E30 m30 conversion?

[smackmybutter535i]

Sounds sweet. I don't know where but I've heard about this from someone on here I would like a little more info about it. is there any technical articles about it. This sounds badass, any experiences? Lemme know whats up guys. Thanks.



[Edit by smackmybutter535i on [TIME]1115055797[/TIME]]

[derek]

http://www.e30.de/335e.htm

I saved the engine from my 85 535i, and my next project will be xplnting the engine into my 90 325is. Already has tons of mods including a 5lug / big brake swap, so it just needs more power now

[Newman]

Is there a way to mate the e28 susp to the e30?

[Shawn D.]

[QUOTE="Newman"]Is there a way to mate the e28 susp to the e30?[/QUOTE]
No, and there's no reason you'd want to. The E30 has gobs more options for suspension setups than the E28.

[canyoncarver]

i may be oput of line posting this,.........but gerorge graves, from the santa barbara area just completed an e30/m30 swap..........
and it looks sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet..!!

attached is the link to his website and pics.........


http://photos.tobinhosting.com/Georges-335iS


[Edit by jim@dashop on [TIME]1115071670[/TIME]]

[rs4pro3]

I've done the swap, just about a month after George.
84 633csi engine into my 88 325is, then I did the B35 head and fuel injection swap about 3 weeks ago. It jsut plain screams

[Newman]

I have a good looking(for now, its rusting, and bubbling, and other crap, once that shows thru in prob less than a year, not so pretty) 535is w/ some nice 17s. I also have a moderate looking 325e that may need paint but has not a spot of rust on it and the engine is showing its age, dare I do it? How much would I really dump into this project since I already have the m30 and e30, I'm thinking too much for me to bother with right now.


[Edit by Newman on [TIME]1115086792[/TIME]]

[Damon in STL]

I've done the swap, just about a month after George.
84 633csi engine into my 88 325is, then I did the B35 head and fuel injection swap about 3 weeks ago. It jsut plain screams

Can you tell me what the before and after handling characteristics are like? I've got a spare M30 that I'd like to do something with.

Damon in STL


[Edit by Damon in STL on [TIME]1115121733[/TIME]]

[rs4pro3]

Well when I did the swap I also did suspension changes to combat the swap, just like Alpina and other's did. I installed a m3 rear bar (14.5mm) Full urethane rear end bushings, and a 21mm front bar with longer endlinks making it around a 25mm bar.
You can tell there is more weight over the front end but the car handeled just as good if not better. I went on a GA mountain drive to Elijay with some local guys and almost everyone let me go infront of them as I was hanging all over them. A guy with a M-Roadster had a hard time hanging in the corners( I don't think he was driving it to it's full potential). I'm taking it to the Tail of the Dragon Saturday and will see how it does in the Sharp corners and wee how well it's tossable.
Also the car already had Racing dynamic springs and bilsteins. When you look at the numbers the m30 weighs around 100lbs more then an m20 and just a few pounds more then an m50 which many people have swapped into the E30's.
I absolutly love it and am glad I didn't go the M50 route.

[canyoncarver]

hey guys...quick question. in swapping the m30 in...did you use the mounts that were posted here earlier...the ones fabbed in the uk..?
im having ideas again.......

[rs4pro3]

I purchased mine directly from www.e30.de and then George fabbed his own with M3ryan's help.
Here are some pics of my engine when I was doing the B35 head swap.

[Matt]

Will the M30 fit into the E30 318i ? It has different front and rear subframes/etc from the 6 cylinder cars.

[rs4pro3]

it will fit, but You'll probally want to change to rear disks in the rear from a 325e, and the larger vented brakes in the front.
Also you'll probally want to put in a Medium case diff to handle the added power.

[RonP]

Jeff Ireland told me that he just completed a swap as well. I would love to do this, even in an e21!

[Newman]

Lets all do it!! ~0
e30s w/ strong e28 hearts


[Edit by Newman on [TIME]1115143354[/TIME]]

[Matt]

rS4pro: thanks. But what is _required_ to make it fit ? To convert the rears to disks you need the whole trailing arm assemblies off a disc car. I also heard that to get beter brakes (or maybe it was an M20) up front you need the hubs/strut casings (and other bits) from the 6 cylinder cars.

There's a cheap 318i i know of near by.. crank windows and sunroof.... track monster in waiting.

.. but i dont want to dive into something where i've got to get all the parts of a 325i anyway :/

[rs4pro3]

the 325e/325i front brakes and rotors will bolt right onto 318i spindles you jsut have smaller struts which are harder to find.
For the rear you'd need the 325e/325i subframe, trailing arms and what not. Best I could tell between my 2 318i's and my 325i's the front
subframes are almost identical.
To make the m30 fit in any e30 depending on position a good bit of hammering is needed
Check out http://www.r3vlimited.com/phpBB2/index.php?f=39 for ongoing threads on different swaps.

[graphite]

I was working on this project as well but have since decided to scrap that idea and work on buying a house, another car and then focusing my rebuilding on the e28. So with that in mind I have a bunch of stuff that i'll sell if anyone decides they want to do this and want some parts.

I've got:
-325i rear trailing arms (disc) with urethane bushings installed (probably pick up only)
-freshly rebuilt and painted black 325i calipers
-teflon coated SS brake lines (from bav auto)
-80k mile e30 m3 power steering rack
-e30.de type II/III engine mounts
-getrag 265 from my 85 535i (263k miles)