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Tech Forum : Engine Advise

- BMW E21 Community
   - Tech Forum
      - Engine Advise
pjs323i   Posted Tuesday, Nov 7th 2:58pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]
Member
Post nr. 51
   
Canberra, Australia
'81 323i
Say i was going to put in a new engine over the summer break. What would be a good bolt in that wouldn't require much engine bay modification for a 323i? say i was going to put in an s14/m42 engine. just some advise and tips. I would like to keep the Getrag 245 that's in it.

Perhaps i could write a page about my progress and post it on the site, Tri?

jrcook320   Posted Tuesday, Nov 7th 8:11pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]
Junior Member
Post nr. 1
   
Van Wert, OH
'81 320i
If you have a 323i, why on earth would you swap in an m42 or S14? The bolt pattern on your 245 will not fit the S14 and likely won't fit the m42 either. That would require a different tranny, driveshaft, custom subframe and engine mounts, and would be a ton of work.

You have an m20, you can simply bolt in or build a larger displacement m20 that will EASILY outperform either of the 4 poppers you mentioned for much less than half the money. You can build a 2.7L m20 using readily available (eg. cheap) factory parts and if tuned properly be pushing over 200 hp at the flywheel using the original K-jet system, or converting to motronic. Use the search function, the topic has been beat to death.

You could also swap in an m50/52 and it will bolt to your tranny and may even use the same m20 engine mounts. The only hurdle would be electronics.

wharthog   Posted Tuesday, Nov 7th 11:41pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]
Member
Post nr. 84
   
SF Bay,California, USA
1982 323i, , R1150RT
323's are rare here in the states. I looked for years to find a decent one. I have to agree with jr above. Why would you want to give up two pots?

pjs323i   Posted Saturday, Nov 11th 7:18am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]
Member
Post nr. 51
   
Canberra, Australia
'81 323i
well, i wanted a 4 beacause of fuel. but i still wanted power. i dunno what to do with my engine, i have 3 months to think about it so i'll take my time and choose the cheapest option in the long run

imaradiostar   Posted Saturday, Nov 11th 8:56am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]
Member
Post nr. 943
   
Nashville, TN
81 323i, 82 525i, 85 524td, 90 535i
if you could get your hands on an M42 engine you'd have a great basis for an economical car that would perform better than any factory E21 short of the 323i did- and even then it may be better if you get the engine far enough back!

The M42 shares bellhousing designs with the M20 and M50 family of engines but I believe it's a different angle from the M20 to the M50. This isn't a big deal, you'll just have to modify your shift tower and shift mechanism a bit.

I hope you know how to weld! You'll have to do a little fabrication to make the above swap work correctly.

jamie

pjs323i   Posted Sunday, Nov 12th 2:15pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]
Member
Post nr. 51
   
Canberra, Australia
'81 323i
well, i'm no Bob the Builder! I'll probably just go for a re-con and bore out to 2.7 and perhaps a 24valve head or something.

BruceH   Posted Sunday, Nov 12th 3:12pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]
Member
Post nr. 1036
   
Atlanta, GA USA
81 323 Baur, 85 745
No 24v for the m20 available. One of the USA tuners did one years ago but it never made it to market.

Bore it or just find the ETA bottom.

JJG323   Posted Sunday, Nov 12th 3:49pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car]
Member
Post nr. 1280
   
Reading MA USA
1979 BMW 323i
BruceH wrote:
No 24v for the m20 available. One of the USA tuners did one years ago but it never made it to market.

Bore it or just find the ETA bottom.

Exactly..
Build a 2.8/2.9/3.0 m20...and rocket past rice and mustangs.


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