E12 engine upgrade

[Jitzy01]

Hi All

As I'm busy with my e12 restoration, I think now is the time to get some opinions in regard to what engine should go in there. Currently I have an m10 518i complete drive train setup from the engine all the way to the diff, this being a 4 cylinder setup would obviously mean that i can go with only 4 cylinder engines due to what the subframe is able to handle, the subframe on the 6 cylinder vehicles is way stronger (dont think it will be an easy part to find), I know this for a fact. I'm not into making things fit where they shouldn't so respectfully guys your input will be sincerely appreciated, I'm thinking m42 but how much work is lnvolved there and will the m10 auto gearbox mate to the block of the m42 ?

 

[individj]

in my personal opinion...if you dont want to do 6 cylinder then leave it M10 and its auto.

 

[Jitzy01]

Man that thought has struck me a million times already. The m10 I have is not problematic at all and it's an engine which was running perfectly before we did the m30 swap on the other vehicle which it came out from. My thought is to get it running currently with the m10 so that the panelshop guys will be able to move the car around easily in their shop to get the body repaired and painted and then I consider maybe the 6er at a later stage. Which will give me time to source all the bits required for a 6er swap be it a m50, m20 or m30. The idea of this post was to check which of these 3 would go in the easiest with the least fabrication work and modifications.

 

[individj]

i would do exactly that and collect parts in your own time i would probably do the M30...i always wanted to do a 645 or 545 with 3.5 and bolt on turbo as in US spec

 

[Jitzy01]

Let me also add, I've done the swap from 4 to 6 myself using an m30 535i from an e32 735i and we are still ironing out the minor issues on the vehicle till this day, I suppose this is the way it is when one goes this route. My buddy was lucky enough he had a complete donor vehicle which made it easier, in my case I'm going to have to hunt any parts required for these swaps, like my initial post indicated i.m in for the long haul so I won't do any engine swap till I'm sure I have the necessary parts to perform the task. Anybody who has done any of the above engine swaps on e12, your input will be sincerely appreciated.

 

[Jitzy01]

M30 will make it period correct in terms of the motor, the e28 m30 is the best thou due to the mid sump, the front and rear sump engines require a lot of work due to the e12 suspension and subframe setup. @individj, keep watching my posts. This weekend we starting to get down and rough with the e12 I be sure to post some pics.

 

[individj]

M30 will make it period correct in terms of the motor, the e28 m30 is the best thou due to the mid sump, the front and rear sump engines require a lot of work due to the e12 suspension and subframe setup. @individj, keep watching my posts. This weekend we starting to get down and rough with the e12 I be sure to post some pics.

i def will

 

[Jitzy01]

Hi All
Trust you guys are well.

As promised in my previous post on this thread I mentioned that the past weekend was going to be busy with the e12, firstly got down and dirty on Saturday with a m30b35 which was not pumping oil to the cylinder head, the finding was that the guys who built the engine didn't care and left the oil pump sprocket nut loose, only because they had initially stripped the thread on the oil pump shaft, we were lucky enough to still have the original oil pump as these cost 10k at the agents and were able to rescue the engine, it's purring like a proper 535i now. Then the resto e12 which I have, consumed my entire Sunday but was fun, put together the m10 engine, sorted the wiring connections in the engine bay, hooked up the second servo on the braking system (complicated e12 braking system) and cleaned up here and there in the bay with a brush, engine wash to come soon. Enjoy. I will keep updating as I go along.

 

[rodga]

I have some blue "leather" seats that I removed from my old e12. Cracks and tears etc but it will at least much your carpets and trim.
Yours if you want it.

Sent from my Redmi Note 9 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[Jitzy01]

@rodga, thanks Bru, I already managed to get a set of blue cloth seats which I.ll be sending in soon. I agree that the seats in there currently don't belong.

 

[Jitzy01]

Guys looking at the colour In the engine bay, what specific paint code is on this e12 ? From research, it looks to be the salmon silver metallic 203. It cant be the polaris silver because if I look at the polaris it doesn't have the blueish metallic In it. The panel beater is asking me to give him 3 colour options so that he can quote me. I'm really in hard place with this one, I'm thinking let him match the stock colour and maybe I get out lucky with the cost, my other colour options include a diamond black metallic, brilliant red or brittish racing green. But since this is a forum I'm open to your suggestions.

 

[individj]

i would probably do stock colour

 

[Jitzy01]

I am also very much leaning toward the stock colour, I'm sure with the technology available today that the specialists would easily be able to match the paint colour because the inside of the vehicle is bone stock in terms of the paint.

 

[individj]

my thoughts on this is the outside paint of your car can make or break it its the first thing you notice about the car. So match it as close to the factory colour as you can and not the old interior paint. There will be a difference in colour but atleast the cars exterior colour will be as close as possible to the factory colour.

 

[Jitzy01]

Hi guys, it's been a while but I'm sure most of you understand proper restoration takes time and if you are working it can take even longer. That said. I managed to remove both bumpers on the e12, it was a mission as the bolts and nuts which secure the bumpers into place were old and rusted, some snapped off on the turn of the spanner and others seized but we managed to get them off. Managed to get a new set of bumper brackets for front and rear from the agents now I need to have the bumpers repaired. The thing is as I was busy with the bumpers along came someone who is interested on taking the project from where I am to the finish line. I will do some mechanical work to make the vehicle mobile and the new guy will take it from there. He has promised to continue posting the progress as we would all like to see the end result. Anybody who knows of a place that repairs metal bumpers please let me know so that I can tell the buyer where to send them. As always you input will be appreciated.