E30 engine swap options, M20, M30, M50

[m0m0 3]

Hey all, Ive run into some engine trouble with my e30 and it doesnt seem worth fixing for the price Ive been quoted. So instead Im looking at potentially doing an engine swap while in this situation (was my intention from the beginning). Im either looking at an m50, m30 or potentially an M20B25 (currently has the 2.0l, and its an auto) if I can find one.

If anyone has anything along those lines theyre looking to potentially sell or even if someone has a 2.0l M20 thats in not too bad shape I'd love to hear from you

Cheers

Mo

[gjm 3258]

There's been a couple of M30s for sale on here recently - don't know what the situation is with those now.

A lot of people have opted for the M5x series. As it's not a stock E30 engine, or even a direct relation to any which were fitted, there may be some work involved, but given the number of conversions done, there will be lots of info available online.

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

yep no point bothering with M20 unless its for a specific racing class, you just want to keep the car "more original", or you want the cheapest option to get the car back on the road.
M30 is dinosaur tech and boat anchor. was the engine of choice for decades when M5x engines were over 2/3k, but no point doing that now.

i have done a bunch of M52 swaps, its easy to do and my engine of choice. just do plenty of reading, and read through a half dozen build logs and take the average of suggestions as the fact, dont rely on any one person. 

Bear in mind two things, 1/ most of the logs will be in American which means they are left hand drive (important when it comes to exhaust stuff, steering, and clutch control), the pinout tables are not correct for your car, and also 2/ most of the threads if not all are outside of NZ, where rules are generally a lot laxer and do not require the certification process we have. thus you will need to think about things like drive shaft hoops and bump steer tests, possible be forced to upgrade brakes etc. worth looking through the LVVTA Threshold guide as a starting point.

also i recommend swapping to stock E36 steering rack at the same time, they are cheaper now than they used to be, and cheaper than having to make up custom power steering lines to adapt the e36 pump to the inferior E30 unit. use the holden barina / opel corsa linkage youll see mentioned, e30 nuckle on top and e36 on bottom. also means you dont need to recert later down the line when you do it anyway.

having said all that, if i do another swap in the future, i think i will use the M54B30.

[Eagle 1662]

Depends on your budget really, the M20B25 would be cheapest option by far as you can keep everything. Going to the M5X engines is going cost a bit coming from a B20 M20 auto, you'd probably want to manual convert it, upgrade brakes, suspension etc.

M54 is fine if you got knowledge and\or money to do it, otherwise M52 is probably the next best option, it's not quite the power of the M54 but it's cheaper, easier to work on and more reliable.

[Blackie 510]

Don't forget if going manual, the clutch will potentially cost you $1200 alone.

Edited March 29, 2019 by Blackie

[BM WORLD 1283]

have a e30 m20 manual kit for sale with fairly new clutch etc 

[m0m0 3]

Cheers for the advice gentlemen, for the simplicity I'd ideally like to go for the bigger M20 but theyre not the easiest to find in alright condition and people seem to hold onto them. At the same time a later M5x engine would be good for the improved technology and potential later down the track.

21 hours ago, BM WORLD said:

have a e30 m20 manual kit for sale with fairly new clutch etc 

Any idea what you would want for such a kit and clutch? Is it the Getrag260 or the 240? 

[Cammsport 390]

I had a M40B16 in my E30. After dealing with sourcing parts and noisy hydraulic lifters etc. I decided I needed to look at a replacement. Was originally looking for a M20 as well as the M5x swap seemed daunting. But as you said, they're also getting fairly rare and finding a decent low km one with a service history was even harder. So I Googled and Googled, stalked @Nick065 and @_ethrty-Andy_ profiles. Pulled the trigger on a lower km M52B28 E36 with a dodgy gearbox (ended up just being low on AT fluid) for quite cheap. Pulled the required parts from it that I needed. Sold parts off it to recover costs then sold the shell.

Fast forward a couple months and I had a running car that surprisingly quick! Was pretty proud of the effort. Now, parts are everywhere at local scrap yards and new parts are quite cheap from the likes of FCP Euro. 

[BM WORLD 1283]

6 hours ago, m0m0 said:

Cheers for the advice gentlemen, for the simplicity I'd ideally like to go for the bigger M20 but theyre not the easiest to find in alright condition and people seem to hold onto them. At the same time a later M5x engine would be good for the improved technology and potential later down the track.

Any idea what you would want for such a kit and clutch? Is it the Getrag260 or the 240? 

getrag 240 $1200 

http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/61415-bmw-320i-baur-5spd-nz-new-parts-car-bmworld/

Edited March 31, 2019 by BM WORLD

[Jacko 2154]

Go M52, purely as M50s are long in the tooth now, and I doubt there are that many nice ones lying around wreckers yards. 

In regards to wiring, there is a UK guy who made me a table of wiring to go between my old oddball E30 323 sport to an M50 for a paypal'd box of beers. Hit me up if you want his email addy, was very helpful with wiring Car X to engine Y. 

[m0m0 3]

On 4/1/2019 at 11:36 AM, Jacko said:

Go M52, purely as M50s are long in the tooth now, and I doubt there are that many nice ones lying around wreckers yards. 

In regards to wiring, there is a UK guy who made me a table of wiring to go between my old oddball E30 323 sport to an M50 for a paypal'd box of beers. Hit me up if you want his email addy, was very helpful with wiring Car X to engine Y. 

Cheers man, yeah Im thinking M52 might be the way to go, yes please man that would help a lot 

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

S54

/endthread

[francoisv 466]

3 hours ago, m0m0 said:

Cheers man, yeah Im thinking M52 might be the way to go, yes please man that would help a lot 

I have a full M52B28 with everything for sale

[m0m0 3]

On 4/2/2019 at 6:57 PM, francoisv said:

I have a full M52B28 with everything for sale

Haha I was looking at that the other day, just busy doing my homework on what the swap entails before i get to putting money on the table. Theres also the other issue of getting parts to Christchurch of course, but that can be sorted 

[m0m0 3]

On 4/2/2019 at 6:56 PM, E30 325i Rag-Top said:

S54

/endthread

Haha I wish!  That would be a very nice setup if done well. I've seen a few examples from overseas and man do they go

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

Yeah, it's amazing what you can do with an E30 and a sh*t load of cash eh?

Check out Josh's (Hybrid on here) E30 with an S50 swap and a heap of other mods, one of my favourite E30s and probably a car that can hold it's own anywhere in the world. S50s are getting down to reasonable prices now, with all the later engines that are available.