My m30 swap - TONS of pics...

[george graves 0]

Here is a pictural of my m30 swap - Can't tell you how much fun(and pain) I had with the project...I did it about 2 years ago, and the car is a blast to drive - the 3.5L really moves a e30. So here it is. Enjoy! (sorry if my spelling is off - it's 3am!)

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[george graves 0]

A few months before the swap, I was parked on the “bad side of town†and some a-hole backed into me hard. He pushed my radiator support in about 2 inches – well that had to be fixed. A ‘come-along’ and one tree later it was.

[george graves 0]

Hey who is that guy? (M3 Ryan - he's the man!!!)

[george graves 0]

It's a good thing we were doing this now, as we need every inch or room under the hood for the M30...

[george graves 0]

Finding the right motor was hard – finally I came across a MINT e24 being parted out (rear end accident). 90k on the clock, and an AUTO!!! So I knew this motor had been treated nicely! Sweet!

Here is the "donor" car.

[george graves 0]

I paid $800 shipped from Oregon. The bummer was that I needed to pick it up at LAX, about 100 miles away. Hey how much can an uhaul cost for a short trip to LA? The truck says $19.95 a day. Little did I know…That would bite me on the ASS...

[george graves 0]

I asked him to let me drive the fork lift - no go...

[george graves 0]

$19.95 MY ASS!!!!

[george graves 0]

Oh - and a full lift and a engine hoist come in handy for work like this...

[george graves 0]

After I paid the enormous uhaul bill (over $300 for the truck rental – f**king apes) I finally had my motor – opened up the crate – to see…well a used m30. I’ll need to work on that…

[george graves 0]

[george graves 0]

[george graves 0]

[george graves 0]

[george graves 0]

With only 90k miles on my “new†M30 – there was no way I was going to rebuild it. Those of you who know m30’s, you know they are just getting broken in at 90k. It’s a 400k motor EASY…so time to strip it to a long-block to make sure everything else is ship shape, and some cosmetic touches…

[george graves 0]

Yes the block says 3.5 on it - (later on)careful use of a die grinder got that pesky bugger right off...

[george graves 0]

[george graves 0]

No a smurf did not jizz all over my block – that’s “navel rust jelly†Awesome for removing surface rust. Well not "awesome" – it took about 4 coats and 3 or 4 hours of waiting. And a wire brush, and....but in the end the surface was rust free.

[george graves 0]

[george graves 0]

[george graves 0]

Here is the dolly I made to cart the engine around in the cramped garage. I would soon be know for “walking the dog†every time I drug it by it strap to work on it outside…

[george graves 0]

Wow - lots of varnish - I know the motor sat for a while - but everything seems good.

[george graves 0]

I stripped the block down to a long block - and inspected, repaired or replace anythign worn. Everything got a inspection and a fresh coat of protective paint.

[george graves 0]

[george graves 0]

Did I mention Paint? Oh yea, I may have gone overboard - but I really wanted a shiny motor - and I got it! This all really was a lot of work - and we had'nt even started the swap yet!