Right up front I'll let it be known I have no experience swapping engines, but you've got to start somewhere..

I just got an 84 318i and I'm far from impressed with the pull the m10 with 220k miles on it has. The tranny's losing 2nd gear, as I've seen is common, and the engine's got some minor issues with it. Instead of dabbling into internal work that I don't have the time or tools to do myself and don't want to trust a shop with, I'm curious about dropping a 6cyl into my 318, with the transmission native to that engine.

I understand it won't be a direct fit, I looked pretty heavily into swapping the engine on a couple of rice burners, so I'm familiar with the basic idea, but I'm far from expert on the topic.

How much custom fabrication would be needed to fit one in? I want to stay with a BMW engine, not a Corvette or any other wild engine. I can't find any dealers online who have prices listed to get a loose idea of cost not including labor...I've got dreams of what I would "like" to do, but I can put a safe bet on it being out of my price range without even looking...

Any general advice you guys have, anything about prices or why this or that engine would be better for any reason would be awesome...I've read a bunch of threads here, but can't really find any specific to the information i'm looking for, and don't even know where to begin searching to find it..

I think this might be some good advice:

with the money it would cost to do that, you are far better off moving up to an E36, maybe even an E36 M3. You will then have a new car, a nicer car, a faster car, a cleaner car, and (IMO) a prettier car.

That's why I'm asking about prices involved and the difficulty. If it's obscene then I'm not going to do it, but if I wanted to buy an E36 that bad then I would just have waited and found one later.

Head over to e30tech or r3vlimited for more detailed motor swap help.
There are threads and threads that have gone over this.

A few days of reading/searching and you'll find everything you need to know.

Actually taking the motor out is a different story.

instant gratification. comes before thinking clearly, almost always.

Right up front I'll let it be known I have no experience swapping engines, but you've got to start somewhere..

I just got an 84 318i and I'm far from impressed with the pull the m10 with 220k miles on it has. The tranny's losing 2nd gear, as I've seen is common, and the engine's got some minor issues with it. Instead of dabbling into internal work that I don't have the time or tools to do myself and don't want to trust a shop with, I'm curious about dropping a 6cyl into my 318, with the transmission native to that engine.

I understand it won't be a direct fit, I looked pretty heavily into swapping the engine on a couple of rice burners, so I'm familiar with the basic idea, but I'm far from expert on the topic.

How much custom fabrication would be needed to fit one in? I want to stay with a BMW engine, not a Corvette or any other wild engine. I can't find any dealers online who have prices listed to get a loose idea of cost not including labor...I've got dreams of what I would "like" to do, but I can put a safe bet on it being out of my price range without even looking...

Any general advice you guys have, anything about prices or why this or that engine would be better for any reason would be awesome...I've read a bunch of threads here, but can't really find any specific to the information i'm looking for, and don't even know where to begin searching to find it..

It's not that big of a deal. Well, I take that back: are you going to use the M20 (6cyl) from a 77-83 323i, or try to put the m20 from the e30 in there? I know somewhere in the e30 lineup they changed from having the speedo cable connected to the transmission to the differential. But I don't know if it was immediate, or if they did it when they started using the M42.
If it was immediate, then you're better off using the e30 m20. You'd need wiring, computer, engine, transmission, driveshaft, subframe, radiator, and a few other tidbits.
If it was when they introduced the M42, then it's easier still. You'll just need the engine (with the fuel distributor), subframe, transmission, and driveshaft. Everything else more or less bolts up. But that one will be harder to do, because 323i's are sort of a rare gem in the US. There are a few options to make the m10 faster than a stock e36, but it's not too cheap. Turbo-ing one of those things is a pretty custom job, even with one of the original kits from the 80's.

But I wouldn't just drop the project and get an e36. They're everywhere. Keep your e30 and work on it.

PS, you could get some ideas by using the search function and looking through the e21 section. All our cars have either m10's or m20's (with the odd m30 or V8), and the e30 guys are probably more familiar with the motronic system.

Prozak, thanks for the references, I'll dig around on both those sites and see what I can figure out.

Drew, I'm not even sure what I want to put in for an engine, it's mostly going to be based on what I can afford and handle doing at least a good piece of the work myself. If it's a crazy job that requires huge amounts of custom fabrication, I'll probably pick a different block. Right now is definitely the R&D phase of this project, and the early stages of that.

Thanks for the tips though guys! Where do you usually source your engines from? Online dealers, or do you dig up locals?