Originally Posted by Raheel999

Hello guys. I want to share my build with you. If someone is interested in doing a motor swap in any chassis this thread may help a little.

It all started when my bimmer blew a coolant hose on the M52 engine; I decided to just throw all of the bimmer problems away and start a new swap with something reliable. One of the most popular options for engine swap in an E30 is the S54 engine from E46 m3 It makes around 330 hp but that's about the only good thing about it. The engine is a heavy 6 cylinder, an iron block weighing around 500lbs with all accessories. Parts are expensive, too; intakes can cost $500-2500 dollars for minimal hp gains.

So i decided not to go that route and find something else. I started searching the best 6 cylinder in the market because of class rules in track racing and auto x. The rule is if you're engine is over 3.8L then it is considered a V8 class, so I'm looking for an engine with maximum cc of 3700. I came across a nearly brand new VQ37 motor on a Nismo that had a rear end accident.

I decided to buy that motor and leave everything else on the wiring guys to do the swap, which was the start of my problems. I started the swap and sent the car to my friend at Auto One Performance garage on Instagram. This guy can swap anything in any chassis; he's currently working on LS swap in a Fisker Karma �� and his most famous work is a Renault Clio with a rear wheel drive conversion with a single turbo LS engine.

We started with the motor mounts, which is an easy task because the E30 engine bay can fit a V12. Then we moved to the transmission, which is very long but bolts right up on the E30 because the shifter hole is right where it needed to be without any cutting. It does need a custom driveshaft and some hammering on the firewall since the bellhousing is a little big. The engine is tall but narrow and small compared to M52 inline six so it saved us lots of engine bay space as you can see in the pictures. There is a ton of space between the radiator and the engine plus the engine is now sitting behind the wheels; compare that to the stock inline 6 practically touching the radiator.

The last part was the wiring, which is a a nightmare. Lots of small computers and systems inside the cabin needed to be removed. There is a lot of cutting to be done, and trying to get the car started was a bit paint dur to the immobilizer not letting the car start even after NATS delete in Uprev. The problem on these engines is the VVEL motor and ECU run the motors on each bank. The VVEL module controls the throttle on each bank and if it is not working, your throttle will not work - you can start the car but cannot rev the engine. We found a VVEL module from a junkyard and swapped it into the car with no success. We found out that if the VVEL module and ECU are from different vehicles, it will not work. You need a matching pair of VVEL and ECU from a donor car. In the end lots of testing with new ECUs and wiring with no luck.

Finally we ordered a new wiring harness, a new ECU and matching VVEL module from the US and sent it to Hexagarage for a custom wiring job to delete all the extra stuff. He shipped everything back to the Middle East and finally the engine started ... but with some problems. The throttle was not working due to some VVEL codes (I think p1090 and p1092), which was the same problem as before with the VVEL motor not working. Eventually we discovered it needs a separate ground wire directly from the battery to give it full amps. It then started and for the first time in a year the throttle worked with revs up to 7K. Turned off all the extra sensors with Uprev (ABS, TCS, ECS, airbags, limp modes, etc...). The VQ engine sits 2 inches taller than the fenders so my hood wouldn't close; added some spaces to the hood and now it is fine. The brake booster is pretty big on E30s and we needed a smaller one, so we removed one from a Nissan Patrol SUV clutch booster (yes this SUV has a clutch booster with a 4 inch diameter).

After a dyno tune it made 360hp. Pretty good numbers with shorty intakes, shorty headers, and a dual 2.5 inch exhaust with Hamman BMW muffler. As for the driving experience, the car is really fast. It lifts the front on WOT and there is no lag in tight corners on track and autox - I've seen all the turbo cars struggle on autox so I am happy with the decision to keep it NA.

If you're interested more about this build please follow me on Instagram: assasin_e30.