bmwe21.net forums

HI , im thinking about putting a m60 v8 lump into my bmw e21, but before i go and buy a engine , does anyone know if it fits?
without modifying the shell too much!
I had a look at the v8 build on here but he spaced framed his which i dont want to do.

So if any one knows could you let me know ? i need a v8 in my life!!

thanks Mike

issues come to light on the steering rack, lots of manifold chopping etc etc, physically should fit in ok. not sure about sump though

I have a pal doing BMW V8 conversion at the moment. I asked him how hard it is and he said he was ''struggling to think of something that would make your balls ache more''. I take that to mean it's not that easy to do.

Im trying to convince Ben that we should fit one into the 2002 classic thunder car

id look for a manual box first before worrying about buying the actual engine.

Talk to Jason - he has the engine/box from his crashed 540i. Think they may still be in the car, but it's a trailer job.

yeah i know the gearboxes are hard to come by , but i live in france and here even the 7 series are fitted with manual boxes half of them dont even have leather, the french dont like luxury and they are afraid of autoboxes!
I know it will be hard to do ,but i want a v8 , i want power, i was going to do a 2.8 conversion , but i think i want something abit different.
The main thing is as long as it fits in then we can go from there!
My brother in law is a mecanical engineer , our other mate is a eletronics engineer and we know a spot on fabricator who has just built me a lovely rollcage for my track car.
So ive got the back up when i need it.
I dont suppose there are any photos anywhere on the net just to get some ideas?
I would like to make the whole conversion factory looking , well as much as possible anyway.
Well there is talking and doin!

thanks mike

Search LS1 on here and you can see his awesome fabrication work. I know it's not a BMW V8 but it'll give you an idea.

Or check out M15KYY's car for a BMW V8. If you know engineers and fabricators, you can match his car.

I think he's checked Misky's but doesn't want to space frame.

The engines fits in the engine bay, it is front sump'd so suits the e21, the six speed is a big box. The pain will be fitting the manifold and getting past the steering column, then destroying the rear axle with the torque.

yeah, i dont want to spaceframe the car because i want it to look factory. The manifolds are i think goin to be very hard to do, there is not much space i imagine.Ive been looking on e30zone at the v8 conversions and it doesnt look easy even though its been done a few times now.
Like you noted jason the rest of the car will then have to be modified to cope ie rear diff, bigger brakes and suspension.
What rear diff would you recomend, the e12? or is there a more modern diff which could maybe be used?

thanks mike