bmwe21.net forums

Thijsse wrote:

mario_o wrote:is the m50/m52 e21 conversion similar to the e30 conversion? same parts, e.g. 525i e34 oil pan?

people always say, the m50 is made for the e30, and my experience is that its not easy to fix it into e21

For RHD E21s it's practically a bolt in swap!

wiz0r wrote:

Thijsse wrote:

mario_o wrote:is the m50/m52 e21 conversion similar to the e30 conversion? same parts, e.g. 525i e34 oil pan?

people always say, the m50 is made for the e30, and my experience is that its not easy to fix it into e21

For RHD E21s it's practically a bolt in swap!

And not a trace of sarcasm... but seriously vtecmike, you will not have the servo clearance problems we RHD peeps have as the servo is a Heath-Robinson (i.e. a well-designed lash-up) system on RHD cars and gets in the way on evvvvery engine transplant for us.

Not entirely sarcastic, it bolts on the M20 mounts, onto the E21 M20 gearbox at the right angle which then means no messing with props or gear linkages. The only concerns with the RHD swap is the sump modification and inlet clearance to the inner wing. The servo is actually in the perfect position for a RHD swap when using the M20 engine mounts!

An M52B28 swap will be proper quick in an E21, and it keeps the weight down. Possibly the best affordable engine swap into an E21? I'd be lieing if I said I haven't been looking for a cheap 328i engine!

Thanks for all the interesting posts, hopefully this will advance the e21 cause!

i remember my 1st e21 it was a RHD and i remember the smooth action of the remote servo!!
mind you that was a beast! 316 AUTO

hopefully the m52 will be an almost bolt in aswell but im thinking of using the gearbox with it, makes the project a bit more interesting,
then ive got to sort a diff out, im hoping to do something different with that.



thanks mike

Hi am from Puerto Rico am planing to do the same swap but on a 320is, i really need some help.... got a e36 328is 96' and a e21 320is 82'..
am looking forward for some answers about motor mounts and chassis modification.... am planing to keep it as low budget as possible