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Well I’m still pressing forward a bit at a time bewtween work, moving, and life in general. Finally got a T56 and clutch (thanks to Jason at Texas Drivetrain for the help). Got the driveline fitted then pulled for some trans tunnel massaging and heat shielding. Ordered a bunch of parts that are sitting in the garage waiting for their turn to get installed.
My latest work has been thinning out the factory wiring harness. What a pain in the ***. BMW has wiring everywhere and computers are integrated into every circuit. I’ve probably pulled 50 plus pounds of wiring. For all the tedious work though, I’m getting more excited the closer I get.
Any updates on this? I found a 2003 convertible M3 with rod knock I was thinking about picking up. Looking to do budget 5.3 swap, was curious how your exhaust worked out.
Still going at it slowly. Haven't run the exhaust yet, still trying to wrap up some other pieces of the puzzle. My intent is to run the headers into a Y-pipe and single 2.5" out the back left side in the stock location. Yours would be a bit different since it's an M3. You'll have the dual outlets centered in the rear valence.
A 2.5" single exhaust is REALLY going to choke an LS engine. Do at least 3" if possible.
Hopefully I'll be able to, and I know there is a Bimmerworld kit that's a 3.5" single for stock BMW drivetrain. Until I'm at that point and get my measurements the 2.5" plan is a worst-case.
Awesome super clean build man. Props! Curious what oil pan you used? Looks pretty tight between the pan and rack and pinion. My brother has an E46 and we just started working on a 5.3 swap in it, picked the 5.3 up last weekend, going in the morning to start yanking the old i6 out. Want to make sure we get a pan that will. Also unrelated but I saw you mentioned going to a shop in Nashville, where do you live? I’m about 45ish minutes south of Nashville in the Columbia/Spring Hill area.
Awesome super clean build man. Props! Curious what oil pan you used? Looks pretty tight between the pan and rack and pinion. My brother has an E46 and we just started working on a 5.3 swap in it, picked the 5.3 up last weekend, going in the morning to start yanking the old i6 out. Want to make sure we get a pan that will. Also unrelated but I saw you mentioned going to a shop in Nashville, where do you live? I’m about 45ish minutes south of Nashville in the Columbia/Spring Hill area.
I used the Holley LS retrofit oil pan, 302-1 I believe is the part number. As for clearance it's much better now, that photo was taken with the first iteration of motor mounts. I switched those a few months ago and everything fits much better.
I used to live in Clarksville, about 40 miles west of downtown, but have since moved. Was there about 17 years. The shop I used for the cage, subframe reinforcement and fuel cell mounting was Coffey Fabrication and Race Prep. I highly recommend you check him out if you need any fab work. Owner is Chris, and he's got a lot of great projects done/going.
Edit to add: If you're going with off the shelf swap mounts, pony up for the Vorshlag gear up front. It hurts a little more in the wallet, but I tried the CX Racing (what you see in the pics) trying to be cheap and it was a big headache. Save yourself the aggravation and get the Vorshlag. I'll add some more pics eventually and you'll see the much better fit and finish, and better clearance.
No "major" progress to note. Most of my time on the car was spent thinning the wiring down to minimal necessary circuits. I went from this rats nest:
To a bit better and neater:
Tested all circuits for proper function. Headlights, tail lights, brake lights, turn signals and four ways all good. Also kept power windows successfully, but then decided that this car has suffered from far more project creep than originally planned and had become much more "track" than the "street-track" that I was shooting for. Taking that into consideration I ditched the power window circuit and gutted the doors. No more side windows.
Initially I bought CX Racing mounts to save money. In the end they caused far more aggravation than the savings was worth. Switched over to Vorshlag and very happy I did, even at double the price. Anyone looking to do an E46-LSx swap should just get the Vorshlag and be done with it unless they're making their own mounts.
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