Mattt

Some current pictures

So I get to go and pick this up next weekend. Complete beams 3sge with j160 6 speed gearbox. Have heard her run, should be a good package.

in the end after deciding 3 times which engine I was definitely going to use I settled happily for this option. 

210bhp factory, aftermarket parts at my disposal, proven ability to make 260+hp with a few mods, light weight, short, good gearbox to match and cheap all contributed to my decision. I didn’t really want to go with a non bmw engine but their 4 pots just aren’t up to the task of what I wanted.

i plan to daily this car when its ready, so fuel economy is quite important to me. I’m going to be running a surfab ITB plate with blacktop ITBs, link monsoon ecu, cams, lightweight flywheel and a decent set of extractors. Should make for a very fun car. 

Thanks boys. I’ll hit up Brent and see what he can tell me. I don’t mind running a normal booster if I have to, but I hate how bmw have done their stupid remote mount booster thing. It’s not great for engine transplants. 

Right I’m wondering if the Oldschool experts can help with an issue I have. I’m wanting to run a non boosted brake system in my e21 bmw. I’ll be running aftermarket disk brakes all round. I’m hoping to remove the booster as the standard RHD setup the bmw uses pushes the booster away from the firewall towards the headlight using an extremely agricultural looking piece of folded plate. I’m guessing I’ll have to modify the brake pedal where it currently exits into the firewall and all that sort of thing which isn’t really an issue but what I really want to know is how to effectively calculate what size of master cylinder I’ll need to use to make the system work well. Any input from anyone?

What do you mean you longer chassis? I’d be interested to confirm. But yeah, like you say I was ntending to replace pretty much all the goodies anyway. I really need to get a workshop manual for this thing so I can set the timing and tweak the carby. It’s running pretty well but It’s not perfect.  I’m fairly certain the drivetrain vibration is the center hanger bearing so that’s pretty easy. I think it’s going to need the front sway bar mount bushes replaced, bleed the brakes and replace the cylinders, then it should be wof time and hope for the best. 

It’s actually not a concern for me. I would have paid the same price either way. I knew the motor wasn’t b23 and to be honest with what I’m planning to do to it I quite relieved it’s not an actual 323i. I was feeling sort of guilty. Now I know it’s only a 320/6 I’ve got no concerns hacking it up!

Yup. Solid disks. The vin tag lists it being a 323i. I suspect someone’s tagged it at some point.

Yup. Solid disks. The vin tag lists it being a 323i. I suspect someone’s tagged it at some point.

It has drums on the back. Weren’t all the 323s disk or only some?

So I drove her down the road today!!

No brakes..... might need to remove the calipers and unsieze them. 

Clutch works, gearbox works, all lights work, alternator charges, battery holds charge, radiator has antifreeze, engines holding most of its oil. 

Engine has a miss at times but now idles when the engines warm without any input from me.

it has a vibration through the driveline. 

Will spend more time on it over the weekend. 

No I haven’t. I actually haven’t had a chance to do anything as I’ve got family here at the moment. I should have a better opportunity to start assessing things properly tomorrow afternoon. We did lift the carpet when I was checking it out and the floor looks good. I’m not too concerned about that sort of stuff though as I’m alquite capable of welding in new panels as necessary and it’s not going to be a restoration type build which allows me a lot more flexibility with repairs.

No I haven’t. I actually haven’t had a chance to do anything as I’ve got family here at the moment. I should have a better opportunity to start assessing things properly tomorrow afternoon. We did lift the carpet when I was checking it out and the floor looks good. I’m not too concerned about that sort of stuff though as I’m alquite capable of welding in new panels as necessary and it’s not going to be a restoration type build which allows me a lot more flexibility with repairs.

Yeah I figured as much. It’s both sides.

I’m struggling to upload more pics. I don’t think so. Kit will be sold anyway.

Looks like you’ve got your hands full! Can’t wait to see progress as it comes along. 

Appreciate the offer, however getting it from Auckland to Christchurch will make it considerably more costly and at this stage I’m not that keen on the idea of running a 6. 

Yeah I bet. S14 would really be perfect. I don’t even know where to start looking though? I guess unless I’m really lucky it will probably have to be imported...

Also sparkle as much as I understand completely why the f20c would be the ideal motor I’m just not keen to look outside of the bmw family. If I was I would probably go for a beams 3sge to be honest. 

In all honesty if I was going to consider the m52 build I’d probably just go to m42 turbo. It’s not just about the overall weight but keeping the weight back behind the front axle as much as possible. I mean it’s a strong possibility that I’ll end up going for something like an s50b32 with matching gearbox, but I’m more about utilising my skills and building up an engine rather than just buying one and doing the conversion. Everyone’s right though, I know spending $10k on an m42 is ridiculous and I don’t really think it’s a realistically viable option if I have to spend that when I can get a s50 for $6500. The ideal engine in my mind would be an e30 m3 engine. But I have no idea if they’re available and what sort of price I’d be paying.

appreciate the feedback guys, keep it coming.