bmwe21.net forums

my dad and i have recentley bought a e30 318is engine and might be getting the box and lsd. but would like to know if they are a straight swap.

we might be getting rid of the injection and putting on our twin 40 webbers and using a stand alone ecu as we don't have the one for that engine.

you will notice the gearbox wont have a drive for the speedo so you wont be able to tel lhow fast your going, and the LSD from an e30 wont fit the e21 axle.

M42 swap works but is tricky. thetomc on here did it a few years ago, search for his thread on his car or PM him for advice. As I recall it involved 6 pot subframe and engine mounts, modified sump as it was stupidly low, alternative being wonky offset gearlever. Gearbox needs to be from a 6 pot M20 or use the M42 one and some sort of aftermarket speedo. Fritz bitz could also advise. For the effort you might as well look at what Nas has done and get an M50/M52 in there.

Jim

drjim wrote:M42 swap works but is tricky. thetomc on here did it a few years ago, search for his thread on his car or PM him for advice. As I recall it involved 6 pot subframe and engine mounts, modified sump as it was stupidly low, alternative being wonky offset gearlever. Gearbox needs to be from a 6 pot M20 or use the M42 one and some sort of aftermarket speedo. Fritz bitz could also advise. For the effort you might as well look at what Nas has done and get an M50/M52 in there.

Jim

id say an easier swap would be an e30 m20b25 and a turbo.

2.7 is about the cheapest/easiest route to some proper grunt imo, but then I'm biased.

haha ok ppl thanks alot for the advice

what other lsd's fit on the e21 or fit in the e21 case