rotary e30 engine conversion

[sfk 0]

heya. I'm 33. I live in Auckland (north-west Kumeu area).

I have recently bought a 86 318i pre-facelift e30 coupe.

Pretty standard throughout. Cracked dashboard (I hear that's normal). Peeling clearcoat on roof and boot (is that normal?)

Anyway. It has the M10 single cam engine and an automatic gearbox. I hate autos. My regular car is 5 speed turbo. So already I'm thinking about an engine and gearbox transplant.

The car feels nice to drive. Stable. Responds well to steering. Engine is a bit puss. Auto box is horrid. And the power is missing.

I started looking around at BMW engines suitable for transplant but they all look too complicated and heavy. Even to go with something like a m20b25 requires suspension upgrades etc.

So my current thinking is a 13bt turbo rotary and gearbox swap-in. Argggh! The purists are probably getting angry now. I'm not too fussed with the use of all geniune BMW parts and engines. I really bought the e30 because I love the shape. And I'm going rotary because I root for the underdog.

I know its not a new idea. I'm not too woried about originality. Just looking for an affordable and straightforward project.

So next question is: anyone on this board done it before? coz I wanna pick your brains.

I suppose I need to post pics of the car, but it really ain't much to look at right now.

[Jamez 2147483647]

hey,post some pics up, would be nice to see what you have got to start with. Goodluck with the rotor. Pretty sure your going to spend alot more doing a rotor conversion than a m20b25 swap.

[Forrest 35]

Welcome man,

Not too many hardcore purists on here, just dont put chromes on it

Can't add much re: rotary conversion, but if you want to stick with a e30 diff, I have a really good ratio one that will suit perfectly for free, just if you want to pay the freight up to Auckland.

[APT 195]

Welcome to BS, good on you for thinking of the roatary swap but it will cost alot more than a m20b25 swap as Jamez said.. Cant wait to see the build up

Andrew

[e30plz 1]

Welcome.

Rota conversion will be pretty phat, Looking foward to progress.

Edited June 17, 2009 by E30ONP

[mark247 39]

m50 turbo m50 turbo m50 turbo!

on a serious note, if you wanna put a rotary in it, heaps of people have done it before, but i dont know if any of them are on here.

And when it comes to "rooting for the underdog," having a old bmw in the first place that goes fast is basically the definition of that =P

[Livi 0]

Woooo! Welcome to the forums! sounds like an awesome project! cant wait to see pics and to see the progress!

[drifty325i 0]

Welcome to the forum, I'm sure theres one or 2 rotary powered e30s on here somewhere

[Guest Simon*]

Hi and welcome

There is at least one detailed rotary build with pics somewhere deep in the past of this forum

GL with whatever you do

[zenetti 0]

ROFLMAO at E30onP

[Nobimmer 694]

Welcome.

S4/5 box should fit sweet under that auto tunnel

Pics

[320guy 0]

Dont do a m50.

DEFINATLY DO A ROTA!!!

[e30plz 1]

[tui-ad]Cause you get more miles per gallon, And better reliability[/tui-ad]

[topcat 11]

triple-rota turbo,gets my vote most days.

GL

[*Glenn* 854]

Theres enough room in the engine bay to fit 2....join 2 13B's or 12A's together with an adaptor and faze them. We were going to do this years ago when I was service manager at Giltrap Mazda ( just to be different)

Edited June 18, 2009 by *Glenn*

[antil33t 90]

/me strokes his undeveloped beard....

a pair of 20B's?

[bravo 35]

mmm Twin 20B quad turbo.....

[CamB 48]

Quad rotor in a BMW is, believe it or not, old news:

(sorry - can't remember how to embed and too lazy to search)

Edited June 18, 2009 by CamB

[sfk 0]

well I'm thinking along the lines of a 12a non-turbo right now. because I have a turbo car already and I'd like to use cheaper 95 octane and because I want a carb under the hood. It just looks better.

As for the pics, i can get some on the weekend but really, not much to look at right now. it does have the original bottlecap alloys though, which are kinda cool. And an original emergency tool kit. bonus!

the spoiler has gone rotten throughout so I tossed it. needs those holes filled coz rain is getting in. that's fine I can fix the holes before its repainted.

I have another e30 which is going through engine replacement surgery. not an upgrade. just replacement. the original had a bad bearing shell on one of the big-ends. so the engine is out and replaced with another one. m10. 1.8l. bit shabby, but I'm told it runs. Noticed some axial play in teh crankshaft front to back which seems excessive. probably accounts for the low oil pressure lamp which comes on at idle when the engine is warm. This engine was from a manual gearbox car, so possibly the clutch pressure plate going in and out has caused the wear??

anyway. didn't want to get into pulling the replacement engine apart to get to the bottom of the oil pressure problem. most likey the bearings are a little warn on this one too.

the original engine is in parts all over my workshop. the crank is pretty rooted on one of the big ends. nasty rough surface. I guess it could be ground down... cheaper to replace. But ultimately better to replace with another newer engine.

So the silver one just needs its brains plugged back in, and some oily new blood in the the trans and engine, plus some minor parts connected back up then (knock wood) she'll spring back to life.

The blue one is complete and running but failed WOF on some rust in the front right guard, tyres on the rear. pretty minor. that's the one I'm contemplating putting the ROTARY in. that or just fix it to WOF and sell... not sure.