Been thinking lately about doing an engine swap on a BMW e36 coupe as there very cheap to buy now and i like the look of them but i just think there under powered. I know of the M3 but id struggle to buy a decent one for the cash i have let alone run one. So ive been thinking of fitting a 2l turbo lump from a doner to one but not sure what engine to go for.

i know of a few cossie engined examples but the YB isnt the cheapest engine to come across now, so im thinking jap. i could get a sr20det motor from a 200sx with box ect for under a grand so was thinking along those lines.

Does anyone know of any e36 coupes with odd engine swaps? would be nice to see to get ideas.

Cheers.

 

How about a V8 either from another BMW or a small block chevy ?

 

nar not really wot im into tbh. prefer the jap engine route.

 

my first choice of engine for a transplant into my bmw e30 was a 2.5 twin turbo from a skyline but was advised against by 2 different garages about using jap engines because the electrics involved can be a nightmare so i ended up going the cossie yb route and that received a mixed reaction from the other e30 owners in the club.some recon id ripped the heart out of my bmw and concidered it almost a hanging offence to see a ford lump under my bonnet i think you'll get even more grief as jap stuff seems to be held in even lower regard as the cossie yb.a popular engine to use in conversions is the e34 m5 engine or even the 8 series 5.0l v12.try www.e36coupe.com for starters and good luck