When 3 E36's aren't enough...
Discussion
...I bought a 4th 
Picked this up this evening:
It was a 320i but the engine blew last summer, so I sold the guy an M50B25 engine out of an 87k red 325i I bought as a spares donor. Since fitting the engine the guy had kind of lost interest in the project so he contacted me the other day to see if I wanted to buy the engine back as a spare for my track car, turns out he'd only done a handfull of miles on it since he fitted it and he was breaking the car for spares. There was quite a lot of good bits on it that would come in handy for my track car such as some cross-drilled and grooved disks, powerflow exhaust, spare set of jamex suspension in the boot (as well as the lowered stuff that's on the car already) and what looks like a M3 GT2 EVO rear spoiler so I made him an offer to take the lot. I plan to fill my shed with spares then scrap the shell, which is a shame as it seems to be rust free as far as I can see.
Does anyone know if there's a difference between a 320i differential and a 325i one?
Did any 320's come with an LSD?
Picked this up this evening:
It was a 320i but the engine blew last summer, so I sold the guy an M50B25 engine out of an 87k red 325i I bought as a spares donor. Since fitting the engine the guy had kind of lost interest in the project so he contacted me the other day to see if I wanted to buy the engine back as a spare for my track car, turns out he'd only done a handfull of miles on it since he fitted it and he was breaking the car for spares. There was quite a lot of good bits on it that would come in handy for my track car such as some cross-drilled and grooved disks, powerflow exhaust, spare set of jamex suspension in the boot (as well as the lowered stuff that's on the car already) and what looks like a M3 GT2 EVO rear spoiler so I made him an offer to take the lot. I plan to fill my shed with spares then scrap the shell, which is a shame as it seems to be rust free as far as I can see.
Does anyone know if there's a difference between a 320i differential and a 325i one?
Did any 320's come with an LSD?
dan101smith said:
Think they're all medium case diffs on the 6 pots.
Unfortunately the chances of it having an LSD are somewhere between 0 and 0. But it'll only take a moment to jack it up, spin the wheels and check.
Did the 320i's have a lower final drive or gearbox ratios than a 2.5? If they were lower then I'd switch them round as I think the 2.5 is geared to about 150mph in 5th meaning I'd never get out of 4th gear.Unfortunately the chances of it having an LSD are somewhere between 0 and 0. But it'll only take a moment to jack it up, spin the wheels and check.
Will spin the wheels round tomorrow then to see if it is an LSD.
Oh, and if anyone is interested in a private reg number H9ECW it's yours for the transfer fee plus a few beer vouchers
320 diff is going to be the smaller 168mm size, same as the 4cyls.
a nice ratio at 3.45 but not as strong.
it must scream as a 2.5 though that.
LSDs, pretty rare on a 320, the iS did come with the odd one, but even they are hard to find
as a result, the rear of the propshaft and the driveshafts are longer, and the driveshafts at least are thinner.
It also probably has the single pipe exhaust too
a nice ratio at 3.45 but not as strong.
it must scream as a 2.5 though that.
LSDs, pretty rare on a 320, the iS did come with the odd one, but even they are hard to find
as a result, the rear of the propshaft and the driveshafts are longer, and the driveshafts at least are thinner.
It also probably has the single pipe exhaust too
sniff diesel said:
dan101smith said:
Think they're all medium case diffs on the 6 pots.
Unfortunately the chances of it having an LSD are somewhere between 0 and 0. But it'll only take a moment to jack it up, spin the wheels and check.
Did the 320i's have a lower final drive or gearbox ratios than a 2.5? If they were lower then I'd switch them round as I think the 2.5 is geared to about 150mph in 5th meaning I'd never get out of 4th gear.Unfortunately the chances of it having an LSD are somewhere between 0 and 0. But it'll only take a moment to jack it up, spin the wheels and check.
Will spin the wheels round tomorrow then to see if it is an LSD.
Oh, and if anyone is interested in a private reg number H9ECW it's yours for the transfer fee plus a few beer vouchers
If I wasn't selling my E36 i'd have the shell off you to reshell my 320i into - mechanically mine is sound but the bodywork is awful.
dan101smith said:
I take it back - just had a look on RealOEM and it looks like the 320i does have the smaller type diff.
You learn something new every day...
Any idea how much shorter the 320i diff is?You learn something new every day...
Had a try today and it's not an LSD as suspected. Here's what the car looked like when I started:
Most of the interior's already missing, apart from the dash which I'll use on the track car as I prefer the black one to the grey one I have already, and the front centre arm rest which I'll fit in the GF's 325td. Had a hard job trying to get the engine out without a hoist, it's nearly out but as it was getting dark I decided to call it a day. Hope to have the shell on the trailer by Monday then I can get the wheels, suspension and brakes off it before weighing it in.
sniff diesel said:
OllieWinchester said:
Be very interested in that plate if its still available. Cheers, Ollie
The plate's H9ECW if that makes any difference. texasjohn said:
sniff diesel said:
R5GTTGAZ said:
Plate should be worth a couple of hundred.
Really? Before my old Alfa 75 went for scrap I tried to sell the plate "E111CCA" on here and on Ebay (started at £10 with no reserve) and didn't get a single offer.TheEnd said:
325 and M3 are at 3.15, 3.23 for the evo
The 328 is a 2.93, but the 320 is a massive 3.45
Great stuff, looks like I'll be putting it on the track car then - should top out at about 130mph with the standard 325i engine then?The 328 is a 2.93, but the 320 is a massive 3.45
Do you know if the gearbox ratios are any different from the 325 and 320?
OllieWinchester said:
sniff diesel said:
OllieWinchester said:
Be very interested in that plate if its still available. Cheers, Ollie
The plate's H9ECW if that makes any difference. sniff diesel said:
Most of the interior's already missing, apart from the dash which I'll use on the track car as I prefer the black one to the grey one I have already, and the front centre arm rest which I'll fit in the GF's 325td. Had a hard job trying to get the engine out without a hoist, it's nearly out but as it was getting dark I decided to call it a day. Hope to have the shell on the trailer by Monday then I can get the wheels, suspension and brakes off it before weighing it in.
Are you scrapping the rear bumper Rich? If so, any chance I can scrounge it? 
Shropshiremike said:
Are you scrapping the rear bumper Rich? If so, any chance I can scrounge it?
I was going to keep the little black M-tec style lip off the bottom of then bumper to go on the track car but the bumper's yours if you want it Mike, I'm in tomorrow if you want to call round.Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff