M54 swap into Shark?

[billy bee]

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 it in 24 Hours of Lemons. We swapped in an E28 rear subframe and have an E30 limited slip. The current engine (the M30B32) is running great. We just got an oil report back from Blackstone and the engine appears to be healthy based on the information they provide.

So, I have a couple of questions that may drive our decision. Does our M30B32 have any value? In other words, is it worth pulling before we blow it up and try to sell it? It is an L-Jet system, but it really pulls strong. Anybody in the market for an engine?

Has anybody done the swap? We have looked into it and there are not any off-the-shelf conversion parts. I'm sure we can figure this out, but we will need new engine mounts, trans mounts, drive shaft couplings. The electronics should be easy. Cooling won't be too bad. I do think we have to swap the oil pan; the challenge there is finding the right pan and pick-up. Drive-by-wire gas pedal. Some fiddling of the clutch hydraulics may be required. Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Bill

[Mike W.]

You might check with Koala Motorsports, https://www.koalamotorsport.com/ I know they have adapters for late M30s into E28s and might have something or know what is or isn't in terms of options, but even so fab'ing a motor mount shouldn't be much of a problem. E28 parts for M20s might even work since M5x engines are a decedent of M20s.

B32s aren't really worth much, unless someone needs one. But a good head always has value. The fuel injectors too might be worth something.

Even though it's an E12 chassis you might want to check on Mye28.com, there are several guys there that have done M5x conversions. If you don't want to do a drive by wire, you could use M52tu parts on the M54, it's virtually identical (except for displacement) to M54, engine management wise, except it's got a cable operated throttle.

[PatinaBeforePolish]

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 it in 24 Hours of Lemons. We swapped in an E28 rear subframe and have an E30 limited slip. The current engine (the M30B32) is running great. We just got an oil report back from Blackstone and the engine appears to be healthy based on the information they provide.

So, I have a couple of questions that may drive our decision. Does our M30B32 have any value? In other words, is it worth pulling before we blow it up and try to sell it? It is an L-Jet system, but it really pulls strong. Anybody in the market for an engine?

Has anybody done the swap? We have looked into it and there are not any off-the-shelf conversion parts. I'm sure we can figure this out, but we will need new engine mounts, trans mounts, drive shaft couplings. The electronics should be easy. Cooling won't be too bad. I do think we have to swap the oil pan; the challenge there is finding the right pan and pick-up. Drive-by-wire gas pedal. Some fiddling of the clutch hydraulics may be required. Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Bill

I have a suggestion. Buy a $500 junkyard LS and be done with it. You'll be fabricating anyway and it's probably an easier swap than messing with the drive by wire. Which in this vintage BMW, sucks. Does the donor 530i have an immobilizer (EWS)? May need to have the ECU reprogrammed for it to understand the original key isn't present.

The stock motor could be worth about the same intact or parted out. The L-Jet wiring harness has value if it's in good condition.

[tlake]

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 it in 24 Hours of Lemons. We swapped in an E28 rear subframe and have an E30 limited slip. The current engine (the M30B32) is running great. We just got an oil report back from Blackstone and the engine appears to be healthy based on the information they provide.

So, I have a couple of questions that may drive our decision. Does our M30B32 have any value? In other words, is it worth pulling before we blow it up and try to sell it? It is an L-Jet system, but it really pulls strong. Anybody in the market for an engine?

Has anybody done the swap? We have looked into it and there are not any off-the-shelf conversion parts. I'm sure we can figure this out, but we will need new engine mounts, trans mounts, drive shaft couplings. The electronics should be easy. Cooling won't be too bad. I do think we have to swap the oil pan; the challenge there is finding the right pan and pick-up. Drive-by-wire gas pedal. Some fiddling of the clutch hydraulics may be required. Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Bill
[/quote

I have a suggestion. Buy a $500 junkyard LS and be done with it. You'll be fabricating anyway and it's probably an easier swap than messing with the drive by wire. Which in this vintage BMW, sucks. Does the donor 530i have an immobilizer (EWS)? May need to have the ECU reprogrammed for it to understand the original key isn't present.

The stock motor could be worth about the same intact or parted out. The L-Jet wiring harness has value if it's in good condition.

He has an e39 donor car to raid all the fuel injection and ECU/wiring from. LS swap only makes sense if you have a complete donor car (like a Vette or Camaro) to raid everything from, because a vintage BMW's electrical system is completely incompatible with making the LS V8 work. Engine mounts and getting it into the engine bay is the easy part. Might make things easier taking the carb LS route, but it's still a big custom job, don't underestimate the difficulty.

[billy bee]

Hi guys:

We also have a spare M52. We could use parts from it, too. I did ask for suggestions; so, I appreciate the thought, but an LS swap does not really appeal to me. I am not an LS guy. Plus, we already have the BMW donor cars. (Yes, cars. Plural. We have a donor 330 Sport and the 530. We are about to buy a ZHP, too, I think. the M52 would come out of my DD E46 wagon, where an M54, 6-speed, and LSD from the ZHP will likely go in its place.) The E12 and E28 are different. There are swap kits for the E28's. A friend is doing a M54 swap into a E28 now. It is a 524td body. No. Smog. Ever. We actually have two 524td bodies. Anyway, I have looked into it and have not seen any swap kits. Maybe there is something, but I'm not surprised we have not found anything. E12's are getting pretty rare. Cannot remember the last time I saw one on the road.

But fabbing up mounts is not a big problem. We can do the metal work and can figure out the electronics, including the drive-by-wire. We don't have to connect to an instrument cluster. We have all analog gauges hooked up to the engine and only have a few, non-L-Jet wires running from the computer. I was hoping that somebody had done it and could speak to a few of the hiccups they encountered along the way.

I like the idea of giving our M30 another life. It has been good to us, doesn't have more than about 150k on it, and pulls like a train. In our 2700-pound E24, it feels pretty lively. As I think about it, I'd prefer to sell everything as a package: M30, computer, engine harness, Getrag 260. Realistically, this is a project for next summer. So, there is no rush to figure any of this stuff out. Just trying to wrap my mind around the project and options for the M30.

--bb