ntaylor90

Managed to borrow a piston ring tool, got the piston rings on and put them into a nicely honed block. I ended up honing myself, which was a neat experience. Won't be a perfect job, but it's also just temporary before I move onto other pistons and cometic HG when I start doing turbo gear. All coming together nicely. Quite proud of my work so far considering I have never undertaken anything like this before. A cool and fun learning experience. Buying all fluids and will start thinking about getting everything together before I chuck it in the Ti! Cheers

Sorry, should have been more specific in saying the engine and gear box have been taken out, and I am using them thanks

Hi guys Recently purchased an e36 325is for its motor and manual gearbox. Am slowly stripping it out and selling parts (for cheap) so send me a PM if you are looking for any coupe parts! Also have some 16 inch M-sport alloys with near new tires from my 318ti that I will do for a good price too. Just ask for photos and I can post Inside is blue navy leather, most of it is pretty good with general wear and tear with some leather cracking. Mechanically everything seems Pretty sound. Thanks!

Yeah, it's a bit of a mess. It's a tiny carport single garage, there is very little space, and lot of other sh*t down there. I am moving soon also, so don't want to spend hours tidying everything up just to move it all again. I know where everything important is (I think...) haha. I have a friend who put together an m50 into a 328 shell as a track car, he didn't care where the valves came out of and where they went in to, mixed exhaust with intake, and in absolutely no order, all very willy-nilly. His car has been running really well for a while now, a year or so, and he ravages it. Is he just very, very lucky? As I said, I hadn't heard of the significance of the valve lengths before. Thanks

Hey Glenn! Thanks for the comment. When I removed the valves I made a number of dashes in red sharpie on the stem (1-12 dashes depending on their position from the front of the head) and also placed them in a piece of cardboard detailing where each one went as a number, so I put them back in the same places. I didn't know how important that was so I'm glad I did that.

Had a productive morning now that the sun is out!! Started chucking all the valves back in. I managed to tackle the first 12 intake valves over the space of around 2 hours hahaha. What a mission. I purchased a valve spring compressor of trade me, it works quite nicely Will do the other 12 tomorrow, and start thinking of putting it all back together (slowly). Woo!

Had to work this afternoon, but had a good morning! Head looks really nice now, and had the tiniest amount skimmed from the block side. Looks really good! Taped it up and painted all the open bits. Taping was a mission, least favourite part (even more tedious than the valve springs.. Haha!) Looks quite nice I think, and I'm far from a professional!!!! Just like the rest I will wait a week for the paint to cure properly, sand it with a very fine grit, and give her a last coat for a nice even finish! Attacked the valve cover (does anybody know where I can get the little rubber grommets for the bolt seals from? They were US$.50 on turner and pelican parts, but $44 for shipping!!!, if I can find a local supplier that would be awesome). Degreased the inside and will attack the outside with wire brush tomorrow and paint Peace for now!

Today was a very productive day! Now waiting for the Crank gasket set and piston rings which should arrive by the end of the month! I started off the day getting the valves out. What a f***ing mission! Haha. I ended up using an F-clamp, and a multi-tool spanner thing, compressed the valves, and then used a little extendable magnet to pick off the little retainers! After the first couple it was a bit easier I will definitely need a proper valve compressor to get them back on! (I had a stanley 'universal' one, that wasn't going to work.) There was a bit of carbon deposit on the valves (mainly the exhaust valves, as you can see) so I punctured a can of CRC Carb cleaner and emptied it into a bucket and soaked the valves in for a good half hour - the carbon wiped right off! Felt like I deserved a beer after that, although it only took me about an hour and a half for all 24! Cleaning up the head now, I was pleasantly surprised with the condition also, a wee bit of head gasket residue which will skim right off nicely! Attacked the Oil Sump and front cover with degreaser, hot soapy water, carb cleaner, and a wire brush on a drill to make it nice and shiny Put on 2 coats of primer, and 2 of gloss black. I will wait until it's properly cured (7 days), sand it down with a tiny grit, and make one last coat. I used Duplicolour engine enamel - had good reviews! Tomorrow I might start attacking the block with the wire brush too as that will get the black too. I also received my Calipers yesterday, so I will start cleaning them up too for a paint. Hope everybody has a great long weekend ahead! Drive safe :F

Thanks. Never undertaken anything like this, but it's really enjoyable, and definitely a great learning curve.

Excuse me, derp moment.

Look what arrived today!! Head up total gasket set. Waiting on crankcase gasket set, Goetze piston rings, and crankshaft align tool. eBay is awesome! I should also have arrive tomorrow, e46 330i big brakes - thanks to Brent at bmworld! Should fit very snugly behind my 17" wheels Will be purchasing a good set of slotted drilled rotors and ceramic pads from eBay when they arrive! Picked up a drill today, some wire wheel attachments, and engine enamel primer to start priming the cleaned up block, head and sump. Taking out valves tomorrow, and will give them a good clean and get the head cleaned nicely! Will be a good weekend Nick

QUBE - I will upload some pictures of her soon! Re: the Evo pistons, they fit nicely onto the stock rods (or Eagle rods if you're so inclined ) with same pin size. They are slightly shorter pistons than stock, and with a bore of 85.00mm instead of 84 like on the m50, so they can be used with an m50 bored to 85mm for a slightly bigger bore and slightly lower c/r. This is what I have been told by crunchy and I trust this man above all others when it comes to bmw and forced induction! I'll be running stock pistons with new rings for now, as I will rebore and put the evo pistons in when it comes time to turbo Thanks for the comments!

The poor old 325is manual for parts Starting to take the front off Up on the jack stands and draining fluids Cylinder head. A bit of carbon buildup on the valves and combustion chamber, but will clean off nicely! Pistons will get a good clean even though I plan on using forged evo pistons in the near future for my Turbo build Starting to get everything off and wiring tied to the side for now Managed to take the block out on a jack with the help of the better half! It's sitting up on a stand, will clean prep and paint it. Really tidy block though I'm pleased with it! That's all I have for now! Much more to come In the near future so stay posted! Nick

Hello everyone! As promised I said I would start a build thread for my m50 swap into my 318ti. I recently purchased a de-reged 325is that was stickered due to excessive rear quarter panel rust. It had the m50, the manual box, and also full leather interior and m-sport body kit. All in all it was a complete car that i am using for parts! Now I'm relatively new to the whole idea of swapping an engine, but relatively confident and competent with engine knowledge and a toolbox! I started tearing apart the m50, and am replacing every single gasket, includ new valve stem seals, new bearings for crank and cams, head bolts (ARP) and stock HG for now. Future plans are to do a lot of aesthetic work on the 318ti, basically make it look less like the bastard child it is, and then move onto Evo pistons (85mm bore, reducing c/r as told by the incredible crunchy) and have a manifold manufactured and wire a nice dirty big turbo onto it for some fun times! I have taken a few pics so far, and will take many more, so I will do my utmost to post them on here for all to see! I'm very excited about this project, have always wanted to swap an engine, and it's also an awesome learning curve for me! Regards to all, (Don't hate the ti ) Nick

Thanks Glenn! I will just get the rev counter calibrated! Thank you.

Thank you for that Brent! Yes I have pre-ews 413 Red label ecu which must make things easier there! So the internal loom will mate somewhere with the engine loom? I haven't pulled the loom right out of the 325is yet, but I'm sure I'll figure It out when I do!! Re calibration of the ti cluster is cool, although am I able to swap in the 6cyl cluster?

I did not know that but that makes perfect sense. Yes it's Bosch red label 413 ecu/non ews

Hi guys (and gals) I am currently amidst an m50 rebuild (for future forced induction build) and manual conversion into my 97 318ti. The only last thing I haven't been able to figure out properly, and the internet is lacking Info on, is this. I am taking the entire loom, engine and gearbox out of donor 325is, taking the entire loom engine and gearbox of my 318ti, and installing the m50 into the ti. The only thing I am stuck on is the dash. Because of the multitude of different switches and controls between the cars, Is it possible to just fit the entire dash from the 325 into the 318ti, or will an easier road be to work out all of the wiring, and rewire to fit the ti switches and knobs, etc. electronics isn't my strongest point and would feel far more comfortable straight swapping the dash over, but was wondering first and foremost if it was possible. I will be starting a build thread shortly! Many regards in advance, Nick (welly)

Hi all! I have just come across an m50 block which I picked up yesterday. It's in a really good condition apart from a minuscule lip on the top of the bore, nothing major just from use over time. The m50 is going to be my base for a turbo project I am doing, but what I am wondering is this: I was originally planning an m50 2.8 stroker using the m50 block with everything moved across from the m52b28 and then arp/mls headgasket/front bottom mount, etc. I was going to get the m50 bore re-honed but do you think, with even a tiny lip, that it will need to be rebored to allow for the higher moving piston due to the increased stroke? If this is the case will it be more economical to wait for an entire m50b25 and just turbo that, or rebore the m50 block and continue as planned, and how much is it usually to get a block rebored? The only other thing I am worried about here is that due to the block being slightly worn, a rebore to original standards is impossible due to the wear? Like you can't rebore 84mm if the bore has been worn out to 84.02mm or something? Thank you in advance, Nick

Hi all! I have just come across an m50 block which I picked up yesterday. It's in a really good condition apart from a minuscule lip on the top of the bore, nothing major just from use over time. The m50 is going to be my base for a turbo project I am doing, but what I am wondering is this: I was originally planning an m50 2.8 stroker using the m50 block with everything moved across from the m52b28 and then arp/mls headgasket/front bottom mount, etc. I was going to get the m50 bore re-honed but do you think, with even a tiny lip, that it will need to be rebored to allow for the higher moving piston due to the increased stroke? If this is the case will it be more economical to wait for an entire m50b25 and just turbo that, or rebore the m50 block and continue as planned, and how much is it usually to get a block rebored? The only other thing I am worried about here is that due to the block being slightly worn, a rebore to original standards is impossible due to the wear? Like you can't rebore 84mm if the bore has been worn out to 84.02mm or something? Thank you in advance, Nick

Awesome!!! So I've decided to go down the M50B25 + Turbo route. I think for $10k plus I could make a relatively nice setup on the engine, might even consider new rods and pistons and push for a bit more.. Originally I think I would be incredibly happy with 350-400whp, which I believe can be done on stock internals (new bearings, rings, etc). Over and above the 10,000 I would look at getting a better diff (something below 4.** haha), get the rear suspension sorted out, the front should be easy, and do quite a bit of cosmetic stuff Exciting stuff!! Thanks for the warm welcome

Brent, that's awesome. 126wkw standard is a pretty sweet deal from just the transplant. I'm thinking ill definitely head down the m52 path, it seems that the m50 intake manifold is the way to go too? Ill have to read more as to why Thanks!

Sp8s, legend, thank you so much for that that's an invaluable read. Awesome

Thanks so much I've heard the iron blocks are essential for boost application, thanks Blonky, that would be fun! 15psi is a nice amount, that's not bad for price either Thanks heaps gents

Oh yeah that looks gorgeous, I really like the shape. A little spoiler at the back adds a whole new look too. Awesome After reading a lot, and listening to a lot of exhaust sounds on YouTube haha, I think the m52 will be the way to go for me. I also kind of like the idea of keeping the bimmer engine in there. And as much as I love the idea of the SR20det, the 2jz and the LS1, I think the 'ease' of the m52 stands out. I mean it's meant to fit in that engine bay, mating it with the right box won't require a new driveshaft, and it will make the electronic side of things significantly easier (unless I'm being naive.) I know it will still take a lot of work and $$$ but I think it would be plenty worthwhile Here are a few nice ones too. Colour isn't everyone's cup of tea but I like it! Yummy Just kidding ya with that one. What an abomination.