grows in time.. but some sooner than others.. seems he is already there.. its all good in my book..

[m3f_Joe89]

Thanks man. It drives me crazy when people just see the number and know nothing of the person. The difference from 17 year old to 17 year old is huge.



I don't understand why it would be so expensive. Just because its BMW?



Car itself, lets say 1k for a 3-series with busted motor

Low Mileage Small Block 350 w/ tranny = 3.5k??

Suspension ? 1.5k?

Other?

Seriously, I'm not seeing where the cost is coming from.



Could someone break it down for me?

[m3f_PurpleM3Pursuit]

oh i see what ur doing.. ok ok ok.. i guess i didn't understand.. so would u wanna put an LS1 or something like that in it? the body will still cost more than a grand in my book.. even with a bust motor.. there was a guy that put an LS1 in an M3.. sounded so mean and was as fast as anything out there.. ur going to have to redo the entire driveline though if you want to do all this.. the diff in a 3 series is open.. suspension u could probably get away with shocks and springs.. so 1.5 K would be a bit much.. dont bother with a strut brace, just do an X brace (goes underneath.. search if ur not sure).. u probably could do it.. for the body.. the Mtechnic kit or even rieger.. not many kits im into out there.. but those are some..

[m3f_Serious_eeb8859403]

trust me u dont want a $1000 e36. the car will be absolute garbage.



i wouldnt want 300whp in some $1000 POS.



there is so much more to a swap then just the motor and trans, unless you can customize you own driveshaft, brake booster, brake lines, steering system just for starters.



what are you going to do about brakes, wheels, tires?



heres the best route get a nice e36 325 for around $5000 and mod down the line as you go.



or take out a loan for a solid e36 m3.

[m3f_///sleeper_f29d08a5a4]

^^^I agree...a $1000 tub would just be $hit. When I bought my M I was immediately going to drop money into the engine until I actually started driving them and seeing what kind of performance they come out of the box with. My buddy had a real nice 325is and you can pick those up for prob. 6 or 7k. Check those out and in a couple of years drop some money into it...These cars are NOT cheap to mod and I don't think 6K would cover an engine swap of the scale you are talking...hell, it costs some cash to simply switch from a us3.0 to a us3.2

[m3f_Brent_Vino]

definately not in the right market if you want 500 rwhp.

[m3f_badgtho_2cb87af10e]

Alright, I know I will get flamed by the "purists", but I'm just here for the knowledge so don't waste your time.



That being said, I think I should get to the topic.

I'm 17 and if you refer to my profile you'll see I drive an old Volvo station wagon.



One of my attractions to BMWs is ethnicity, I'm 75% German so I think it would be appropriate to own a German car



However, I'm just a kid with a parttime job, so I don't have the money to afford a nice M3. :banghead:



I would consider myself mechanically inclined, I think I pick things up quickly so I could handle a project with a little guidance from an enthusiast community.



I love the looks of both the e36 and e30 m3's.



I want to go fast in a bmw and have a lot of room to go faster (solid engine that responds well to FI)



I guess my eventual goal is 500rwhp. Seems like a lot and it is, but it won't be right away, I'd like to start @ around ~300rwhp.



So, what BMW should I be looking for? I'm thinking M3 wouldn't be a smart choice because of upfront cost, which brings me to budget. I got about 6k in cash now, and will have more coming in in the future. I was thinking picking up a mid 90's 3 series chasis, getting a tasteful kit (could someone tell me the nice ones?) that somewhat mimics M3 looks, and putting in a more powerful engine/tranny and upgrading suspension to handle increase in power.



What would you do in my situation? If I look around I may be able to find a blown head gasket 3 series or something for under 1k, that leaves ~5k for engine/tranny/suspension, and then later I'd have enough for kit/paint job. I'd like to do the welding / fabbing / work myself, so don't worry about factoring in labor.



I'm really just throwing this idea out there, and I'd appreciate thought out responses. Thanks guys. :beer:





at the risk of being negative... I am not much older than you, but to throw out an arbitrary number like 500 rwhp i think you are insane to look at any bmw at all. for that matter anything german. a friend of mine pattented a kit to put a ford or chev small block into a volvo 240.. man that thing is sick, no where near your number, but with about 275 rwhp it runs solid 14s. 500 rwhp is a number you will chase very very hard in any street car, no less a bmw.

[m3f_Z Driver_38bb5042f3]

If I had only 6K and wanted a BMW, I would be looking at really nice E30 325's. Getting significant power gains out of any BMW is serious $$$.

[m3f_Eric1855_e8e56eaefb]

Get an old E30 ($1500), swap in a LS1 ($3-5k)...then later on put a turbo or S/C'er on the LS1 and bam...well over 600rwhp. But then you'd have a pretty undriveable car on the street.



You can always do the LS1 swap into a 318ti, thats neat. Or just go built motor and turbo on a E30 325...you wont make 500rwhp but you can be in the low 11s in the 1/4 mile, check out http://www.bimmerjim.com/ you can get a car up and running like that with your $6k. Get a cheap e30 ( I found my old one for $1200 through ebay), build up the motor, build your own turbo kit only about $2k if you get the parts used and make your own piping, then go with a MegaSquirt 'n Spark EMS which you can get up and fully running for under $500.