I am just about to start my swap but thought it was time to put together a build thread. I bought the e28 at the end of the summer after selling my practical e46 AWD wagon. I bought the e28 without a motor but a bunch of suspension goodies already done. LS1/T56 was the plan from the beginning.

I recently picked up a wreck 99 z28 with 55k miles. Just about done parting it out....this really was the best was to go to make the swap inexpensive.

I am a school teacher and the plan is to get most of the swap done over my break which begins in just under 2 weeks. Or at least the engine in, mounted, and most of the fab done.......so the heavy lifting work.

I have done a bunch of engine swaps but this will be both the first in an e28 and with an LS1.

Not many pictures yet but I normally go overboard with pictures...

Here is one of the car it is going in, 85 528e, red sport interior, euro bumpers, bunch of suspension mods.



And the LS1/t56 that is going in...pretty much stock, other than bigger TB, SLP Maf, SLP under drive pullys, the headers will not fit so they will be coming off



This car will have everything as it would from the factory, ac, cruise, etc etc. I may try and use all the AC stuff from the camaro, other than the parts in the dash.

I am pretty excited to get going, it should be fun!!

 

That will make an awesome combination! I have a 1985 Euro M5 that has a 3.9 litre M88/3 stroker engine that makes 350 rwhp. It is an absolute blast to drive, like a 3000 lb go-kart. A stock ls engine and 6 speed E28 could be the ultimate sleeper. Invest in brake upgrades (850/M5 or aftermarket BB kit) so the whoa matches the go. Looking forward to seeing your build progress. Good luck

 

Thanks!! I actually already have some e34 540 brakes on the shelf that will go on in the summer.

 

Looking forward to seeing your build progress. Good luck


Me too, kind of interested in doing this kinda swap one day, maybe to a 535IS

 

I like E28's & I like LSx motors. Nothing not to like about this.

 

just a small update.....more will happen tomorrow.

Got the garaged cleaned up some and the e28 up on the lift.
Engine came out (it had half an m30 in it, head was gone)
had to make a scrap run (m30, old m10, more random camaro parts)

The GTO oil pan will get swapped on tomorrow and the LS1 will get dropped in. I did some simple measurements and it looks like with the shifter in the middle of the console opening the heads will be in front of the brake booster. I have a remote booster from a e34 540 if needed but I will start with trying to keep the stock booster.

I have decided to drop both the front and rear subframes and have everything powder coated. The first stage will be to have ALL the mechanical bits of the car refreshed.

The firewall insulation is pretty beat up (what do you expect for an 85). A new one is NLA so I need to figure out if I want to just leave it or replace with something different. Any suggestions?

On to some pictures.

The lab...


The patient


Old m30


It's new heart


It's new home


I normally take a bunch of other random pictures so as I am sitting on the couch and need to figure something out I have pictures to reference. They all get dumped here for this project. www.theguestroom.net/e28 Feel free to check them out.

 

I'll be watching this thread... I'm always tempted to do an LS swap into an older BMW once I get some money to do a project. Question in my mind is: E28, E30 coupe, E34, or E36 ti?

 

Engine is in, sitting on the sub frame and some blocks of wood. I will make the mounts tomorrow, look pretty straight forward and I already have a plan. I was hoping to keep the stock brake booster but there wasn't enough room to push the engine back far enough. I have a 540 remote booster that will work. I might look at the Porsche 944 booster and see if that would work too. Either way I have a solution so...

Steering is all clearing nicely.... The only trouble is going to be the passenger side exhaust manifold but I have a couple ideas. I can always make something if it comes down to it. Not any big deal.

On to some pictures

open wide!!




sitting in (passenger side)


sitting in (drivers side)


Like it was made to be there....I had this shift **** sitting around and it is the threaded type from a 2002...and it threaded right on. Not sure if it will be there at the end or not.



Trans/shifter in tunnel


clears suspension/steering


underside in front - I might lower it one board, unless it starts to hit the suspension. Things are pretty close back there

 

It doesn't look like a very big update from the pictures but the motor mounts are done. I was hoping to finish the trans mount too but that didn't happen.

I did put in a 2002 brake booster and it clears everything but I am not sure if the master cylinder is going to end up clearing the exhaust manifold or not. I actually think the stock e28 booster would go back in now and miss everything. I have a couple options for brakes now so I am not too worried...either a vacuum booster, or remote booster. If the MC is close I might just move the booster over a little bit.

On to some pictures

Plate bolted to the block and another bolted to the mount
drivers side

passenger side


cardboard template...will this hold it?


transfer to metal in the bandsaw


a little bit of trimming here and there and weld....BOOM!
I am going to have the mounts powder coated. Should I go with something simple like...black or should I go bright and show them off. Help me choose the color.


in place - drivers, exhaust will either snake out in between the block and steering box or out the front between the mount and the alternator


passenger side


sitting on mounts




under - I wish it could be a little lower but the trans is just a tiny bit above the support bar that goes from side to side. Also the steering track rod is about 1/2" away from the bottom of the oil pan. But this way the oil pan is up above the subframe. I can install the under body plastics someday...if i buy them.


shifter centered in console


2002 booster with e28 master cylinder



Hoping to find time tomorrow to do the trans mount and measure for the drive shaft. My wife is off work starting tomorrow so we will see what can get done in the garage.

 

Very nice!

Love the old Fiat 500 in the back. My parents had a 1974 in the same color when they lived in Europe. Really practical car over there, but you would get squashed in the States driving one. Mind sharing some info and pics?

 

Sure, I have owned the fiat a couple years and really have not done anything with it. It is a 60 with the suicide doors. It is REALLY rusty. I bought a 67 fiat 850 spider as a doner this past summer and plan to swap the 850 motor, trans, seats, etc into the 500 when I get some time. It is way down the road.

Here in a link to some pictures I have of it.
http://theguestroom.net/fiat/

Most of the pictures are from the person I bought it from. It has been sitting for awhile in my garage.

 

Another small update....
I didn't get a TON done today but made some headway and the engine is now 100% mounted and its weight is supported by the car.

I was also busy making the parts needed for m42 mounts. I sure do love my band saw.

Trans mount was a bit tricky because each side of the body is at a little different angle and height. It is only tacked right now. It will get fulled welded when the engine comes back out. I will also trim a lot of the extra angle off it and add some gussets between the angle and the flat bar. I might see about drawing it in cad and have a piece piece cut and bent.








I will need to "clearance" the tunnel in a couple spots





This is the skip shift solenoid, it will get removed


Sitting down on all 4, no weight on the lift




peaking out...


A few more general pictures of the engine...man I am happy how it looks in there




I got a set of vette manifolds to try. The driver side manifold on the drivers side will not fit for sure. The outlet is directly on top of the steering box. But....the passenger side on the drivers side does fit and the pipe can go out between the motor mount and alternator. With some heat shielding. It is still pretty tight but juuust might work. I have a couple other ideas to try. I might try a 02 camaro passenger side on the drivers side and also might check on an escalade drivers side on the drivers side. There is one brand new at the local advance auto for only $80. Worth looking at.


Brake master cylinder clears...close but clears. That is still the 2002 booster...going to try the stock one again and if that doesn't work I will run a porsche 944 booster.


I tracked down an e31 rear diff cover and going to see if I can mount that up so the diff is supported from both sides.


Drive shaft length is figured out so I can order that. Really all that is left to fab and figure out is the exhaust, coolant lines,`electric (fan(s)), AC stuff, wiring (which is all pretty easy and documented already)

Soon everything will come out and the suspension will all come down to get powder coated, etc etc. The t56 needs some work to the reverse gear syncro. Then it can all go back together.

So far so good!!

 

reverse gear syncro?

 

It grinds going in to reverse unless I go back to 3rd and then to neutral, clutch out, then back to reverse. I think it is just the synchro. But I will know more when I open up the trans.

 

Didn't realize the t56 has syncros on the reverse gear. Neat.

 

What kinda of metal did you use to fab the mounts?
Also you are using the whole wiring harness out of the old car correct?
I am doing research & contemplating a LS swap into my 94 AMG C36

 

Plates are 1/4 steel, angle iron is 2.5" 1/4" wall, all mild steel

I am unsure yet if I am going to run the wiring from the camaro or not. I was planning on it but I might just modify the stock harness to keep it a little cleaner.

 

http://youtu.be/6UNDSKCguqc

 

NICE! What exhaust manifolds did you use, especially on the drivers side? I guess the e34 has a bit more room tho

 

Some work done today (morning was spent making m42 mounts for people).

I picked up a set of CTS-V manifolds yesterday to test....they didn't fit. The c6 vette manifolds fit but are REALLY close to the frame rail. I also have to run the passenger side on the drivers side and then would have to loop the pipe back around the motor mount. So....I have a set of 98-99 camaro manifolds on the way that are stamped steel that I can cut up and fit how I need. I am hoping they are here by the end of the week....we'll see tho.

On to the pictures and update...

Bought a new "toy/tool" yesterday


Dropped the gas tank...it wasn't leaking but it wasn't far off. 26 years is pretty good on a tank I would say.



Dropped the rear subframe and all the front suspension. Still debating what I am going to do for suspension. A lot of the parts are already new which is excellent! New bilstein sports, etc.
Either stick with the springs that are on it...eibachs in the back, cut 535 in the front or go with an adjustable coilover setup.
It is getting rear subframe adjusters from Ireland.



I am really happy with how little rust I am finding. The worst of it is in the front corners where the jacking points are. There are some spots that need to be cut out and new stuff welded in. I am thinking I will clean it up as much as I can without getting too deep into it and then take care of it the right way this spring/summer.

A couple pictures showing how solid it is. Any small spots of rust will get cleaned up and painted with some POR type paint.







The diff mount has seen better days...I doubt these get changed very often.



The rear subframe assembly is pretty much all apart. The plan for the next couple days is to get everything taken apart and ready to go to the powder coater. I am hoping to have the exhaust manifolds by the end of the week so I can get that figured out. Then the engine can come out and I can clean up the engine bay while I wait for parts and the parts to get coated. The goal is to have it running by early February.