Hoonigans Save E36 BMW M3 from Scrapyard with LS Power
The E36 BMW M3 is a solid ride, butt this tired old beater needed a little LS injection to make it right.
The E36 BMW M3 is a solid ride in its own right. It’s a handsome-looking car that also offers up strong performance, even by today’s standards. So it’s really no surprise that TheHoonigans would choose one as the basis for their latest “Knuckle Busters” build. But instead of sticking with the car’s original, much-ballyhooed straight-six, they chose to go in a much different direction. That’s right, with an LS swap, of course.
Stuffing an LS motor in an old BMW is nothing new, of course. But that won’t stop the old Bimmer faithful from throwing up their hands in protest over this blasphemy. The Hoons, of course, have their reasons for this change. The E36 BMW M3 they found had its fair share of issues, including a nasty knock. Clearly, this was a car that was driven hard for quite some time, but it was also cheap. And sometimes, that’s all that matters.
As the basis for a fun drift car, this Bimmer was immediately stripped down and fitted with a cage. But they also wanted something that was reliable, powerful, and affordable. And hey, BMW engines are notorious for being hard to work on, too. You can make the same power with an LS for less money and no forced induction, so this change seems like a no-brainer.
The old, tired LS the crew sourced from a fourth-gen Camaro needed a refresh, however. So the crew dropped the lump off at Edelbrock for a full rebuild. They started off with a new aluminum block to replace the old cracked one.
To achieve their goal of 400-450 hp, the team installed a new crank, forged rods and pistons, ported Edelbrock heads, and a bigger cam. And with all of that put together, the next step is to stab it into this tired old E36 BMW M3!
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