bmwe21.net forums

hi,

Is there any 4cil E30 engine that is a easy swap for the E21?

My 1600cc needs overhaul and I am thinking about fitting a 1600 or 1800 E30 engine instead as they are plentiful and cheap...

Good idea or bad idea?

Thanks!

R

Easy swap. Just check sump etc and swap as required. You could even swap over onto injection but it's more involved obviously.

As Mark said, you'll need to swap the sump, oil pump and engine mounts across from your old M10. Also, some E30's had a injection and an in-tank electric fuel pump and return fuel line - whereas the E21 had a mechanical pump mounted on the head, so consider this. I think the exhaust manifold needs swapping over too - but check the shape of the ports match the head as some have oval ports and some circular if I recall correctly.

So it could be good to find out how much of an overhaul your current engine needs, if its just the head I'd rebuild it. Or source an E21 carb engine and make it a straight swap.

thx guys!

i will keep rolling gently with the current engine and plan an overhaul for later this year.

in the meanwhile if i find a cheap and decend engine from an m30 i may consider it...

thx again!

R