E36 V8 Swap - NSFP (Not Safe for Purists)

[BMW BMXer]

This car is awesome. I love purist offending swaps.

[DANIMAL]

Originally Posted by E30M42cab

That's pretty bad-ass Dan! Glad to see (and hear) it finally completed. Wish I could have made it up to John's last night to check it out. I swear to god thought that I'm going to fix that tail-light the next time I see you. Can't wait to hear it in person!

Haha, it was never the taillight it was the same side brake light. I fixed the brake light and Immediately after the tail light started giving me issues. I don't want to fix it, I'm worried something else may break.

Originally Posted by dble Trouble

Funny you said this, one of my neighbors was furious, and drove by and had a shit fit on us for tear through my town with the car. Guy was acting a bit like a douche and over exaggerating but whatever, it was awesome to hear him hit the throttle at full tilt over a km away and hear it like it was in front of my house. And, shift gears at over 2km away...........purely awesome!!

Me wants!

That guy lets his children play in the street at 9pm. He has a right to be mad at life. lol

Sound carries at night so I can see why he was upset, the car is kinda loud in higher RPM's. Honestly for the 15 mins we were out I did not think it would have been a big deal. No one else seemed to mind.

[Jon@Bimmersport]

Cool swap Dan! Finally someone has done the swap locally, cant wait to check it out at the meets this year!

[DANIMAL]

Originally Posted by Jon@Bimmersport

Cool swap Dan! Finally someone has done the swap locally, cant wait to check it out at the meets this year!

Thanks Jon, I'd be happy to show you. Although I am not the first who has attempted this swap in the area.

A few things have been made clear to me about Project_E36 and his less than questionable intentions surrounding his intrusions into threads that have no bearing or foundation to him.

To speak directly to my situation and his comments; I can post pictures of Dinan headers all day long and say they are better, in reality I did not pay $8,000 for the headers alone. So I continue to stand by my assessment of the quality of work done on this swap by Auto Evolution.

This individual is trying to cause issues on the board for reasons that I presume are meant to gain business for his employer. I am not sure why the shop in question deems these actions appropriate ways to gain business as it is now more unlikely for me to go to that shop. It gives me an indication as to how they deal with customers, and the general attitude of the shop.

[Jon@Bimmersport]

No doubt AE does good stuff. I have heard of great knowledge, and skills of fabrication from Rob and his crew.

All the best with the project, I'll see you come spring time!

[T.Dot_E30]

Speaking of said shop, didn't they attempt this swap on notjoe's car? I wonder what happened to that......?

[EMPOWERD]

Originally Posted by DANIMAL

A few things have been made clear to me about Project_E36 and his less than questionable intentions surrounding his intrusions into threads that have no bearing or foundation to him.

Don't worry about Jakub (Project_E36)... he's been "taken care of". No more keyboard courage mouth-running from that punk.

[damameke]

I see that you made him an offer.. he cant refuse !!!! lol

[craz azn]

Originally Posted by EMPOWERD

Don't worry about Jakub (Project_E36)... he's been "taken care of". No more keyboard courage mouth-running from that punk.

Good riddance!

[DANIMAL]

Glad to see that he has been sent for a time out, certainly deserving of it. Thanks Randy!

Joe is indeed the other LS swap I was referring too. I am honestly not sure what happened to the project. I know it was being done by a site sponsor here but beyond that the only thing I can say is that it was running. I know that a short time later Joe decided to sell the whole project or parts from it, you can search for his thread. If someone with knowledge cares to comment on what happened, please do.

[zerosignal]

I think I just messed myself. That is sick! what was the price tag on that operation?

[DANIMAL]

Originally Posted by zerosignal

I think I just messed myself. That is sick! what was the price tag on that operation?

The project was partially sponsored by the shop and I had special pricing considerations, so to give the price I paid is not really fair. There are also a lot of configuration changes that can be made to reduce the cost. Obviously an LS6 engine costs more than an LS1. I also did not have to change the cam, I could have lived with the stocker.

If anyone really wants a budget V8 swap I would recommend a look at the Ford 5.0 engine. It can put down 400 crank with some small mods and you don't need custom headers or a new steering column. The engine is plentiful, more so than the LS (Which I have been reading is getting harder to find). The trans is more readily available and cheaper; the T56 6spd was almost impossible to source which meant it was twice as expensive as we had budgeted for. And the engine and trans mount can be had for $220 bucks. Check out E36V8.com/E30V8.com they even sell a conversion manual to walk you through all the steps ($69).

[E36is]

Dan:

Without actually seeing the car/engine in person, how easy is it for doing basic maintenance on that engine? Oil and spark plug changes? timing belt? and cooling system?

[DANIMAL]

Originally Posted by E36is

Dan:

Without actually seeing the car/engine in person, how easy is it for doing basic maintenance on that engine? Oil and spark plug changes? timing belt? and cooling system?

Cooling; I still have my E36 rad, and expansion tank in place, so I would say its identical to the E36.

Oil: the oil filter screws in and is located on the drv side of the oil pan, so quite easy (and cheap) to replace. I think I could actually reach it without lifting the car up.

Spark plugs: 92% easy 8% annoying. the spark plug on the drivers side at the back of the head is a bit of a pain but not impossible. The rest are easy.

Timing chain; Im not sure but it should also be easy, once the accessories are off there is about a foot and a half of room between the rad and timing cover. So I would imagine its not much more than taking the cover off and disconnecting the oil pump. Then you have access to the chain. Compared to the M50 its definitely easier on the LSx engines.

[Vrbovsky]

hey it was good to meet you buddy, The car looks sick! can't wait for more vids....

oh and "I" on the expulsion of member "project-e36" to k-car hell...