hay there im new to bmws and spec e30 i have a 87 325es and am thinkin about just getting a i motor and rebuilding it and then swapping it in. do you all think this is a bad idea? or do you think i should just find a i shell and swap it into that?
325es in spec e30
ctbimmer
#2
Plenty of people do just that, but you’ll also need a 3.73 differential (limited-slip preferred). If you are able to do the work yourself/with friends, it’s not a bad approach, but if you are paying shop rates for any of this, you’ll be better off buying a car with an ‘i’ motor.
You said that you new to BMWs, so unless you are a pretty skilled mechanic you might want to make some BMW friends who can help you with the finer points of the work you propose to do.
There’s nothing wrong with using an 87 es shell. It has the ABS and everything that you’ll need will bolt right in. If the sport seats are any good, you can make some money selling those.
If it still has the stock ES big plastic front spoiler, and you choose to run an oil cooler, you will probably need to cut a hole to let air reach the cooler.
Good luck, whatever you decide.
87isMan
#3
Well if you buy a i motor to swap into your es you could then sell your eta motor and recoupe some of your money back. Swapping a i motor into an eta is pretty straight forward, and I’m sure you can get all the help you need here or on other forums.
Buying a i shell, and then buying a i motor to put into it doesn’t make much sense, when you could just buy a running 325i.