M5 Swap

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#1
I know we can swap somewhat with ease with a m50 engine, but would a 91' m5 engine fit in? I know money can do anything but would it be about the same difficulicy as a m50? I think if you would drop a m5 engine in a little e30 would be pretty tits. Im saving up for a m50 right now
 

mikev

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#3
91 is the E34 3.6 M5? IT WILL NOT FIT. The 3.8 which my dad has is only slightly different in size from the 3.6. Both engines almost fill the Big 5 series engine bay. the M5 has 6 throttle bodies, trick air intake, Lets just say the engine is HUGE. and you'd get better results if you went for the smaller engine and fitted a turbo.
 
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#4
Uh, actually it will fit, but it will take some basic fab skills to get it in there.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=929414

The black one there on the top is an s38 turbo, and as Im sure you can see weve got a v12 shoehorned into that other e30.

Heres another s38 turbo with a custom manifold

http://www.schwarztwo.de/e30/fotost/f00074/f00074.htm

And one with the stock manifold

http://www.e30-2.de/st/fcabrio/fcabrio.htm
http://www.schwarztwo.de/e30/fotost/f00184/f00184.htm

And a bunch of badass e30s with a variety of conversions

http://www.e30.de/e30monat.htm
 
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mikev

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#5
travis325is said:
Uh, actually it will fit, but it will take some basic fab skills to get it in there.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=929414

The black one there on the top is an s38 turbo, and as Im sure you can see weve got a v12 shoehorned into that other e30.

Heres another s38 turbo with a custom manifold

http://www.schwarztwo.de/e30/fotost/f00074/f00074.htm

And one with the stock manifold

http://www.e30-2.de/st/fcabrio/fcabrio.htm
http://www.schwarztwo.de/e30/fotost/f00184/f00184.htm

And a bunch of badass e30s with a variety of conversions

http://www.e30.de/e30monat.htm
very nice conversions but sorry, i OWN and drive every day an E30 325i, my dad OWNS and drives every day, an E34 M5 3.8. I have seen both engines (funny that) and know for a fact how big they are and how much room is taken up. (my engine is pushing the limits of space as it is!!!) I know that anything is possible and these guys have done it however this is not exactly as common a conversion as an E36 M3 engine into the E30. It is a VERY challanging conversion and a little more than "BASIC FAB SKILLS" are needed. i still stand by my origional comment of it wont fit. I challange you to find a conversion like this on which NO cutting tools were used. [:D]
 
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#7
Of course you wont find one that doesnt require cutting, the engines are designed for completely different chassis. There are plenty of enthusiasts that are capable of pulling off stuff like this. If you dont believe me go pick up a copy of grassroots motorsports, tons of stuff like that in there for your average joe.

Building brackets and doing the necessary cutting to mount the drivetrain qualifies as basic fab skills. Your usual selection of shop tools is all thats needed to get the job done. A little tedious perhaps, but not all that complicated. There are obviously quite a few people who have done this, and not every one of them owns a shop or has an engineering degree. Im glad you own an e30 and your father an e34 and youve had the chance to look under the hood, thats just dandy. There arent exactly alot of s38's floating around freely here in the US, m50s are everywhere and you can get most of the setup for a swap for 1500 if you know where to look. Its a truly easy bolt up swap and thats why you see so many of them done, all parts are off the shelf minus the wiring. The s38 will fit just fine under that e30 hood, as im sure you can see, many of them are still using stock cooling fans w/ fan clutch and what not. That assembly alone takes up several inches of space that could be easily salvaged by switching over to a finger chopping electric fan.
 
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EVGMZ325

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#10
YOU KNOW,, JUST BECAUSE YOU "OWN A E30" AND DADDY "OWNS A E34" AND YOU THINK THAT BY LOOKING AT BOTH MOTORS, THAT YOU CAN SAY WETHER ONE WILL FIT OR NOT??
IS SO IDIOTIC.... PEOPLE HAVE PUT THE V12'S IN E30 ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE,, AND SURE AS FOR MONEY,, THE SKYS THE LIMIT,,, BUT TO SAY THAT SOMETHING ISNT POSSIBLE, BECAUSE YOU "THINK IT WONT FIT,, CAUSE IT'S TOO BIG!!!,, OR I DONT THINK YOU CAN SQUEZZE ANYMORE IN THERE.." JUST SHOWS ONES SENSE OF ADVENTURE,,, IF YOUR NOT A TECHNICIAN, OR TRIED IT YOURSELF DONT OFFER YOUR "HELP" OR OPINION IN A MATTER THAT YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT,,,
 

epj3

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#13


Only 7/16's inch to make your post seem a lot more intelligent.

Anyways, I think this swap would be pretty cool. Ever see the video of the guy who put a turbocharger in his E30? It's insane!! He bent a drive shaft from having that much torque.
 
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#14
epj3 said:


Only 7/16's inch to make your post seem a lot more intelligent.

Anyways, I think this swap would be pretty cool. Ever see the video of the guy who put a turbocharger in his E30? It's insane!! He bent a drive shaft from having that much torque.
HAHAHA THAT WOULD MAKE HIS POST SEEM WAY MORE INTELIGENT
 


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