need advice on swap

[yotaracer28]

hello all im kinda new to the bmw realm and have ended up with two bimmers a 95m3 auto and a 95 318i vert auto, i also have gotten a 94 325is 5speed parts car since it is obd1 i am assuming a swap would go well the 95 vert and it has a blown hg so this just makes sense, i also plan on saving the 5 speed in the parts car for the m3, but that i a later project i have a question can you remove the subframe/crossmember on these cars and just roll motor/tranny/front suspension out from under the body? if so i plan on going that route hopefully the rear will work like that also, so any advice what to look for pointers etc?
thanks in advance
clark
central ky

[Bluebimma]

Why are you posting on 318ti.org, this is a site dedicated to hatches, not non-ti e36 chassis'.

Anyways, It would be just as much work to remove the drivetrain as one piece as it would to try and drop everything by the subframe which seems like a pain within itself. What exactly is being accomplished here? Sounds like you have an auto m3, 318 vert, and 325 with a blown HG, what you swapping besides the 5speed stuff into the auto m3?

[yotaracer28]

well it seems that you guys are a lot more swap savvy here and im starting out with a m42, from the winshield forward its the same right? well anyway im sorry to confuse.... the 95 318i vert has a blown headgasket i have a
94 325is 5speed parts car with a running drivedrain..... the reason i wanted to do a whole subframe because of the sport suspension bigger brakes etc... might as well do it all at once.... but the 5speed im keeping for the m3

[Bluebimma]

You may run into some issues as far as just throwing the engine into the vert chassis seeing as how the engine harness for the engine is made for a 5 spd and has no connectors or harnesses for the auto transmission. Im sure you can get away with just picking up an auto harness for the m50 and having it work with the tranny, but then again, shift points and such may not be accurate or the chassis can just reject it. As far as brakes go, if im not mistaken theyre the same for both the 318 and the 325. The ti has solid rotors until 05/98 and the other e36s got them all through the years. Suspensionwise, you can swap it over, without a problem. Rear subframe, you might as well leave alone because theres nothing back there that you need to change out unless you want to go through a lot of work and money. If you wanted to beef up the verts rear end, youd want to go with the m3 rear subframe upgrade, not 325. Swapping auto to manual transmissions mean different driveshafts and rear differentials which is another thing to think about. There are reinforcement plates that can be welded to the chassis for the infamous non-ti e36 rear subframe tearing. That could be put in if you dont feel like doing a subframe swap.

All in all, if you want to throw that m50 in the vert, id just throw everything in there, including the 5speed. Then i would sell whatever i could and save up for the m3 tranny swap becuase youll need a lot of different parts.

[yotaracer28]

thanks man i appreciate the info now this is straying off to trans swap so the 325 5speed with the driveshaft and pedals will not work on the m3? or are you saying because of the electronics it would be easier to swap all into the vert? i had planned on using the m3 auto with the m50 in the vert but hadent found out if the electronics were gonna be a prob i thought the cars had two comp one for the engine and one for the trans but i sure you still run into connector issues

[Bluebimma]

All the 5 speed stuff will work well in the m3, but youd need a manual harness for the m3, or if you reuse your auto harness in the m3, youd need to modify it so you can get reverse lights.

The auto trans, m50 engine, and m3 auto harness wont work together. The m3 has a 5spd auto, not 4spd, so the computers are programmed completely different and im sure the engine wont start because of the tranny incompatibility.

Right now, with what you have, you can do a manual m3 and a non driveable 325 vert.

[yotaracer28]

yeah you make a good point i think im gonna look for another manual setup for the m3 or just fix the blown headgasket on the vert and leave the m42 in it and be done with it i just hate breaking motors apart when i done the headgasket in my mk3 supra that was a real pain would have rather swapped out motors lol...

[96cali]

If you already have the 325 I'd swap it all into the 318. Should be easy, even the drive shaft and rear diff. The M I'd leave for another project since you'll want a different master cylinder, clutch, fly, etc.

[yotaracer28]

yeah thats a good idea but then i got to locate another manual swap, pedals and all and that is hard to do in this area without paying gold prices......ill have to make a decision soon cuz once the weather warms up my gf will be after me to fix since i got it for "her"(wink wink) lol....also i thought my master on the auto would work? its got the nipple for the clutch line on it dont i just tap into that?

[campaiar]

Yes, just cut the end and run a hose down to the clutch master cylinder attached to the pedal set.

I have a manual pedal set if you need it. Where in KY are you?

[yotaracer28]

yeah im in nicholasville just outside of lexington about 10min...actually i will be needing that pedal assembly cuz i plan on doing a manual swap in the m3 i have also...even though thats a way off i wanna go ahead and aquire what i can...i also need a manual harness for a 94 m50 got the parts car sittin in my buddies garage and his dog decided to try a tast test on the engine bay if he wasent one of my best friends i would hav shot the dog where it stands...but he just gonna have to pay for replacememt parts and its gonna be a few...
i really want to thank you guys for the help i post this same stuff on bimmerforums and got not even one reply, and even a local bimmer board...nothin...you have been the first to acknowledge my question so i do really appreciate it

[96cali]

We are benevolent gods, yes, thank you.