Boost Junky

Thanks guys and am glad you are all honest appreciate it alot. That 2nd link caught my attention that u posted markq gotta decide wether I want leather or not though... The number one concern I have is how sound the motor is etc... and knowing someone that has serviced it since it has been imported who does a good job at it also is just so reassuring if ya feel me? But im open for all opinions especially where theres money involved, like I would like a 2000 model but just havnt quite got the $$$ And to address your question Apex. He has an importers license so imports a select few bmw's being the case with this one. He is the only NZ owner. Cheers guys

You two are correct as far as somone comming into a purchase like this having known nothing about the vehicle it would look like 'yes' it has done a few kms and so forth. But as far as service records and history I know the mechanic who services the car and has been the only mechanic to service the car since Neville the owner imported it from Japan. Everything that has been serviced has been replace by OEM parts and the mechanic is very reputable in the area. The motor is tight no rattles, no leaks at all bar the p/s reservoir which is commone on BMWs so I have been told? As far as the lights go im just going on what he told me and wether they are a one off in the country it would be nice but at the end of the day they are lights and look the same as any other xenon or angel eyes I have seen. On average for most kiwis we do around 2000km for each year which is exactly what Neville has done and almost 90% of these kms have been on the open road long journeys which is best for these highway cars right? And the 540i... he has upgraded to a 530i 2000 model. Oh Greg I still have the E30 should be updating the m50 swap on that soon been a bit whipped haha its all finished pretty much been driving it for a month now finding it very impractical as its not running 100% (way too rich) and the superlows and bucket seats are very impractical for daily driving also the exhaust is unbearable after driving for a period of time. So it will be a weekend/project car maybe track one day with the thoughts of forced induction.. Thanks for the comments guys much appreciated Luke

Hey guys, looks like i might be making a new purchase hopefully tommorow. Got the $$ just gotta make my mind up now. What do you all think? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=133737819 Basically wanted a practical car for general use and travelling and am thinking about the future so want something that I will get a good use out of. My budget was $13,995. Neville the owner wanted $14,495 with the xenon angel eyes which are the only set on an e39 in the country, im paying $13,495. Cheers Luke

Ok guys now that the M50B25 install is complete I have one last little issue, when i have my blower turned on on either 1 2 3 or 4 i get no air comming out of my vents. Theres no blower noise so the blower isnt even spinning can't think of what I might have pulled out when i pulled my old motors ECU loom out through the firewall that may have upset the blower? Is there a plug somewhere I may have undone or cut and if so where would i locate it? F.Y.I I have also removed all aircon from the engine bay.... Cheers, Luke

Im with Drifty... I was gonna say number 2 look a little blingy, and I know blair as much as I am, is more into the drift look more than VIP.

Yea def the first ones dont really like the 2nd ones kinda draw to much attention... in saying that im more into the drift look than anything blair. I'll just nag ya till u get the right ones anyway haha

Yea man 5th gear. Close ratio box does that..

Well guys now tha I have a 6cyl rev counter in I know the true RPM of the M50, shes doing about 1900rpm at 50km and about 3500rpm at 100km and hour so not as bad as i thought.. $1k hmm thats a pretty good price Brent, what kind of slight modification are we talking about to get the LSD to fit my E30? Cheers, Luke

Grant, Yea the other wire should be an earth aye? The wire that communicates to the gauge is BROWN/Purple the other "Earth" wire is just straight brown. I shall try bridging the wire and see if it triggers the gauge also. But I have had the plug plugged onto the sensor in the head and re-routed the so called "Earth" wire in the plug to the earth on the chasis and still no go so i think its a sender issue or air lock issue also im damn sure the headgasket is gone aye. Its definitely not the engine management/fuel injection temp sender. Nah man hasnt worked once since the conversion haha and its probably one of the most vital gauges i need of the lot so yea its one on the list to solve. I dont think there is a bleed skrew on the thermostat housing you would have to see my setup to understand how dodgy the cooling system is at the moment, heres the run down: I have an M20 radiator with no expansion tank on the side of it where as my original M40 motor ran a radiator with expansion tank. So obviously I have no radiator filler neck anywhere because the M20 radiator has no expansion tank and the original setup did not have a seperate overflow tank. What I have done is have a pipe made up with a filler neck and cap welded onto and then placed that inline in the top hose going to the thermostat, the way this is setup has the filler neck lower than the the highest point in the cooling system (lower than the top of the radiator etc) so I definitely need to sort a proper overflow tank where I can fill the radiator from that point. Thanks Grant for being so helpful Luke

Hey hotwire the needle flicked right round when i earthed the wire that goes from the sensor so it must be the sensor thats stuffed yet i have tried other sensors and still no luck so wether the car is actually getting hot enoug? I think I have a cracked head gasket tho so could that cause any issues? Also my overflow reservoir and radiator filler is lower than the top point of the radiator could that also cause something? Cheers, Luke

How much u want Brent? Would you take something off for a spare diff?

Yea was just taking into account the cost in fuel at the moment and with the potential for it to continue rising lol.... i guess this is what ya get with a swap like this cant have everything (economy & power) I dont know how to check what I have at the moment I have found various numbers on the diff but how do i tell the ratio? Cheers

Yea well on the M40 motor that used to be in there it was a single pin plug for the coolant sender. With the M50b25 it has two senders the front one being a fuel injector temperature sender and the back one being the coolant temperature sender, they both have two pins.... so im guessing they both earth with the loom not the head where they skrew in. Will earth the head tommorow and see if that makes a difference should be earthed anyway lol. As you said hotwire i was trying to wire the fuel injector sender to the gauge and have since tried the coolant sender behind it but still no go, will try ur test in the morning. As far as the motor getting warm enough it should be, the thermostat is brand new. In saying that I have a thermatic fan switch which kicks in at 87deg which is rather low and the fan still seems to take ages to switch on... maybe i have a major air pocket somewhere... Lots of things to look at so will see what i can do tommorow. One other question im still using the 4 cylinder gauge cluster in turn the rev counter is way out, does anyone know where i can read up how to rewire or whatever has to be done for it to work with the timing of the 6 cylinder motor. I know it can be done but cant find any info on R3VLimited or Bimmerforum... Thanks for all the help guys, Luke

As stated I need a 2.93: 1 Ratio E30 Diff. Swaps or name me a price Cheers, Luke

Yea i thought it may have been the gauge but i hooked up a spare sender and ran an earth wire off one pin to an earth point on the chasis and ran another positive wire from the other pin to the wire that switchs the gauge. I then held the sender on a hot surface and the gauge needle started to move so its either the sender on the motor or the wiring...

Hey guys, does anyone know where the collant sender is on the M50B25 motor? When i turn the car on the needle doesnt move unless i tap the cluster. When i tap the cluster it jumps to the cold position (have to do this every time i turn the car on). Now when i let the car warm up for like 10mins the needle stays at the cold position and never moves up. Would this be the sender or the gauge being faulty? Cheers, Luke

Well finally had the exhaust done yesterday waaaaaay to loud need a descent muffler in the middle of the system somewhere any recomendations, running 2.25 pipe. As far as performance im very impressed half the reason being due to such a close ratio gearbox as some of you told me, the acceleration is good. Definitely need a lower ratio diff i think? Few small bits and pieces need tidying up ill get some more pics and vids etc off exhaust and other things i have left out for the conversion. Anybody got a long ratio diff that they would swap by any chance?

Yea nearly done haha just waiting for the exhaust to be finished aye gonna be expensive!!!! Haha aite dude i think a few ppl will wanna talk soon.....yea loving the height aye shes pretty low dont think its legal anymore oh well hopefully get it all certed for its height. Luke

Haha dunno yet man gutless as without the exhaust manifold on there being no back pressure. Also the 1:1 gearbox ratio made it feel real reevy but felt like i was going no where fast lol... will find out tommorow i guess when the manifold and exhaust is all attached up. Will post up more pics when the engine bay is all finished and photos of the exhaust etc.

Cheers man think u helped me out too so thanks aye, I ended up using the yolk off the 318i auto driveshaft and had it welded to the ZF box driveshaft. Lol the feeling of being electricuted? haha yea feels mint aye! you should try jamming ur finger between an auto gearbox when it falls over and wedges ur finger between a sharp piece of steel lol.... Try find that vid Gus ive got another one now of it driving down the road and some clearer pics...

SUCESS!!!!! Started her up yesterday finally Got a new motor last week from Birch Ave Autospares in Tauranga, same place and same motor my manual ZF box came from so should have just got that motor in the first place... Man what a mission dropping the motor in with the gearbox attached! Such a tight fit really really hard to get it to sit into the engine mounts, ended up ripping the E28 mount that is needed for the conversion so had to use my original M40 318i mount and it seems to do the same job so dont see the need for the E28 mounts for a M50 conversion? Got everything together by Saturday night and the starter motor just wouldnt fire over.. ended up with a fire in the engine loom so had to strip down the intake manifold and follow the wire that burnt out. It ended up being a earth wire from the oil sump level sensor. Took me and my mate a while to figure it out then realised that i hadnt earthed the motor to the chasis so the starter motor was earthing through the nearest wire it could find I guess which was the burnt out wire.... temporarily held a thick wire against the body of the starter motor and my mate held the other end against the chasis and BANG got the meanest zap thru my finger (hole in my skin and burnt my flesh to a nice yellow colour) Apart from being zapped to mars the starter motor also turned over and we knew it was an earthing issue. So motors all together now. Had to relocate power steering canister as it was in the way of the inlet pipe coming from the AF meter. Also the inlet manifold is still like 1mm away from the brake booster even tho i changed to a smaller VW one :S... Car is going into the exhaust shop tommorow and have an M52 tubular manifold coming from Ray at HELLBM which will need modifying to fit. Thanks to all you guys for the help aye much appreciated especially Ray, Jonty, Brent i think JP helped out a bit and i know theres more of you sorry if i forget ill try remember haha. Heres some pics and a real short video of it running with no manifold, enjoy guys! Video.... Cameras stuffed those photos came out way to blurry try and get some better videos and pics asap Cheers guys, Luke

Hey all, uregently need a set of M52 Exhaust Headers for my E30 M50B25 Swap preferably before tuesday morning... Name me a price and ill get back to you Cheers, Luke

Lol what? That is pretty dodgy not exactly hard to get two things the same lenght aye haha!

Oh true cheers man i'll look into that, just the steering is in the way so gotta get around that somehow. Yea I have no idea to be honest what to expect from this conversion, I've talked to peoeple with E34/36's with M50B25's and they say the go all good but I wont be satisfied till I drive it haha

Haha hardly as bad as MIDAS we used to have here, welds broke clean off on one of my exhaust on my honda lol, chur bro Thanks man