Advice needed: e36 318is motorsport - Engine upgrade/swap?

[b3rg]

Hello Fellonatics :rollsmile:

I am in need of some advice from the guru's on this forum.... any and all info would be appreciated.

Ok the vehicle in question is my dads e36 318is motorsport (m44).... this vehicle is part of the family and has been since day 1.... the car is completely original and its nearing 400 000km's.... engine has never been opened :=): .....

The car is now starting to feel VERY lazy and my Dad and I have come to a point where we will need to make a decision with regards to bringing the engine back to life....

We are deciding between an engine swap with a larger 6 cyl or rebuild the 4 cyl with forged internals and convert it to stroker with possibly turbo charging it.

I am for the rebuild route as i will then know that all the parts are new and stronger than before.

Gizmo ive been trying to make sense of your conversions from previous posts years ago on other forums but i am in need of advice.

Also trying to keep the budget within a realistic mark.... i expect we will only start this project at the end of the year...

Thanks in advance.... :ty:

 

[madness_inc]

Don't build what you can buy. Rather sell this and look for a decent 328i that you can mod over a longer time

 

[UpNcOmiNg!]

If you going to keep the car, I would say build rather than buy seen as you know the history of this car.
If you want to do something special then I would say buy a decent motor and mod it slowly while out the car and ready it for the transplant later in the year.
That would be my advice to you.
Decide what motor you want etc and take it from there.

 

[b3rg]

If you going to keep the car, I would say build rather than buy seen as you know the history of this car.
If you want to do something special then I would say buy a decent motor and mod it slowly while out the car and ready it for the transplant later in the year.
That would be my advice to you.
Decide what motor you want etc and take it from there.

Thanks UpNcomiNg

I like the idea of getting a second motor and modding it slowly.... Yes we will be keeping the Car as theres alot of family history with it.....

It was used for weddings and my Matric Dance years ago :inlove:
So basically my dad is too attached to this vehicle....

I think we will restore it slowly.....

Will have to see what motors and all the additional goodies would cost....

 

[Dangz_335]

2jz

 

[Dhp507]

2jz

second that OR F20C ............can take 400 hp on stock internals.....:joy:

 

[b3rg]

2jz

second that OR F20C ............can take 400 hp on stock internals.....:joy:

I was thinking about that, would be a fun track toy and weekend drive.....trying to stick to the bmw roots :rollsmile: but all options will be considered :idea:

Thanks again for the feedback

 

[Gizmo]

I say just refresh the motor and call it a day. Original power will be restored and if all sensors are fine then you will get great fuel economy again.
Any time you start modding motors from std you hurt the fuel consumption.
If you hell bent on more power then buy a donor 328i and swap everything over as its the cheapest way to do a 6cyl swap as its not just an engine change, there is a ton of other stuff needed for the conversion and the donor will yield every part needed. Once your build is done, put all the left overs together and you have a car you can sell to recoup the costs of the donor 328i