prices: 318ti - M3 engine swap

[Phunkatek]

Im looking to buy a car in the near future and id love to get my hands on an E36 M3 but unfortunately i cant afford one. I was in the past looking into hatchbacks and then i found the 318ti and ive been hooked since. The only thing is I really want the power the M3 engine offers. I read before about someone on this site who had a 318ti and had an M3 engine swap done. I thought that was an awesome idea, especially for the appeal of making it a sleeper. Only thing is I have no idea what the costs would be for buying an E36 M3 engine and having it installed in a 318ti. I might as well just save for the M3 if the cost of the 318ti + the M3 engine + the swap come out to the same price or more of an M3. I dont have as much experience as others on this site so I was wondering if anyone could help me out with these prices?

[Dimension318]

figure about $8,000 with engine, ecu, wiring, tranny, custom exhaust work, and other problems/parts that you find out that you need after you thought you planned for everything >; )

[gnarfy]

buy a wrecked M3 for 4000$ (If you find one with a good motor, trans, electronic) and do the swap yourself... It's the best and cheapest way...

[bboy_10_lt]

$4g is alot of money what i would do is buy a turbo or supercharger and have the engine built it handel the psi i think that would be a better way to got for me and you end up with HP

[Phunkatek]

(Thanks for replying so fast )Dimension- are you saying 8k for just the M3 engine? And buying a wrecked M3 for 4grand sounds like a really good idea, but i dont think i know enough to do the swap myself, plus i wouldn't trust myself doing it. Id want to leave it up to the professionals so nothing gets messed up and if it does i can blame them Another thing is just how easy is it to find a wrecked M3 with the engine intact?? Can you really find them for $4,000?

[Dimension318]

The 8k is for everything, including installation. If you want to do it yourself you'll save about 2-3k depending on what you're quoted. You can find wrecked m3s that have side impact or rear impact. That should leave the engine alone. Some front impact m3s are still ok too, just be sure that the impact didn't push the engine or anything back.
As for F/I and building up an engine, a quality supercharger will cost around 3k alone. Opening up the engine and building it up can cost a couple grand more.
There is a supercharger system for the 318s made by Downing Atlanta. It costs about $3,200 and comes with self install instructions. Dyno graphs put it at 220 HP or so. You could get a mosselman turbo kit for the 1.8's as well, but I wouldn't advise it. They're basically crap. Hope that helps. PM or e-mail me if you need more info.

[zcghost]

Hey dimension post some pics of ur ride, it sounds pretty ill..

[Phunkatek]

So 8k is 318ti+ M3 scrap engine+ installation? And sorry if it seems like a dumb question, but what is F/I? About having the engine built up, I agree it would be a much more expensive way to get hp, even though you could probably get the most hp out of the engine. But, on building the engine so that it could handle a higher psi from the supercharger like bboy says, ive seen ways to cool down the air charge before it goes in the cylinder more than the intercooler does like shooting nitrous into the intercooler rather than the cylinder.

[Dimension318]

I'll see if I can get a camera and take some pics. It's not much of a looker though, all the fun stuff is under the hood.

[gnarfy]

do a search on http://www.car-part.com

there is many M3 engine for sale...
1997
Engine
BMW M3 GOOD $3500
sounds good ? ;-)

[Phunkatek]

eheh well i guess 8k is a bit unbelievable to include the cars cost with the installation although ive seen 318tis go for as low as 7grand. Thanks for the help though.

[Dimension318]

the 8k is just for engine, tranny and installation and all accesories you need to get it running. It does not include cost of the car.

[DSK M3/4]

f/i = forced induction (turbo and supercharger)

avus autosports in the san fernando valley brought a 332ti to bimmerfest. i talked to them a while about it- it looked great and they knew what they were doing. i would suggest looking for a '95 ti so you can stick with OBD I.

f/i is nice, but it just doesn't offer the same reliable power as an M3 motor swap.

[Phunkatek]

How tight is the fit of the M3 engine in the 318 bay? That would be awesome if you could still fit a turbo or supercharger kit on it but i really doubt that.. Does the supercharger kit produce more hp than the swap though?

[DSK M3/4]

the engine bay is the same size in all E36 cars, so it's a perfect fit.