E30 engine transplant

[CyprusCraig]

Bought my 318is last week loving it great car to learn to "drive" but my mechanic has just taken me for a drive in his tuned 325i, never been so sideways in my whole life, he said he would fit a new engine for £400 including all the electrics, is there anything else to consider when transplanting a larger engined car into the same car with a smaller engine??

Sorry not that well mechanically minded although i know i'd have to upgrade the brakes but is there anything else that isn't really obvious.

If not where can i source a good 325i engine??

thanks in advance

[B19GRR]

Do they use the same gearbox or will you need a matching 325 gearbox -> prop -> diff?

Presumably ECU will be different to run a six pot, is that included in the 'electrics'?

I was under the impression that E30 318is where pretty desireable? If you do a transplant then that desireability goes out the door. Probably would make more sense to sell the 318is and just by a boggo 325.

Cheers,
Rob

[Fatboy]

Finding a good 325 is tricky, the main thing to worry about with these is rust - the condition of the shell is far more important thant the engine...

[lance1a]

If you have an E30 318iS 16V, then you would be better off keeping it as it is. They are not much slower than a 325i anyway, not enough to warrant the cost of a swap and the loss in value to your car. (318 iS's are getting a bit thin on the ground now). You might be better off doing a bit of work on your motor to squeeze a few more BHP out of it.

[T89 Callan]

Yeah I wouldn't convert the 318is, these are desirable cars.

If you want a 325i sell the 318is as standard for decent money and then get a 320i (they are dirt cheap £300 T&T) and then get a 325i engine for around £200, the conversion from 320i to 325i is alot simpler as they are essentially the same engine, just a nut and bolt swap.

You should then have a 325i for around £500 which is much less than you should be able to sell the 318is for so you will have some money for other upgrades like suspension.

For a 320-325i conversion thread check here (it's mine and I finished it about 2 hours ago):

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[PJR]

If it were me, i'd fancy doing something along these lines: www.e3024v.com
I've looked into it a lot. It's a pretty tried and tested conversion. Straightforward (as swaps go) and still inexpensive on the scale of things.

P,