Jacko

Possible that the guy I bought it off had two e30 coupes, one was a wrecked with SKISHD plates, and then something happened to mine that caused all the windows to blow out? Weird. Maybe SKISHD is actually my car, but the plates etc are off another e30 of the same basic spec? Mysterious, I wonder what happened.

I ran my E30's plates through carjam.co.nz, it came up all kosha as far as i can tell, in terms of registered details matching realoem's VIN description of my car. It also came up with two personalised plates on my car in its past - MSPORT and BEMAR in 94 and 96.. Thats cool.. but It didnt list the personalised plate that is etched into the windows SKISHD. I bought the car in ohakune, from a guy who owned the ski shed, so the etching kinda made sense, but why is this plate not listed by carjam? IS the glass in my car swapped from another that had SKISHD plates? I ran the SKISHD plates and they look to have belonged to an MX5 since new??? Weird, anyone got any ideas?

Nah dont think its a tech1 spoiler either, well its different too mine anyway, but its tech 1ish! I want those wheels and whatever he has attaching them to the car

Skrillz - Where did you find this one? Its the shizzle, my left nut to get my tech 1 coupe sitting like that. Are they 16 or 17's?

Read through ya thread man, all of em Be sure to keep us updated, all your troubles are making me start to dread swapping an M52 into mine! Hoping for a "I connected X to Z and it started first pop" post!

Shweeet as, thankyou muchly. Makes it much easier.

Wondering if a clutch kit for a m20b25 will fit in my m20b23's flywheel, or if they are a different diameter? Im swapping out the engine for a M52B28, and am using the b23's flywheel and gearbox (Getrag 260) and there is a lot of HD clutch kits ive found for 325's.

Thanks Man, Good photos. Exhaust looks easy enough to tweak, Ive got a sneaking suspision we might make the headers from scratch, I had a looksee this morning, think I can use the exhaust thats on it the moment (looks like its been replaced in the past) and makes the right noises. Hopefully its not gonna choke the M52. Thinking I might as well do the sway bars at the same time as doing all the bushes, seems a bit halfassed to do it well.. half assed Ill start a thread in the projects page when she gets wheeled into the shop.

Thanks man, ill go hit em up. I think "stage 2" will be some M325 sway bars and do the bushes on those, not much point replacing the bushes on the girly sway bars on mine at the moment, then find an LSD and 325 rear end. Then the respray... should be a fun car at the end and save it from the wreckers yard. The Missus says WTF, buy a fecken Toyota

Thanks for all the advice hybrid, much appreciated. Can you recommend a place to go for the clutch? Im gonna use the M20 flywheel, skimmed to address the clearance problem. Mate is a pretty shed hot at fabricating, and has all the gear, so the exhaust should be a non issue, it'll be tight around the steering linkage but nothing ridiculous. Found some good resources on pre f/lift E30 wiring too so with a bit of headscratching and a multimeter pretty sure we can get it running, as long as we can keep the smoke in the wires. Gathering Ill need an E34 dipstick too, sounds like the M20 oil pump is the go. Whats with the driveshaft hoops for the cert? Sounds ugly! aft of the bellhousing is is all staying stock. That realoem.com is the business!

Sweet Cheers hybrid, handy to know hellbm has the gear. All these acronyms are confusing. Does anyone sell a suspension bush kit for an E30? The whole lot in one box

Pm'd

Cheers

Heya, Been procrastinating about doing this swap for too long, been spening all the time and money on the other addiction (Rc planes). But its time to do the swap and give the old girl a birthday, before the factory 145000mile m20b23 goes bang. Ive gone through and read what must be every guide/blog/thread online about the swap. But still have a few questions, maybe the aint been asked before, maybe im being dense Its an 1985 Mtech 1 coupe, manual 2.3. Guessing it has the Getrag 260 box. While its getting the swap im gonna do all the suspension bushes (got new shock and springs last year), change the gearbox output shaft seal, give the brakes some love with new rotors and good pads (green stuff the way to go?) Got a favourite fluid? Im taking two weeks off work too live in my mates shop, so ideally I wanna get all the parts I can ready to rock and not be going "oh fudge Im missing a bit" half way through! Mates a decent fabricator and has done umpteen engine swaps, but no bmw ones, so Ill just swing spanners and drink beer while he does the serious work. Anyway, prepare for some questions! - What M52B28 do I want? Any year? is EWS an issue, is there some trick to getting around it? Does it have to be manual or can an Auto ECU work? - So far the shopping list is -M52B28 -E28 M5 mounts. Are the M5 mounts different to standard E28 mounts? -Custom gearbox crossmemember, looks easy enough to make. -Clutch kit. Any recommendations? Its a daily driver so I dont want anything stupid, but still "spirited" daily driver! -Brake booster - Mk1 Golf GTI? Are there others that fit? I can imagine getting a Mk1 booster will be a PITA! -E34 sump ( oil pickup from the M20? ) -Any OEM radiators that'll fit? or is a getting a chinese Ali core and custom the end tanks the go? Obviously wanna ditch the viscous fan and go electric. What thermostat doofas do I need? -Any recommendations for the exhaust? Diameter and mufflers? Dont want it loud. Apart from belts/idlers on the M52, is there anything else I should change before bolting it in to the bay? Any part numbers for the above bits would be awesome, Itll make me sound cleverer when I go hunting for em Cheers for the help.

Yup while accelerating, it seems to be more pronounced in a RH turn. I originally thought it might be the exhaust hitting something, but i good wiggle has proved it to be pretty secure.

Definite knock coming out of my 1985 E30 M323i's ass end, Im assuming it'll be the CV? Does this make sense? Any idea what the damage to my bank account will be for parts? Thanks, Chris

Sold?

Just installed a supersport "cup" kit on my 85 e30 m323i brought off trademe. The guy is very genuine! I was very very dubious about the shocks/springs for the price, but they are really awesome value. Installed them myself and they fit perfectly (rare from a trademe item!), with the exception of the nuts for the top of the inserts which have slightly more thread than the stock ones - but they do up fine anyway. They include all the necessary hardware and the rubber stops for the top of the rear shocks. The finish on the whole kit is as good as any Ive seen. The ride is pretty good, pretty firm but not a pain in the ass - but a huge improvement over the previous setup (god knows what the previous owner was thinking - I had different shocks in the front end!! both of them modified to fit the bimmer). Ive got very limited experience in terms of springs rates etc but i will happily say I prefer it to my old Porsche 944 on koni adjustables!!! Far less harsh but still solid and even more predictable. The best thing is they are actually made in germany Come with the TUV certs and stamps to prove it. Dont be concerned about the price - Id easily buy them again (kinda makes you wonder how other manufacturers justify their prices!) Bad cell ph photos

Still got them? No rips etc?

Woohoo found my login - Yeh they are BBS. They sat fine on my 85 e30 m323 coupe, Pretty sure they are the stock items for an mtech 1 I was tossing up to either give these a restoration job and polish or just get some 17's. Got the 17's instead. The tyres were on the car when I brought it, the shagged tyre is a dunlop or something, the rest are all the same and are in good nick The curbing is OK, I guess you'll see it soon (previous owner was a woman....... ;D ), They need a good clean/soak as they have a good amount of brake dust in the spokes (it doesnt seem too stubborn, as i got a lot off with a halfassed attempt at cleaning them)

Everything runs fine. The cold idle is a bit high but other than shes beaut. It must get a speed signal as well a vacuum signal, maybe thats whats playing up?

From what ive read the only cast iron blocks were only for a few years in US in the mid 90's, and then they went ali too.

Ditto. V interested.

Not a major just wondering if its an easy fix My economy gauge sort of glitches occasionally while stopped, like itll go all the way up to 50mpg then back to zero and then back again with the engine at idle. Taking off and it sorts itself out again. Cheers, Chris.

An m52b28 sounds like me! and its a good 20kgs lighter than an m20! http://www.e3024v.com/ I wont be looking at doing the swap for a few mths, panel and paint and suspension first. But it seems reasssonnably straight forward, and I can use my existing gearbox with modified linkages. One thing im not sure about - what the hell is OBDI? and do I want vanos or would an earlier engine be a better bet, vanos sounds a bit ho hum from what Ive read, but how dicky is it actually? KISS is a good motto for me . Whats the going rate for an m52b28, How quickly do you want to sell yours and how much are you after brent? PM me. In terms on an ecu/loom to use is the stock one going to be the best bet? or am i better off playing with an aftermarket option in the long run? keeping $$ in mind