Motor Swaps

e32lover · Joined: 12 Sep 2007 Posts: 1

Hi my name is Michael, and i plan to do the same swap as Nial did. I have a 1977 E21 BMW 320i. I talked to my mechanic about it, i originally was looking at putting in an M30 3.5, but because the 320i (unlike the 323i) doesnt have a cutout of for the raiator, i would have had to chop the front of the car up to fit it.

The car is in pretty good condition, sat in a garage its whole life, original paint is in great condition, the car has 160k's on it, with full service history, and it runs amazingly for a 30 year old car. I feel as though it is a bit of a shame to remove the engine since it is running so damn well, but thats life. The car is pretty much stock, except i removed the busted a/c system and put on a new exhaust with extractors. Even though in its current state it is gutless, it is still an absolute blast to drive, It is just so nimble and raw, and i just cant wait till it has a bit more power.

I would like to do the engine swap over a pretty long period of time, probably 6 months or so, just a bit each weekend, and replace all the springs and shocks (obviously), brakes, and heaps of other stuff too. I would like to keep it looking completely stock from the outside.

Here is a pic of the cute little bm:

niall · Joined: 06 Sep 2007 Posts: 153

Hi michael, its good to see someone else keen on doing the swap, your car looks like it is in good condition, maybe better than mine.

so far my conversion is sailing along nicely without any major hickups . just as you intend to i am only doing little bits at a time when i am not busy. since i dropped the suspension out to install the new engine i will be replacing the front shocks and springs and a few other things. my advice to you would be to start looking for a good RB20 silvertop conversion package, get some prices from some wreckers, e-bay and forums like www.skylinesaustralia.com , www.boostcruising.com

i bought a red top motor witch is older and less powerfull but i got it for the right price so i couldnt pass it up.

the conversion packages can vary quite a bit in price whic is why i would start looking well in advance, make sure you test the compressions before you buy, anwhere around 140 to 150 is what you would expect. if you buy a front of half cut it might be possible to run the engine in the donor vehicle.

_________________