charles28 136 Report post Posted September 23, 2007 Hi Guys, I'm wondering if I can possibily install a 3litre V8 engine from a mid 90's 730i BMW into my 1997 320i, this would give me better fuel economy than the stock 150hp 2litre straight 6 as the engine wouldn't have to work very hard to carry the E36 chassis around. (and I get the added bonus of a V8 Soundtrack) Has anyone performed a conversion like this before? I would keep the transmission auto, but i'd assume that I would need to use a 7 Series transmission anyway.. What other engines should I consider for this conversion? I thought of the 730i engine due to only being 3L but still having the V8 sound. Cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
madandy 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2007 A bloke in Tauranga put a Lexus V8 into a 3 series compact and there's a V8 E30 on the boards so your suggestion must be doable. Why stop at the 3L though when a 4.4L would be awesome! > ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drifty325i 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2007 Hi mate, its a good idea and been done alot overseas esp in the UK. Ive got a lexus v8 in my e30 (almost finished lol) Those 3l BMW V8s only make around 220hp from memory but will still make an e36 move and they rev well, also those engines are also alot cheaper than the 4.0l and 4.4l V8s that make at least 286hp. do it do it, haha cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Neal 543 Report post Posted September 24, 2007 Hi Charles28 Alpina paved the way for this. Google Alpina B8. Alpina made around 220 E36 based V8 Coupes. They ended up being 4.6 L engines. I saw one of these on the M1 around London last year. Pistonheads.com has one for sale so you can get the general jist of it. I believe that the issue with RHD versions is the exshaust manifold does no allow for RHD steering . Maybe that's just a case of getting custom manifolds done. I'd love to do this conversion my self at some stage if it's possible. http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/184790.htm (link to B8 for as long as it lasts) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wms 1 Report post Posted September 27, 2007 Go for it Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bravo 35 Report post Posted September 28, 2007 Something a bit different Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
international 0 Report post Posted September 28, 2007 A bloke in Tauranga put a Lexus V8 into a 3 series compact and there's a V8 E30 on the boards so your suggestion must be doable. Why stop at the 3L though when a 4.4L would be awesome! > ? I would agree....if you are doing something along that kind of scale...you might as well do it big and good Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
conrod 1 Report post Posted September 28, 2007 Hi Guys, I'm wondering if I can possibily install a 3litre V8 engine from a mid 90's 730i BMW into my 1997 320i, this would give me better fuel economy than the stock 150hp 2litre straight 6 as the engine wouldn't have to work very hard to carry the E36 chassis around. (and I get the added bonus of a V8 Soundtrack) Cheers If you are doing it for fuel economy, you might be disappointed! Yes it won't have to work as hard, but that is 3 litres of engine to feed with fuel, and not two! While it is true that sometimes a higher capacity/higher torque engine fitted along with a taller diff ratio can give better fuel economy, it is not always the case. Having said that I think you will find the guys on this board get really good mpg figures from their 540i's etc. You will probably pay a bit less for a 3 litre than a 3.5,4.0 or 4.4 but if you are going to the trouble of fitting one of these engines (and it is a fair bit of work!) then you may as well go the whole hog and fit the 4.0 or 4.4 and give it some real grunt! In my humble opinion of course!!!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
