[penguinoitaliano]

I have a 1987 BMW 325i convertible and would like to put a chev V8 in it. Has anyone ever done this.

[bates_k]

I recall someone in the mid 80's putting a Turbo Buick into
a 320i, with a custom made oil pan, but I've not heard about
anyone doing a small block... the engine compartment is a
little on the tiny side if you ask me, and I used own one...

K

[jimfulco]

www.jagsthatrun.com may have something for you.

[Crosley]

I am moving this thread to the basic rodding forum .

[39 chev]

sounds like a waste of a good engine to me! why dont you put that engine in a real car.

[2-manytoyzs]

I had a couple of Merker XR4TI coupes which are distant cousins of the BMW line. They use a lot of the same components from the Beemers. I wanted to pull the 2.3L turbo out of the '89 and put in my 5.0L ford with AOD but ended up selling the car and bought the wife a 95 Mustang (She didn't like shifting).
I loved the way that XR4TI handled, excellent cornering. I think I would have liked the V8 in there.

I found some guys in Europe that installed V8s in their XR4TI cars. There are also guys putting V8s in Mercedes. Google "V8 Mercedes engine swap" and see what you can find.

I wanted to put a Chevy in my 75 Mercedes 230 but it would have been a tight fit, the original engine in that car was a 4 cyl and it was a tight fit. Sold it too.

[staleg]

I've seen old BMW 3-series in England and in Norway with newer BMW V8 from BMW M5. That's a dynamite combination!

[penguinoitaliano]

[QUOTE=39 chev]sounds like a waste of a good engine to me! why dont you put that engine in a real car. [/QUOTE

[farna]

Saw a 350 in a 500 series Beemer, but not the 300. A small Ford might be better, it's a couple inches narrower than the SBC. Better yet would be one of the small 60 degree V-6 engines -- 3.1L or 3.4L from a Camaro would be nice, or even a late model 2.8L. The 4.3L V-6 would have the same width problem as the SBC. Maybe a 4.0L Ford V-6? I'm not sure on width of it.

The big question is why are you switching? Just want more power, to do "something different", or the expense of rebuilding a Beemer engine? If the later the 3.xL V-6 might be a good compromise and still provide a little more power than the Beemer four.

[penguinoitaliano]

Originally Posted by farna

Saw a 350 in a 500 series Beemer, but not the 300. A small Ford might be better, it's a couple inches narrower than the SBC. Better yet would be one of the small 60 degree V-6 engines -- 3.1L or 3.4L from a Camaro would be nice, or even a late model 2.8L. The 4.3L V-6 would have the same width problem as the SBC. Maybe a 4.0L Ford V-6? I'm not sure on width of it.

The big question is why are you switching? Just want more power, to do "something different", or the expense of rebuilding a Beemer engine? If the later the 3.xL V-6 might be a good compromise and still provide a little more power than the Beemer four.

The horse power you can get from a 2.5 ltr bimmer motor is limited and expensive. the hp gain you would get by changing the motor with a chevy or a bimmer v8 would be cheaper than if you were to turbo or whatever the 2.5

[TailGater]

http://www.personal.kent.edu/~wbainey/BMW.htm there is a how-to on this guys website that should give you an idea whats involved.

Hope it helps,

Chris

[farna]

I understand what you're saying penguinito! One of the 60 degree V-6s would likely give a cheap power boost, but would be nearly as much effort as a V-8 conversion and not as much power. Looks like Tailgater pointed you in the right direction though. I read through the notes. The only thing I didn't like was the engine plate. With a little more time it shouldn't be hard to fab a mount for the Chevy pads, would take some welding and hanging the engine in place whicle looking/thinking/measuring. Typical hot rod swap!

I've seen the "Jags That Run" (JTR) sites. I'd contact them about the Volvo conversions (manual may be ready now?). That would be a lot closer than the S-10 conversion. There are some notes on the site about the Volvo conversion that should be helpful. As a side note, some Buick dealers put Buick 350s in 240 Volvos in the late 70s. Can't recall if it was a factory authorized effort, a regional, or specific dealer thing. I've seen one of the dealer conversions about 10 years ago, I think it was a 78 or 79?

[mercmad63]

If this is still on the go,I have here a copy of the English magazine " practical Performance Car" which has a articl about a guy who owned a BMW 3 series and wanted to build a a M3 replica. What he did was install a new alloy block lS SBC . The engine is LIGHTER than the BMW 4. With the stock engine he has a car that blitzes the m3's! and is cheaper to run and maintain .
http://ppcmag.co.uk/