5.0 and T5 in E36

[aussiebj]

Ok i started this thread to detail my 5.0 into an E36 conversion....i was going to do this swap into an E30 but the car was way to nice an example..I picked up a E36 with a 4 cylinder and manual tranny not runninig for $300..This is a great starting point. I will also list all costs incured as i go along...The plan is to have a beast of a road course track car yet be able to drive it on the street.....my goal target is $5000.00 for the project
E36 .........$300
5.0 (86 model eng,no efi this was setup for a carb) and blown T5(needs 3rd gear)...Free.(Not any more)
6/28/09..sold notchback minus engine and tranny...
As of today the project investment is
E36 $300
Motor and tranny ,ECU exhaust ,drive shaft and gauges....$1200.00
total so far invested is $1500.00..
Update 7/7/09
Purchased the V8 installation kit from E36V8.com (http://e36v8.com/index.html) for $312.00 delivered
I upgraded to aluminium motor mounts to save weight ( ill be the first using these)
Total to date...............$1812.00
sold motor and tranny ...$50.00
Total to date 7/14.......$1762.00

[Chuck Woolery]

^ Waits for the "you should throw an LSX into it" response

FYI 86 heads, not so good. Then again you can switch to Aftermarket Aluminum heads and shave some good weight. Also the 86 pistons are flat tops and do not have the valve reliefs in them, so be careful with your head selection as you may have piston to valve clearance issues.......then again you may already know all this.

Good luck with this though, I'm very interested to see the results as I'm thinking of doing the same thing.

[SKYWLKR]

I can help you with any swap related question or Motor part of the swap but my Bimmer info is sketchy.

I have several mustangs and 5.0 powered Vehicles. I am building my second Monster Miata now. It cranks and runs but I am sorting out a light weight accy system and cooling setup this week.

I would recommend starting with the Nicest car you can find and it will be that much nicer when finished.

the 86 does have flat top pistons so you have to be REAL careful with heads and cam use but if you can find a head that fits they work well cause they are flat top's and give you at least .5 point of compression. They can be fly cut in the block if you want to be low buck.

Try and find some Explorer GT-40 heads from a 96, or even E7TE stock 87+ heads ,but deff check clearances. The 86 should have a roller cam which is good but the cam is small.

Why not do EFI? The parts are cheap and you cant beat the reliability and tourqe productuion.

Is the T-5 out of the 86? If so dump it and find a newer one or get the 86 upgraded with later "Worldclass" parts.

[aussiebj]

I also have a 88 notch back with a 306 ,gt 40 upper and lower intake,E7 heads, bbk cold air intake with 70mm throttle body and bbk 75mm mas air with a b303 ford racing cam and 1.75 rockers..it has a new ford racing flywheel new centerforce dual friction clutch and a new rebuilt tranny with a steda shifter, should i use this setup instead.I also have a new spec 3 clutch and a canton road race pan.....i am going to get rid of the notch back so i can pull the drivetrain and sell as a roller as well....

[Chuck Woolery]

Originally Posted by aussiebj

I also have a 88 notch back with a 306 ,gt 40 upper and lower intake,E7 heads, bbk cold air intake with 70mm throttle body and bbk 75mm mas air with a b303 ford racing cam and 1.75 rockers..it has a new ford racing flywheel new centerforce dual friction clutch and a new rebuilt tranny with a steda shifter, should i use this setup instead.I also have a new spec 3 clutch and a canton road race pan.....i am going to get rid of the notch back so i can pull the drivetrain and sell as a roller as well....

You could, but I'd just go and pick up a set of aluminum heads right away and go that route. They can be had cheap enough (used if necessary), will give you nice power, and are much lighter than any stock cast iron head.

If you do aftermarket heads then you could still use your existing 86 engine and just check your P to V clearance, or fly cut if necessary. You can still put EFI on the 86 engine if you choose to do so. The notch will bring you more money as a complete car, and might help offset some of the cost of upgrading your existing 86 engine.

T5's are all over, just be careful what you pick up as they get beaten well. You could also just get one blown up for the case (or use the one you have) and go with the G-force internals, or do the Cobra gearset on a budget for $500 (both from Astro Performance). Your choice. Or if you're lucky pick up a used TR3550 for about $1k with clutch. What you'd add with weight will definitely be offset by the extra strength.

Just my ideas, in the end it's still your car and your decision.

[aussiebj]

wouldnt the 88 engine be better as it has forged internals ????

[Chuck Woolery]

Originally Posted by aussiebj

wouldnt the 88 engine be better as it has forged internals ????

The 86 pistons are forged.

FWIW the rest is all cast, but plenty durable, only the pistons were forged from 86 to 92. Then they switched to hypers for the remaining years of the 5.0 SBF

[CoolJoe]

This swap conversion should be real interesting. I'll just read on and enjoy the thread as in unfolds.

Best of luck Op!

[aussiebj]

[QUOTE=Chuck Woolery;16702514]^ Waits for the "you should throw an LSX into it" response

yes but that has been done so many times, i want something different and i have all the parts to do it.....i could not build it for my budget if i was to use an LSX series engine.....

[Chuck Woolery]

Originally Posted by aussiebj

i want something different and i have all the parts to do it.....i could not build it for my budget if i was to use an LSX series engine.....

Exactly one of the reasons I'd do it as well. My only problem is I research the heck out of something first, then dive into it two years later. By then it's been done a couple of times over.

Needless to say I'll be watching this build as much as possible. Good Luck.

[SKYWLKR]

Are your 88 heads ported or have better springs or factory? If factory you probably have 50-60 lbs of seat pressure and burnt valves.

The 86 is a fine motor but will need fly cutting for almost any head or cam.

I would put the 86 motor in the 88 and sell as a runner and put the 306 (add heads to this motor and you will have 320 RWHP with a good tune) in the swap and add aluminum heads when you can.

[aussiebj]

The 86 heads are ported and they only have 100 miles on them since rebuild...and yes putting the 86 motor in the notch is an option as well....

[Dungbeetle]

Good luck on your project. I'd like to start the same project myself, but I'm afraid it will end up half done like some of my other projects. I'll be watching your thread here, and maybe if it goes well, I won't be able to resist doing this as well. If the ebay DVD is available, it's worth the 20 bucks or so that the guy was asking. The guy made it look a whole lot easier than an LSx swap.

[aussiebj]

I never seen the dvd ebay add and i think he used an automatic...
The bulid price updated as of today
6/28/09 ..$1500.00 invested ...
i wll be continually updating the first post on cost of the build tally to date..
Yes pics to come.....

[Chuck Woolery]

Originally Posted by Dungbeetle

If the ebay DVD is available, it's worth the 20 bucks or so that the guy was asking. The guy made it look a whole lot easier than an LSx swap.

I bought the Ebay DVD, I figured what the hell it was only 20 bucks. He did make it look easy to drop the 5.0 in, but I also laughed hysterically at some points in the video. I understand he's doing it on the side with his own equipment out of his own garage, but some of the things he did made me a little scared. eeeek.

Either way it was good to see it as a starting point to show that it can be done and is possible.

My biggest question is how far can the 5.0 be shoved back into the engine compartment? I realize the front sump is a problem, but was wondering if someone went so far as to make custom headers if they could get the engine back even further, or is it still hung up by the sump? If it can go back further it should definitely help the weight balance as the 5.0 is not very heavy.

In the end even if the engine sits a little further forward than the BMW engine and offsets the weight balance a little bit, the car should still handle better than a Mustang (wet noodle), and that's really my ultimate goal.

[aussiebj]

My goal is to build a street driven road track car so i will let you know how it turns out as this car will be on a track mid August.......

Does anyone want the 4 cylinder and tranny from my 92 e36?????

[dj06482]

I'm going to be looking into this as well, definitely a neat concept. Parts from 87-93 Mustangs are so cheap it should be easy to stick to the budget...

Good luck with the project!

[hefftone]

My biggest question is how far can the 5.0 be shoved back into the engine compartment? I realize the front sump is a problem, but was wondering if someone went so far as to make custom headers if they could get the engine back even further, or is it still hung up by the sump? If it can go back further it should definitely help the weight balance as the 5.0 is not very heavy.

Summit racing has rear sump oil pans out the butt, I just checked and they have about 17 (including a rear dry sump). Don't let something like an oilpan hold you up,...just get a new one. That's the cool thing, you could build an entire Small block chevy or ford V8, with out using a single part made by GM or Ford, there IS that much aftermarket stuff. (unlike BMW)

[Chuck Woolery]

Originally Posted by hefftone

Summit racing has rear sump oil pans out the butt, I just checked and they have about 17 (including a rear dry sump). Don't let something like an oilpan hold you up,...just get a new one.

I guess I should have clarified initially. Although there are rear sump pans available, there is still a small sump in the front for the oil pump on an SBF. This was what I was considering the front sump. It's not as bad as a full front sump pan, but it could still get in the way of moving the engine further back while keeping it low in the car. Not a major problem with a project like this.....kind've like having a mild hangover, sure it sucks the next morning, but after another beer it's easy to forget about.

A dry sump would be sweet and alleviate any problems, but would be uber expensive.

[aussiebj]

Ok finally got around to taking a pic of my $300 BMW its a 92 318 is.....and here is a pic of the new drive train as well..

[aussiebj]

Removed the 5.0 and T5 from the stang this weekend as well as the wiring harness, what a pain that was to remove..Removed the 4 cylinder and 5 speed from the 92 today..cleand up the engine bay ..the clock is tickin.....

[philakamrbean]

I am keeping an eye on this one. Its too expenseive to build up an e36 with the limited aftermarket, and SBF's are all over the place.

[hefftone]

Thats a nice lookin E36 for only $300. Nice Score!

There are some nice looking rear sump SBF pans on Ebay, brand named Kevco,...looks like they are made for project/kit cars...looks perfect.

[aussiebj]

here is the old 4 cylinder ..

Here is the cleaned up bay waiting for the new power plant
I removed the front sheet metal to ease removal and installation

[Chuck Woolery]

Originally Posted by aussiebj

Update 7/7/09
Purchased the V8 installation kit from E36V8.com for $312.00 delivered

VERY interested to hear the results of these components. I saw that site a while back, but it seems that they sometimes have problems with their website. It's nice to see they have more pictures up now. Let me know what you think of the motor mounts and the installation DVD.

Thanks.