jeffbebe

Before I post up pics and a bit more detail, here's a summary of what we've done so far... M62B44 engine from donor E39 540i 5hp24 gearbox from donor E39 540i E36 oil cooler and E39 hoses DME and EGS from donor E39 540i ASC from 99 B 318ti Front brake calipers E46 330i Rear calipers E46 328i Coilovers E36 M3 steering rack M62 power steering pump + reservoir Frankenstein E36/39 PS hoses E9x M3 steering wheel Steering shaft - PG Hydraulics Driveshaft- Driveshaft Specialists Custom driveshaft hoops Sump and subframe - Cybul E30 sway bar custom mounts Strut-mounted tie rods E28 OEM engine mounts Modified E38 headers Stock exhaust E38 alloy wheels E36 M3 alloy radiator 320d viscous fan (E39 clutch) E38 AC compressor, E36 condensor, E36 and custom hoses DME 5.2 (pre-97 E39) EGS 8.55 (96-97 E39) Nissan Dualis expansion tank Interior swap (beige to black) with microsuede headlining Started out with this lump. 135K kms on the clock and ran really well. Had been used as a farm vehicle then sat for a while so I got it for a song. Spent the first couple of months stripping everything I would need and getting the motor ready. It's a dirty job... The motor turned out to be in really good nick so really only needed a good clean. I replaced the valley pan, coolant hose o-rings, valve cover gaskets etc whilst the engine was out and stripped and powdercoated the typically sh*t valve covers. After a bit of research I settled on a sump kit from a Polish company called Cybul. Build quality is great and came with modified sub-frame, engine mounts, custom sump (to fit over the steering rack) and a modified oil pump - though the latter is relatively straightforward to do yourself - though it's not quite the plug and play solution promised in a RHD car. Turns out this swap is a great deal easier LHD which is why BMW never did a production V8 and Alpina only did a LHD B8. Anyway, more on that later. The sump was super easy to swap and the subframe and engine mounts all bolt up with no problems. Subsequently had to modify the driver's side mount to accommodate the A/C compressor - and I now understand the Adamat kit is a better fit if you intend to keep A/C, although I don't think the build quality is quite as good. It was about this point that Josh (hybrid) came to see how it was progressing so I pretended I wasn't going to clean it anymore. Since he can't stand things not being clean he attacked it with a bottle of degreaser and a toothbrush. The results were very satisfying (to be fair, I didn't leave him to do it alone!!). < More to come...

You’re absolutely right! All working but definitely need a tune for the EGS. Trying to get my hands on the Dinan trans software. It makes a big difference with these gearboxes!

The mobile site resizes everything but they look normal if you click and open the photos on phone!!

Started this project almost two years ago after I sold the 850i and finally got the car road legal yesterday (cert, WOF and rego). The goal was to build a very fast, comfortable tourer that I can use for daily driving, which meant retaining the automatic gearbox, ASC and AC - which all turned out to be pretty complicated!! Had a lot of help from a bunch of people but a big shout at to Brendon (Assault) and Westy as this would just be a paperweight without them! Car has an M62b44 (non-vanos) drivetrain with custom sump mounted to a modified front subframe. Gearbox is a 5hp24 tiptronic slushbox from the same donor car as the engine (97 E39 540i) with modified driveshaft. It has a bunch of other interesting mods and, at some point, I'll document everything we did to get this thing working. As far as I know, it's the only RHD M62-powered E36 in the world with auto, ASC and AC!!

Interesting, it shouldn’t be too hard to share the name of this world-leading company, then. Maybe the addresses of these global branches too so we can order these amazing products? Pretty sure Elon Musk’s career started by writing open letters an EV forums.

Thanks mate. Just E36 lyf now...

Sorry. I gave the new owner everything I had!

Ha! Yeah, been a bit quiet on here for the last couple of years. Been too busy building Star Wars props for me and the kid!!

Cheers bro.

Sadly said goodbye to the old girl on Friday last week. She did well at market fetching a cool $29K. Probably still owes me a chunk but no one gets an E31 as an investment. Can’t say I’ll miss the trepidation every time a new thousand dollar ‘noise’ was heard though!! 😂 Farewell, old girl.

Mine's always for sale, Paul, if you're looking! Just done a whole lot more work too... New fuel pressure regulators, more suspension parts, headlining and about to refurb the air con (again!).

That sounds about right but they are a hard sell, sadly. They shouldn't be, as the they are much less of a PITA than many people assume but maintaining them can be costly - particularly when the electronics start to go - as diagnosis is sometimes challenging and you have two of everything (MAFs, DMEs, DKs, etc).

Completely depends on condition. A mint one with all preventative maintenance done is worth quite a bit ($25-30K) but they can be worth peanuts if there is lots of work to do, as maintenance can be pricey on the 8s.

Not mine. My old one had ACS wing mirrors and is still on the RSII wheels as Martin says. It was for sale in the FB bimmer group a while back. Think they wanted $7-8K. Apparently had a replacement engine. Given everything I did (which was pretty much everything) someone must have thrashed the sh*t out of it.

Pretty sure that's not the case. My understanding is that council has negotiated that Speedway move out to Waikaraka Park and offered to cover relocation costs. I think the owner is being a bit disingenuous in the press.

The Zoo has been there a lot longer than the Speedway and the safety and welfare of its animals will be greatly improved without their annual fireworks display. Another location seems sensible.

Waited 4 months for a used rust-free sunroof to turn up from an E31 collector in Canada. Finally got it painted and fitted. Now just waiting on some pesky headlining clips that are (of course) only found on the E31 and E32, so BMW NZ only had 4 in stock out of the 16 I need. Hopefully fresh headlining will be in by Xmas!! Only other outstanding jobs are crank position sensors - which will be a summer job as they're a bit of a mission to change - and servotronic steering retrofit - which I'm in absolutely no hurry to do!! haha

Ron would probably enjoy keeping a trusty auto going for a few more years.

Anyone wrecking an E32 or E34 sedan with a sunroof? I need 12 more of these clips to reattach my 850i headlining. Would prefer not to wait 2 weeks ex-Germany. Found on cars with sunroofs only (except E34 wagon). Thanks in advance.

Anyone got any new or good used crankshaft sensors for an M70 (E32 750 or E31 850)? It's a long wait to get them ex-Germany.

You'll need an old (90s) 4:3 laptop with Windows 95, ADS interface and OBD I (20 pin) plug. Best software seems to be INPA/DIS/Carsoft. Lots of info here - just search E31 and/or INPA - https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?233-Diagnostic-Software

Looks very Aston from the rear. Front grille is pretty ugly but it wouldn't surprise me if it gets a more front more consistent with the other models when a production version is made. Hope it comes with a version of the twin turbo V12 that the new M760iL has.

I've been a bit quiet on here for a while. Mainly because of life's many interventions, but also because the 8er has had an irritating ignition issue so has been largely undriven while I slowly hunted around for parts and time to sort it. Anyway, got it running smoothly once more this weekend and took some pics - sadly, because I'm probably going to sell her - and was reminded just how beautiful the 8 series is.

Yep, it's meant to sound like that. Old skool.

Sweet!! Pity the 8er is too low or I'd have come too!