Firstfives.org

Like Mike W. said, you cannot take enough pictures when dismantling automatics. This is usually work for automatic transmission experts. If all else fails try Clifford's Automatic Transmissions, a place in your neck of the woods. I remember someone on First Fives mentioning them years ago concerning...

Just for the record here, that was the same car that was advertised for $20K. The Bat seller bought the Malaga from the original CL seller for approx $10K. He then did a bunch of work to it and then sold it on BAT for $15K. Just thought I'd mention this in case anyone was interested. I followed the...

It's in Portland Oregon. I thought you guys might want to have a look. It's in great condition. No affiliation Thanks for the heads up Canada Karl. It sold for $15,500. A solid result for these economic times. 8) I think I saw the very same car advertised on Craigs List for 20k earlier, but it had ...

The late 80s 3.5 is probably the best candidate for a stock turbo, the heads rarely crack and the head gasket design makes it slightly less likely to blow a HG. They used to be everywhere and dirt cheap but as E28s have become rare and collectable, not to much. But even a stock low compression 3.5 ...

HP doesn't come cheap for any make. There is no such thing as a cheap Craig's list LS motor or swap. I believe the bolt on kits back in the day were running around 5-6 psi, working with stock compression 8.1:1. And that was enough to get 0-60 mph in 7 to 7.5 seconds on a 530i or 630i, which was flyi...

Hey everyone! Has any one ever done or heard of a turbo e12 and if so, would be able to point me towards that info? I would hope to keep the same engine so it still fits without much hassle. I want to be able to add more power without doing a complete engine swap. I appreciate any feedback you may ...

Medium & Major Service

Thanks for the post Lock. I recall many years ago on FirstFives someone said their boss put e28 power seats into his 1976 e12 530i. E34 might be better because you don't have that handbrake console with the seat switches.

I'd say the best, easiest way would be to go to Motronic 1.3. That's what they used on E34s. You would still need to (in an easy installation) retain the distributor, although once reasonably close you could just literally have it distribute the spark, not generate it. No need for a different flywh...

Some further reading on the e34 525xi and their relative rarity, the four wheel drive aspect seems like an extreme long shot, even before beginning to retro fit the front wheel drive bits in an e12. Are you sure the awd e34 was even sold in Australia :?: Even so, there may be more rewarding/easier ...

Thanks guys, that's very interesting. I suppose you can't beat factory (i.e. the 1979 528i with lambda sond) I suppose using a modern aftermarket injection system like Megasquirt would be a way to incorporate a 3 way cat, and get rid of the distributor and AFM at the same time, but that's not inexpe...

If you have a Euro car with L-jet, I am wondering if the aftermarket has a piggyback device (corrective signal back to the ECU) to allow you to fit a 3 way cat and oxygen sensor :?: Basically doing what the factory US spec 1979-81 e12 528i did. I know Euro L-jet ECUs had no provision for the oxygen ...

I have seen an e12 with a Cherry Bomb muffler on the back. They are real cheap. Can get one from Summit Racing.

The exhaust manifold gasket can be a source of leaks too. Had an engine die completely because of that.

I searched the forum for info but nobody's done a write-up here. We are looking into swapping an M54B30 into our E12-based E24. We have a donor car--a 2003 530i, 5-speed. But we also have an opportunity to buy a ZHP for the swap. You may recall that we bought the E24 for $500 and have been racing i...