List of "plug & play" engine & gearbox for E34

[131]

Im not sure this topic have been discuss or not yet.
Since E34 first model 1989 till today 2015 around 25 great year!
Its time to get ready or standby or stock up engine and gearbox for this lovely car.
Origin M20 / M50 engine.
Heard these engines and gb getting lesser...
Any alternative or if remain same engine & gb, what is the correct/best combination?
A bit worry

 

[V-Man]

started 1988 to be exact on the year it started

btw, what model you have or intend to get?

there were m20's / m30's / m50's / and m60's .... it really depends on what you're after and combinations are just too many to discuss

 

[anakin]

If you wish to keep her original and standard...yes, you may have to stockpile at least one complete engine & gearbox...as E34 is going to extinct soon...parts are harder to come by...but in term of "plug & play" engine...don't worry so much, almost any bmw engines are plug & play into E34 these days..thanks to our revolutionary mechanics..kan V-man..?

 

[131]

V-man. Now in the hood is M50B25 with jatco box.(non vanos)
Would like to keep this standard 6 pot feeling possible.
Anarkin. Btw e34 can plug in m52 single vanos engine n gb? If no need change wiring will be less job

 

[V-Man]

If you wish to keep her original and standard...yes, you may have to stockpile at least one complete engine & gearbox...as E34 is going to extinct soon...parts are harder to come by...but in term of "plug & play" engine...don't worry so much, almost any bmw engines are plug & play into E34 these days..thanks to our revolutionary mechanics..kan V-man..?

Yeah bro, Malaysia boleh !

V-man. Now in the hood is M50B25 with jatco box.(non vanos)
Would like to keep this standard 6 pot feeling possible.
Anarkin. Btw e34 can plug in m52 single vanos engine n gb? If no need change wiring will be less job

M50B25 is a good base already. You can always option out to manual conversion, stroker kits, turbo kits, etc to bring out the best out of it. Depends what you want to achieve and how much willing to spend.

M52 is using SIEMENS and M50 is using BOSCH. Also OBD II vs OBD I. Best to do complete conversion.

 

[131]

Tq v-man

 

[pumpkin76]

If say original M30B35 Auto, is it a straight forward job to change to Manual? Can we use the manual GB from M20/M50?

 

[gianucci e30]

If I understand your question correctly, you have quite a few options when it comes to swapping engines.
V-man is spot on if you already have a m50b25, you are already ahead of the game.

However if your talking about doing a complete Plug and play swap. Grab a e36 s50 or s52 engine. They drop right in with little effort.
With that you can go OBDI or OBDII. I honestly prefer OBDI. Less stuff to deal with.

And yes when your ready...Go 5spd manual. You'll be happy you did.

 

[V-Man]

If I understand your question correctly, you have quite a few options when it comes to swapping engines.
V-man is spot on if you already have a m50b25, you are already ahead of the game.

However if your talking about doing a complete Plug and play swap. Grab a e36 s50 or s52 engine. They drop right in with little effort.
With that you can go OBDI or OBDII. I honestly prefer OBDI. Less stuff to deal with.

And yes when your ready...Go 5spd manual. You'll be happy you did.

Inline 6 again? I'd suggest a V8 German Muscle ... LOL

 

[gianucci e30]

I suggest it for ease of install. Dropping a m60 into a m20 or m50 born e34 is a little more involved than it would be to drop a s50 or s52.
I agree german muscle is a beautiful thing. But Don't sleep on the inline 6s. There's a guy in the states that has a OBDI S52 swapped touring like my sedan.
With a 3.46lsd and some minor upgrades he's trapping under 13.5. Which for these cars is impressive.