My Project

[nz320i 0]

One day a while ago a person decided to wrap this around a power pole, and here she is in my garage getting stripped, im itching to fire it up again in my 320i!!

[nz320i 0]

Spagetti - dreading this part, i am swapping the entire loom over and the dash i think its going to be the real time taking part..

Edited May 21, 2006 by nz320i

[nz320i 0]

the only real prob is that the 318is has no dizzy rotor its all electronic and i have to mount this in my car, could be cable ties for a couple of weeks i think till i figure it out... also i thought this would be a good chance to slim down some wiring, the abs will not be transfered into my car, im still deciding wether to put the 51mm struts in as well, as my 40p offset wheels wont go on, looking at some 17x7.5 BBS wheels from bridgestone now so i can put the struts on without the need of spacers.

Edited May 21, 2006 by nz320i

[nz320i 0]

Also does anyone know where i can download the entire bently manual i have got the one from here but its missing the gearbox chapter and the wiring diagrams which i need,

also would it be a silly idea to loose the abs or put some more hours in and keep it...

[Guest Andrew]

Cool project - will be good fun.

[nz320i 0]

I hope the engine holds up with revving etc, i found a bolt sitting in the bottom of the sump today it had either been left out or somehow come undone as it bolted staight back in just above the sump....pics will tell

[ducatiss 1]

Looks like you have your work cut out there. I have just finished a dash swop (this weekend) and it wasnt as bad as I first thought. I had been putting it off for months but the dash was out in three hours and back in with all the electrics in four. From the looks of your photos, you have already done the hard yards as far as the dash goes. As for the loom, lable everything!!! It might pay to lay out both looms on the garage floor before you start putting in the replacement.

Re the struts, my advice would be to go for the 51mm units. Much easier and cheaper to source a set of 51mm Bilstein Sports from the States that way. If you already have a set of good sports shocks in your smaller struts housings, then just keep those. Good luck.

[nz320i 0]

Looks like you have your work cut out there. I have just finished a dash swop (this weekend) and it wasnt as bad as I first thought. I had been putting it off for months but the dash was out in three hours and back in with all the electrics in four. From the looks of your photos, you have already done the hard yards as far as the dash goes. As for the loom, lable everything!!! It might pay to lay out both looms on the garage floor before you start putting in the replacement.

Re the struts, my advice would be to go for the 51mm units. Much easier and cheaper to source a set of 51mm Bilstein Sports from the States that way. If you already have a set of good sports shocks in your smaller struts housings, then just keep those. Good luck.

about the dash... it moves heeeaps, and i have taken a bolt out from each side of it, but it still doesnt want to come right out... did you take all the airvent stuff off before it came out?? and yes i will be drawing lots of pics and labling heaps this week and get into the bif stuff at the weekend!

[Gus 5]

good on ya

my projects sucking hard right now...current manual swap on anothers car stalled due to a different threaded receiver on the brake bar...pedal box back out again! effin ridiculous

and had to tow mine back from Mt Welligton with a melted wiring loom!

[nz320i 0]

Well, i have talked to an experienced racing car builder at GAC in chch knows his sh*t!! he told me stick with the 6 and i think i might just do that, had a long talk to him, think i will swap interiors and dash, and also diffs so i can be at lower revs on the open road...didnt really want to do this but im taking advice from someone who has done this stuff for years..so anyone interested in a twin cam??

[bmwsparkle 3]

old c**t was only probably keen for it cause it was bigger CC, meh etc, did you tell him that the 1.8 had more power? keep on doing what you were man.

[nz320i 0]

its so annoying to hear from someone aye, but i think he was right, he builds 2.8 strokers for like 8000 bucks and tunes all sorts, e36 touring cars etc he knows a lot, he said he has seen those engines blow etc, im confused grr kinda want to do it anyway but he may be right..

[Guest Andrew]

its so annoying to hear from someone aye, but i think he was right, he builds 2.8 strokers for like 8000 bucks and tunes all sorts, e36 touring cars etc he knows a lot, he said he has seen those engines blow etc, im confused grr kinda want to do it anyway but he may be right..

He does know his stuff -

However - the M42 is a great little motor and pretty easy to find (if it does break). It WILL handle better - probably overall feel slower than say a 325 - but in most senses its just as quick.

[nz320i 0]

right, i drive my car maybe twice a week, i see no harm in using the engine, as its in better shape than the 320i, still not sure what to go with yet..lol its getting anoying i can see me not getting much sleep tonight got so much stuff on at the moment !! arhhh

[nz320i 0]

CAR FOR SALE!!!!

Taking advice from an old timer who know s his stuff- not like me but i think it would be wise!!

Engine and Gearbox, Loom, ECU all there its all you need!! Ive taken the radiator sorry but easily put another in..offers?? prob best it goes to a better home i really want to see it worked and i never had the cash to do this..chip it etc

[325GRANT 0]

good on ya for making the choice to stop a project, its never an easy decision to make.

better to kill it now then $$$'s later.

[Gus 5]

gutted man

did the dude say WHY? i hate people not giving decent reasons, as to me it seems a relatively good idea...although on the other hand a 2.5 or bigger bolts straight in and would be better overall...take the bigger struts and everything else though

so tempted..but what on earth would i do with one!

price all uP?

but yeah better to kill it now than halfway through!

[nz320i 0]

yeah im taking all the good bits man! and he reckoned they can blow rods throught the block, he just said they have no power untill you rev the crap outta them and its not the best engine to do it to.....but yeah taking the bigg sway bar and struts, so will sell engine box loom ecu abs etc for i duno 800 bucks heaps more bits that i cant remember is this reasonable??????

[nz320i 0]

so annoying cos the 51mm struts wont let my 40p offest wheels fit hahaha so ermm might sell them too as ive seen some bbs i want real bad...

[Guest Andrew]

I could be tempted - but spending money on racecar right now - not Ruby.

[Surge 1]

Aquired this project last night - work has begun and (thanks to all Chris' work) the engine is out and most of the loom - swapping everything (including most panels) to my prefacelift 318i tommorow.

Not many prefacelift's with a M42 in them!

[conrod 1]

yeah im taking all the good bits man! and he reckoned they can blow rods throught the block, he just said they have no power untill you rev the crap outta them and its not the best engine to do it to.....but yeah taking the bigg sway bar and struts, so will sell engine box loom ecu abs etc for i duno 800 bucks heaps more bits that i cant remember is this reasonable??????

FYI anything will blow a rod through the block if you rev the crap out of it- rod bolts/conrods are generally the weak link in any production engine. The M42 is a fabulous engine, very underrated IMO, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. These were the basis of the S42 SuperTourer engine that replaced the legendary S14, so that tells you something! Okay they are only 1800cc, but a friend of mine turbo'd his ( I fitted the Motec and a few other bits) and it was very strong- over 300hp with loads of torque. And on standard rods and crank too! We built an "experimental" one for the NZ touring cars as an alternative to the six cylinder M52 engine, and it showed real promise, before the project was shelved. Definitely quicker than an M20 2.0, not as quick as an M20 2.5, but will be better balanced and lighter in stock trim. :thumb:

[Surge 1]

Have any ideas to how these engines are 'base modified' - they already come with nice things factory that I don't think for it's current output could be improved upon - headers etc.

How did your friend conrod tackle the compression, it's 10:1 factory which is quite up there for a turbo setup, also the location of the turbo - not as much room as an M10 in terms of palcement due to the engine being closer to the chassis on the exhaust side.

I'm removing the cat out of the exhaust system which should help and replacing it with a coby - but at the same time I don't really want to do too much to it as it's only an engine thats going to get me around while my M50 is built up...

[conrod 1]

To answer your questions briefly, he fitted JE 8.5:1 comp pistons, and the turbo was placed up high, around the area the washer bottle normally sits. There is not much option other than down low at the rear, but then things get really tight, and you have to run a scavenge pump for the turbo drain, and it starts getting messy. First manifold was fabricated by cutting up the stainless M42 headers, but this did not last so a modified Mosselmann turbo ex. manifold was used, this has proved to be more robust than the original setup.