MattA

Ugly Duckling.. guess it was too shameful for him to come out....

Anyone ever heard of anywhere that can make up badges to match existing, as have been thinking maybe to change the 'i' after my 320 to a '?' just for shits and giggles... seeing as it's now 2.5ltr

'87 320? 170,000km (don't know how many on transplant 2.5ltr engine)

Thanks for the help have flushed the system and bleed it seems to be sweet.. (impressed with the speed and amount of feed back)

sounds like a great idea Ollie!! can u approach my lovely wife and talk her into it

The fan seems to be working fine (it's going round)

It's happened in traffic and on the open road. The problem is not happening with any consistancy my wife called and said it's been sweet today. The radiator and hoses are all new so don't think that will be the prob. thanks (sorry bout the sentence structure and other grammatical errors)

starting yesterday my ride has been getting way too hot (E30 325) it's reading hot on the gauge pushing out water but the radiator is cold to the touch. the gauge isn't staying still its jumping up and down, have pulled the thermostat and it's working fine... Am I correct in thiking it maybe a cracked head gasket or worse and how can I test to find out with some certinty as I don't want to be spending $$ if I don't need too.. any advice would be greatly appreciated..

looked at that option but all the info and advice I could find pointed to many hours at the Auto Electirtians matching the cars wiring to the Motronic system..had 2 auto sparkies look at it and both said $500+ and the $400 or so for the gearbox. In the long run it may have been a better option as Motronic is a newer system but was a student at the time $900 may as well have been $9000..

How bout havin the mercedes on the Bimmer!!

with gas the price it is at the moment AVGAS might be an economical option.. So what do I need to do to the timing if I was to burn some avgas?

Mine was/is L-Jetronic the 325 engine came with Motronic loom, computer and airflow meter but required the crank position and speed sensors in the bell housing of the gearbox and after getting everything in the cars wiring was not compatable with the Motronic system. Easy way round is to sell the Motronic loom and computer and use the L-Jetronic this entails fitting the distributer from the 320 to the 325 block (just pull the blank and fit check that you get the dissy aligned correctly or the timing will be way out) use the leads from the 320. take the distributer off the cam shaft on the 325 and fabricate a cover (don,t laugh but I used an aluminium pot lid polished but). You need to fit the temp idle valve thingy from the 320 and do away with the Motronic ICV also need the vacuum fittings off the 320 intake manifold. You need to install vacuum advance/retard lines on the throttle body there is a blank that you can use for 1 the other I drilled and tapped and used a 2mm gas fitting (grind and polish the inside of the throttle body or it will whistle like a sheep fiddler). I tried to locate them as close as possible to the same postition as on the 320 throttle body as best as I can tell the only real crtical thing is that the internal diameter is the same as on the 320 throttle body otherwise it over advances/retards. The air flow meter from the 320 works sweet (the 325 one wouldn't work and they are the same diameter) the only other things that I can think of where some adaptation of the radiater hoses and a bit of fiddling to get the timing right nothing too tricky the fuel air mix is still not right but that due to me not using a CO/2 meter (it runs a bit rich). I did the whole job in our garage with the bare minium of tools (a cheap set of ring spanners a warehouse socket set and a few tool that I found in my father-in-laws shed (he's a builder) My experiance with mechanics is until this project limited an engine swap on a HQ wagon, oil changes etc. My greatest souse of information came from the public library and internet. Total cost about $1500 but it did take me a lot of time. I don't know how much power I have gained but it's a whole shitload of fun now.. If anyone wants more info let me know

Try BMWarehouse (Mosen Europarts) would be about $100 I think? I got one from them some time ago but didn't need it (returned and got refund) good guys to deal with have been real helpfull ph 07 8466671

My first Bimmer a 320i '87 only to discover aftre a few weeks that it wasn't all it seemed.. so after much research decided to repower with 2.5ltr. Everything bolts straight in but be prepared to do a lot of cussin as the electrics were a headache.. Way worth it but.. I have heaps of Information if anyone is thinking of goiong down this path..

Am on the lookout for an E30 LSD not holding my breath as I know they are getting hard to find. Ratio of 4.10:1 would be nice. Have upgraded my 320 to a 325 goes like stink but a bit hard to get the back end to behave.. Cheers Matt