The first exhibit is my saphire blau metallic '82 528e (build date sept. '81), currently with 187K miles (5K on new engine). Modifications include urethane upper control arm bushings, KYB gas shocks with Vogtland springs (lowered a bit in front), front euro bumper (see below), and now a swap of the entire drivetrain.

The original 3-speed automatic transmission coupled to the torquey eta engine was not a bad combination except for the lack of top end HP. Well, now I have changed it into the car BMW shoulda' woulda' made. It blows away the old combo (crank HP and torque probably in the 180-190 range), makes an awesome new sound from 3k RPM on up to 6k, and acheives similar mileage. I did the work over about five months and encountered several minor setbacks (like shattered crank reference sensors, brake fluid running all over the driver's carpet, headbolt threads coming out of the block, etc.) but am very pleased with the result.

For the automatic to manual conversion I took most parts from an '84 325e

  • 5-speed overdrive tranny and shift console
  • flywheel
  • clutch master and slave cylinders
  • clutch pedal and associated bolt
  • brake pedal rubber cover (which I installed after cutting my old pedal)

    The driveshaft came from a manual '88 528e. I got the tranny crossmember and shifter boot new from the dealer (both are cheap items). I used a random spring I found in my toolbox to help the clutch pedal come all the way up. And to hold the rear of the shift console up I bent a piece of sheet metal, drilled a bolt hole, rivetted it up in the tunnel, and fastened it to the console with a rubber donut in between.

    I replaced the 2.93:1 open differential with a 3.73:1 limtted-slip from a 325is. The only hang-up was that my old diff had not only the early style centered mount, but the cover was slightly longer on the bottom. Rather than risk oil leaks I bought another ('83-'84 I think) e28 cover to put on the new diff.

    So where does the extra power come from? The new engine has a 325i cylinder head, intake manifold, and throttle body (plus associated plumbing). Connecting the ICV (in the old location) involves some hacked hoses and tape :) The engine also has custom ROSS pistons which are the same volcano shape (dish within a dome) as stock 325i pistons but with added compression height (1.5mm IIRC) and 0.5mm overbore. Plus I made two changes to the fuel injection: a 3.0bar pressure regulator and a modified EPROM for my 007 Motronic box (which BTW, had a socketed chip). It has a raised rev limit, more spark advance at low RPM/high load, and somewhat arbitrary fuel map changes...

    This is my "custom" body work which consists of a euro front bumper, the later US front valence, and $5 autozone turn signals. At first I thought it looked a little funny but it has grown on me and now I can barely stand to look at e28s with the stock super bumper.

    I made a pair of mounts like this for the bumper (the BMW mounts and associated doodads really add up if you buy new).

    Next we have my '84 "320i" which I made out of a junky '81 320i and '84 325e. The '81 motor was done up with ROSS pistons, an 89.75mm bore, and 80mm stroke. The '81 tranny and shift linkage were used (bolts right in) along with 318i brackets for the block and a 318i oil pan. The 325e driveshaft is used along with a simple spacer I had fabricated to take up another 2" (for a tenth the cost of a new custom driveshaft that is). I installed a stock 320i radiator. The tach read 2/3 the actual engine speed, until I went and hacked the e21 tach into the e30 instrument cluster.

    I later converted from the K-jet over to the L-jetronic that is found in the 318i. I added a Holley adjustable fuel pressure regulator to compensate for the extra displacement.

    I tried converting to a computerized ignition using the Ford EDIS with Megajolt Lite JR. I did have it working, BUT, the toothed wheel that I had welded to the front of the crank pulley came un-welded at 6K RPM and flew away one day. So I went back to a distributor.

    I drove around for a year and a half with a 2.79:1 diff. It was interesting. 5th gear was really great at 75+ mph though. Now I have a 3.73LSD which makes for much better acceleration, less clutch wear, and more fun in the snow. I eventually hooked up the power steering pump also which worked nicely for a while until rewarding me with substantial fluid leaks out of the rack.

    Maybe I'll try installing the EDIS again on my new 1980 320i.