Sunday, April 5, 2015

EASIEST & CHEAPEST E30 Engine Swap

To start off, please be well aware that ANY engine swap is neither going to be "easy" nor "cheap". If it is, expect it to cost more money and cause headaches in the near future. If using a second hand engine, it should be fully reconditioned and have all wearing parts replaced before it goes into the car.

Of all the options, the M30 (B34 or B35 depending on which you can get your hands on) swap is the easiest and cheapest. Why? Absolutely every step of the swap is a bolt-in job.

Hartge and Alpina both built M30B35 based E30's (Hartge H35 and Alpina B6 3.5) Also, BMW released a limited number of M30B32 fitted E30s in the South African market (333i which was jointly developed by BMW and Alpina). That means that every part you need can be obtained from the said OEM suppliers. A wrecked E28 or early E34 535i or M535i would make an inexpensive donor.

The engines themselves are old technology, single-cam design. This makes working ON the engine much simpler than with more modern engines. Having been designed in an age where many things were "over-engineered" they are extremely tough and resilient. After a rebuild, very basic maintenance will have them running strong almost forever. They also handle forced induction well in their stock form.

The down-side of the older technology is that they won't be as fuel efficient as modern twin-cam engines. No matter how it's tuned, the torque curve will never be as broad as that of a twin-cam engine. Speaking of torque, this thing will pour out bucket-loads of it as soon as you touch the go-pedal.

The power figures of this engine will be less than impressive, but that's not what it's about. It's TORQUE and at the end of the day, it's what matters. Torque is the turning force exerted at the engine flywheel on the drive-train, which is what is actually driving the wheels.

Sources on the internet estimate these stats:


0-100km/h: 6.7 sec


Top speed: 240 km / h


10-13.5 Liter / 100km

If I were to do a swap on an E30 and wanted the least hassle, where every step was just a case of turning a wrench, the M30 is the way I'd go.

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