Michael.

Yeah I just saw those earlier. $60 for two through that V8 parts guy. Cheap enough. Probably will have to use two. Where to mount it will be the question... drilling holes and tapping a thread through thin under floor sheet metal? Hmmm Ill talk to a certifier tomorrow about it.

Bargh... more work to do. Ridiculous.

I assume you're referring to the 'bracket' that sits under the drive shaft to prevent it from falling down if one of the drive shaft links fail? On the E36s they have one towards the back of the car as stock about 3/4 of a meter before the diff using a 4 bolt mounting setup. So I gather I'll be okay in that regard.

Getting there. Had the engine fired up earlier his week, just perfecting the wiring setup so thing switch off through relays and what not rather than just being hard wired. Best to do it once and do it right so it's safe! Going well just been tight on time after starting a new job. Also got the drive shaft all sorted through BDC in Penrose. Only stuff left to do is cosmetic and a few minor technical things, trans fluid flush, PS flush and to weld up some custom front pipes to the exhaust system. Then once I'm satisfied, might get my mechanic to take a look at it and get his opinion before going off to the certification chaps and giving yet more money away. To anyone interested in an engine conversion, best to double the amount you think you will spend, as that is what it will end up costing!

Happy birthday.

Nope.. Has anything been changed, or happened to cause this? I'd inspect both sides of the suspension to see if anything is visually unusual. Then again, does your E39 have self leaving rear suspension? As I am thinking this is probably culprit.

WHAT? How...

I can vouch for that - the money and time I've spend on the Toyota V8 going into my car is insane, I've done nearly everything bar the welding, I am a slight perfectionist so every little detail has counted. Although, I could have bought an immaculate 540i Motorsport or 330i with the same coin. If it was done by a 'professional' it would have half the effort put into it, and well lets face it, half the fun is building your own car - not paying someone to do it! Bit different with a factory motor conversion, easily done and no custom parts required, but the original poster would be better off just buying a 328i as converting the 318i would be an entire new running gear out of one. $$$

I really dislike that. An Apina or stock 740i would be superior in every way. but of course... each to their own!

Hehe! Well, in seriousness I like the standard appearance a sports orientated car has... like for example an E36 M3 or E39 M5, with their subtle Motorsport components. Fantastic! Of course when I say stock standard, I don't mean a base spec 318ti with 15" hub caps... the sight of that is awful.

Agreed, a 300hp V8 in a E36 is most certainly an interest point of my life.

I commend this sort of maintenance. Especially polishing up the factory exhaust! Fantastic!

After one of these, Needs to be in usuable condition, not leaking

With the old Eaton M90 roots blowers, definitely run a water-alcohol injection kit, makes it savers, get you more power and also counters needing an intercooler on a low boost setup. These kits have been well proven by a few guys I know. WWW.Devilsown.com I vote E34 M30

I'm after some custom nolathane / polyurethane spacers, but they will need to be machined up to the size. Anyone deal with that themselves or know of a place in Auckland I can try? After four spacer disks, 50mm diameter x 4mm thick x 17.5 center bore. Any help would be great!

Only immaculate stock standard cars interest me.

Thats quirky.

I'd assume it would have the infamous shimmy and other steering related issues. 250ks + lowered hmmmm

Looks better than the last series. ...but if I had the choice I'd still rather have a new A4 or S4

I bring out my W126 300SE when it snows, handles perfectly on it.

Uh oh...

Yeah, thats been around for a while that, makes me a little suspicious. What Brent said too, not the tidiest, it's not bad, but looks a bit grotty, I mean if you're not going to bother making the engine conversion clean and tidy, what vital parts have been cheapened out on or not fitted at all? PLUS.... like Brent also said, you could get a 540i M60 for the same money and spend a few grand on it. Since theres already a factory V8 5 series it just seems daft to waste time putting in another make of V8 engine... The only reason I justified fitting the Lexus V8 into my E36 Coupe is because there is no factory V8 option, the car is light and it was a more cost effective option that fitting an M60 which I know little about compared to the 1UZ which I've had experience with for years.

So rapidshare use will be ok for the meantime?

Well, It has taken it's time but my cars very nearly complete. I've finally got the last few minor things to get sorted for the certification for February. Over the last few months I addressed all the main issues I needed to address, it meant replacing the whole front suspension setup so now it has M3 suspension up front, all Lemforder parts and new M3 brakes etc. I also changed the engine mounting system with an improved design so it sat the engine as low as possible and 20mm further back, this also meant making a new gearbox crossmember and driveshaft. My only annoyance is the rear gearbox mounts polyurethane damper is slightly hard, transmitting a few unwanted vibrations, it's probably 80-90 shore hardness so I might drop it down to 60-70 at a later date. I also made up some 4-2-1 headers, which have made a massive difference as expected, cleaner exhaust note and way up on power compared to the woeful stock manifold I had initially. These headers run to a dual 2.25 system I made up with some old RS4 exhaust sections and magnaflow mid mufflers and cats. To accomidate this I had my panel shop cut out the original tire well and weld in a new flat rear floor & reseal it - this meant I had room for the rear mufflers. The last part I've just got working is the 5 speed automatic box with a shift kit (modified valve body) and custom controller, yes it's automatic but very responsive and quick on changes with these upgrades, this is not a lazy automatic! Although I am aware a nice 5 speed Supra manual gearbox would be the best setup for this kind of car, it just has not happened due to the cost.. the auto setup with manual control is 2k vs 6k for a conventional manual - so I might come back to that down the line. Never the less the current setup suits my needs for the meantime! A few pictures: Quite happy with the ride height with the UUC Motorwerks springs supplied by Ray. Needs some more M spec body trim though. Nice and standard inside. Seats also supplied by Ray from a couple of years ago! Tried to keep the engine bay looking clean and standard. Dual 2.25" stainless exhaust Used some E39 M5 heat shields slightly modified for the rear mufflers (thanking Ray for those too!) Headers before welding and completion with a stock manifold in the middle - yuck! (I still need to get the new headers HPC coated, definitely not wrapped.) Good steering arm clearance considering how tight it is, 4-5mm give or take, minimal engine rock too so no contact when under revs either. Not sure how long the rubber dount will last with the heat though? New M3 brakes, using Hawk street pads - should be ok with a bit of soft track use... PCS TCM 2000 Transmission controller - this can do pretty much any gearbox, like a 540i 5 speed zf. Wiring and setting up the gearbox. Upgraded Automatic Valve body and pistons springs. New engine mount cradle and brackets. Here's also the latest clip I made of the exhaust note while stationary Youtube Clip Pretty damn happy although it's been 3 years to date since I first though of putting one of these engines into an E36 so it hasn't happened over night. I ended up doing everything bar the welding and coupled with work during the week it's meant progress was slow, but it's finally how I want it to be for the meantime.

Hahahaha. Excellent.