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Definately seems more straightforward in a LHD car.

To some extent I'd say this is actually easier than LHD. It's only the inlet, sump and exhaust that causes issues, and we get to bolt the M50 straight onto the 323i gearbox and 323i engine mounts. I don't think the LHD servo would clear if the same setup was used due to the inlet being further over. LHD can sit with the sump flat and inlet ok, but then you need custom engine mounts, if a E21 gearbox is used then custom gearbox mounts and linkage, if its an M42 gearbox (no speedo output) then you need a slightly modded gearbox mount and then a custom gearbox linkage, an M50 gearbox would be worse. On this RHD setup, flywheel backwards is all untouched E21.

Send the sump off to an engineer, modding the exhaust manifold is a doddle and the only real issue is the inlet.

Do you know if the inlet is exactly the same on all of the models that the engine was originally fitted to?

Really like this car, good job mate!

Love this car.... Makes me think that trying to keep mine as a 4cyl might be a mistake

dude WTF are those wheels and where did you get them??? they are absolute porn!!!

M15KYY wrote:dude WTF are those wheels and where did you get them??? they are absolute porn!!!

I was not too sure up until recently, my brother bought a set of these wheels too. His wheels have Riken centre caps but thats all we know. Its possible that between him and myself we have the only two sets of these in australia.

Heres a shot of his in 15x6. We are about to get them turned into 16x7.5 and 16x9

Small update on the inlet. Still running with no MAF but hopefully not for too much longer. I never totally cut off the K-jet bracket. If that wasnt there, there would be plently of clearance for the elbow. With a black silicone hose, the whole thing would almost look factory fitted.

E21meister wrote:Do you know if the inlet is exactly the same on all of the models that the engine was originally fitted to?

the m52 328i has a shorter inlet that would fit much better. however those guys usually fit the m50 manifold as the shorter one doesnt breathe very well.

Marneus wrote:Love this car.... Makes me think that trying to keep mine as a 4cyl might be a mistake

sorry!

mk1300 wrote:

E21meister wrote:Do you know if the inlet is exactly the same on all of the models that the engine was originally fitted to?

the m52 328i has a shorter inlet that would fit much better. however those guys usually fit the m50 manifold as the shorter one doesn't breathe very well.

Yeah, I believe the 2.8 was fitted with the 2.0 manifold to restrict power to 193brake to stay within some stupid German insurance band.

mk1300 wrote:
Heres a shot of his in 15x6. We are about to get them turned into 16x7.5 and 16x9

wow, never heard of changing the diameters before! so you're just keeping the centres then? hows it done?

...and how did you and your brother end up with the only two sets in oz?! thats a crazy coincidence.

spose you could change the diameters if they are 3 piece if you got really concave dish's, would be a first thogh i think

Time for a big update. Been thoroughly enjoying the car over the last year, the power is absolutely spot on for the chassis. Unfortunately the car had a stuck t-stat, or so i thought. Headgasket failure, not sure on the cause yet, never had any cooling problems. Possibly air pocket in the head? Need to investigate further. Will swap on a new gasket and skim the head and throw that motor into brothers e21.

As for my car, i managed to source an s50b30 fairly quick, so attempting to squeeze that in the e21 at the moment.


Will start with a few shots of the car as it sat just before the gasket failed. Wheels originally 15x6, now 16x8 and 16x9 with Toyo T1R's, definitely need these once the m3 motor goes in!

Started pulling the engine out about 2 weeks ago, gave the engine bay a wash and started removing any now unused brackets, plan is to paint the bay after i have mocked up some engine mounts and confident the engine will fit.

last shot of the m50 in the bay










watch this space... front radiator panel will be modified to fit a late e30 325 radiator, hopefully gaining me another 40-50mm over the last conversion.







and the pile of removed brackets and mounts...