My BMW E30 M52 Conversion Begins

My BMW E30 M52 Conversion Begins

Finally My BMW E30 M52 Conversion Begins next week! On Thursday 16th of May at 7:00pm I was eagerly waiting for an eBay auction to end. The auction was for a BMW 2.8 M52 engine, gearbox & conversion parts! Super……All already fitted into an E30 that is to be upgraded to a E60 4 Litre BMW V8 😉 Nice!!

The M52 lump had the M50 Inlet manifold, cone air filter with silcone hose, complete custom made Cherry Bomb exhaust system, Clio brake servo, gearbox, E36 radiator, full engine loom mated to E30 loom, ECU, EWS, etc.

It had pretty much everything for a quick swap. Anyhow I figured I would do a last minute bid to win as there was only one other bidder. 20 seconds to go I put my Big Bid in! You have been outbid, F***! Some frantic typing and another bid! Auction has ended, You have been outbid! Bollocks, Damn it!!

I was Gutted, I was sure it was going to be mine and had it all planned in my head for the big swap next week but it was not to be……The bloke selling it, Scooby Doo (ebay name) has been very helpful with tips and advice and a true e30 drifting enthusiast. Scooby has also helped his mate Peter Green with his e30 V8 conversion. Peter Green has competed in the Drift Allstars championship with his e30 V8 Beast.

So, back to My BMW E30 M52 Conversion Begins story! Found another M52 2.8 Engine, Gearbox, loom ECU, EWS etc, etc on eBay and after some hmmm`ing and ahhhh`ing, took the plunge and bought it. Just waiting for it to be delivered this week!

Hours and hours later, spent searching and researching for the other parts I needed for the conversion….the shopping list just kept on growing! There will be other parts like plugs, oil etc to get but the main parts are below!

  • E34 Sump/ Oil pick up/ dipstick tube & dipstick (they are like gold dust)
  • E28 (1986) M5/M535 Rubber Engine Mounts
  • Throttle cable (Long 1170mm)
  • E21 Gearbox Mounts
  • Vauxhall Steering C shaft, Uj`s  
  • Clutch Kit (Sachs)                          
  • Spigot Bush
  • Water Pump Metal Blades + Thermostat 88 degree
  • M50 Manifold + Gasket
  • E36 A/C Radiator
  • E36 318Ti 80/88 degree electric fan switch
  • E36 A/C fan                          

Just trying to get all the parts I can before the Big Fit this weekend but its probably gonna be the weekend after, the bank holiday weekend which will mean missing the European Drift Allstars drift event at Wembley that I was looking so forward too, hmmmm.

You can follow my progress in the My Projects drop down menu at  E30 Drift Machine at the top of this page. Here I will have pics and advice for anyone else thinking about doing this popular E30 conversion. And I welcome any advice or tips from fellow e30 M52 Converters 🙂

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