When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I've been working on this car for a while now and someone suggested I do a build page so here it goes.
I picked up a 1986 325e a few years ago for $300 with the intentions of parting it out. I sold all the good parts and was left with a very clean and straight shell. I've always wanted to drop an LS into an E30 but could never bring my self to cut up a clean/running car. I was financially ahead on parting out the car so I figured, "why not?"
I spent several months searching for an affordable LS engine when I discovered that the truck engines were much cheaper. Only problem, they are iron. Extra weight over the nose over a 2500 lb car didn't sound too appealing to me. I then discovered the LM4, the all aluminum 5.3. I bought a complete Envoy XL, parted it out, and kept the engine and harness. I had enough money left over from the part out to rebuild the engine, install a high flow oil pump, and purchase a cam and springs.
Not all of the pictures were taken in chronological order since I had multiple things going on at once but, I will try and post them in order. My brother and I started calling her Snow White since the car is white. Although, in our minds - she is more of a "pin-up" style Snow White.
The car:
1986 BMW 325e, Auto, 2.93 Open, M20b27 engine (2.7l).
The engine:
LM4 from a 2003 Envoy XL - 212k. New bearings, rings, Melling high flow/pressure oil pump, LS6 Cam, LS6 Springs, LS6 Lifters, LS2 Chain.
Running a remote oil adapter will make running an oil cooler easier to plumb in.
I had to go with a front sump oil pan due to the location of the engine in relation with the front cross member and steering rack. Several people have used modified GTO pans but Canton makes one that fits and it's internally baffled.
If anyone decides to use the Canton pan, I highly recommend getting the stud kit.
Because the factory oil pan bolts are too long and bottom out before the pan is tight.
A few dollars at a local hardware store got everything needed to make a balancer installation tool
Do not use the crank bolt to drive the balancer on. The proper method is to thread a rod into the crank and then tighten something down against the balancer forcing it onto the crank
Trust me, a few dollars in all-thread and hardware is way cheaper than these taps and a jacked up crank.
The goal is to have a hellish daily driver that kicks *** at the track. I plan on registering the car and keeping it street legal but with that said, if it doesn't make it run, stop, or steer; it was thrown out.
First step was to strip the car bare. Since the drivetrain and most of the interior was already gone, the process wasn't too difficult.
To make the installation of the engine and trans easier I decided to remove the front radiator support. I drilled the spot welds and in about an hour the front end slid off the car.
I found one spot of rust on the fire wall that needed attention. I cut it out and patched it with some fresh metal.
Since the chassis was stripped, I took the opportunity to degrease, pressure wash, and wire wheel the chassis. I then undercoated the body and gave all the suspension parts a fresh coat of paint. I am not into flashy details so everything was kept a nice, simple flat black.
All ball joints were replaced and all bushings were replaced with urethane (95 )
The 2.93 diff wasn't going to cut it. I wanted to find a gear ratio that would make the best use of the engine's power and the transmissions gear ratio. Knowing that my street excursions would be in the 60-70 mph range and assuming that peak hp/tq would be in the 45-5000k rpm range, I built an excel spreadsheet to see what different gear ratios would look like. I settled on a LSD 3.73. It can be seen installed (above) with fresh bushings and cv's.
The bushings from the rear control arms didn't want to come out so we had to persuade them a bit.
The rear suspension of the BMW has no camber or toe alignment. Since I had the rear subframe out, I opted to install eccentrics will should allow for a few degrees of adjust-ability. One problem, the new hardware is too close to the subframe bushings and the bushings need to be clearanced. A few seconds with a grinding disc and the problem was solved.
I imagine the engine is going to get pretty thirsty.
I was planning on using the factory tank but it was full of rust and gummed up gasoline. The easier option was to purchase a new tank from Rock Auto and doing so afforded me the option of going with the 89+ 16 gallon tank (mine was 14.x).
The tank sits sideways in the car and is under the back seat. The drive shaft goes through the middle which creates two separate sumps for the fuel to sit in. The 88 and later model tanks have a steel line with banjo fittings that crosses under the driveshaft and allows fuel to flow from side to side. The older tanks have an internal helper pump and an external high pressure pump that feeds the engine.
Newer tanks have a "siphon" system that uses the return line to suck fuel from the one side and dumps it into the fuel bowl on the other. They also have two holes in the top of the tank that allow for two fuel level sending units. I don't trust the siphon system so I opted to install a second fuel pump where the second sending unit would have been.
On the top is the factory pump and hanger for a newer style tank. The lower pump is the factory hanger that I have retrofitted with a Walbro 340. There are a lot of fake Walbros out there so be careful with who you buy from.
The newer style tank uses only one fuel pump. Since the return line is now on the tank, the fuel pump only has accommodations for a supply line and sending unit. The supply line will get plumbed to the return line on the modified pump. The sending unit was cut off and just the top portion used to fill the hole. I will not be using the secondary sending unit.
This is the stock hanger for the older style tank. I fitted the Walbro to this and will use it as the primary pump to supply the engine. The plugged line is the supply line and the lower bent line is the return line which will be fed from the aux pump. The large hole is where the factory sending unit will go and hook up to the OEM fuel gauge.
Here is a shot of the pumps plumbed together
I will be using the BMW's factory fuel lines for supply and return. Most LS engines are return less and require the use of a C5 filter (which I bought). However, trucks have a return system and the regulator is built into the manifold/fuel rail. The left line is brakes, the middle line will be return and the right line is supply which will now be plumb to an inline fuel filter.
This is the return line on the newer tank. The line runs along the bottom inside of the tank and over the drive shaft hump. Somehow it siphons fuel from one side to the other.. This nipple gets connected to the middle line on the previous picture.
Since my car already had two fuel pumps, wiring the second pump was as simple as changing the connectors over.
The BMW's that use the newer style tanks have two holes under the back seat to access the pump and sending units. I found a car at the JY and snapped a picture for reference.
I then came home and used a hole saw to start my own hole.
You can see the two holes with the farther one being the hole I made to access the second fuel pump
I used a hole saw to get it started and the tin snips to trim it out. I am a little off centered but I can work on everything easily.
I swiped the factory lid from the JY car and used it to cover my newly created access hole. I had to run the aux pump wiring inside the car because its location under the car was in the way of the new tank.
To install the new tank, the old fuel pump and filter mounts need to be bent out of the way or removed.
I am waiting on a few brake system parts to arrive before I install the engine and trans into the car for the final time.
Let's kill the time by talking T-56.
I bought a used T-56 from a 2002 Camaro and drove over an hour to pick it up. The seller tossed in the clutch, TOB, PP, and FW and said that reverse was just starting to go out.
I brought the transmission home and tore it apart and ended up replacing $800 worth of parts. (Not just reverse )
Brakequip hooked me up with remote bleeder line and a custom clutch line which removes the quick disconnect and will connect with the BMW master.
The clutch looked good but for peace of mind, I opted to have everything resurfaced by a local shop.
Tremec is kind enough to put all of their service manuals online, available for download
Basic tools were used. I only needed to buy lock ring pliers which I purchased from MSC
Be careful with this little guy. The ball shoot across the room before you even know what happened. Ask how I know.
The ball and spring rides in the little detentes and gives the satisfaction of shifting gears
A few of the forks required some gentle persuasion
Good synchros should have sharp, pyramid like tops
Damaged synchros are rounded and even broken
A few lock rings were recessed and could not be removed with the pliers. I had to get creative.
Re-assemble was reverse of disassembly however remembering how the shift forks interlaced was fun.
To remove the Quick Disconnect from the TOB - remove the roll pin
Quick Disconnect and Bleed screw removed
New fittings installed. The fitting for the bleed screw requires a copper crush washer
TOB with new lines and fittings installed
Clutch line on the left with the remote bleed line on the right.
This weekend was very productive. The engine and transmission were installed, hopefully, for the last time.
I didn't want to use traditional side mounts for a few reasons.
1. E30 subframes are notoriously weak
2. Hoping to use OEM exhaust manifolds (didn't work)
3. Stiffens the frame
4. I had access to a water jet and figured lets give it a shot.
I thought the block huggers would fit nicely in the bay and allow me to run the exhaust to the right of the steering linkage in between it and the frame rail. No dice
The collector dumps right into the steering rack and subframe and leaves zero room to turn it.<br/><br/>Ideas?
If you want more clearance with the radiator, you can use a LS2 style water pump.
Andrew
I tried one but the smaller water pump pulley wouldn't line up with the crank pulley because the motor plate adds 1/4".
The larger ls1 pulley was easier to line the belt up with a few spacers behind the alternator and tensioner.
10-24-2016, 03:01 PM
LM4 Swapped E30 - "Snow White" 
) 
)
