BMW introduced the 3-Series in 1975, with the second generation (E30) arriving in 1982 and continuing to 1994. It could be had as a four-cylinder 318 or a six-cylinder 325 and was peppy in either configuration, with up to 143 horsepower.
These BMWs were popular, and plenty are around today as good used cars.
The M62 V-8 E30 project started as a quick engine swap. The seller says:
Shop now for BMW 3-SeriesYou could do the conversion for under $1,000, they said. It would only take a month.
Carbon fiber is used extensively in the interior.
Everything that could be done was done.
The V-8 engine is from a 2000 BMW 740i.
The V-8 swapped BMW 3-Series is immaculate.
In reality, the so-called Project 9 took a lot more than a month and grew considerably in scope. The highly custom M62 V-8 E30 took two years to build.
The seller said:
What began as a winter project became a COVID project, then a post-COVID project, and finally a finished project.
Never Give Up
The V-8 engine is from a 2000 BMW 740i.
The aluminum alloy block M62 was launched in 1995 and was sold for a decade. Including M and Alpina versions, it had up to 410 horsepower.
The builder first tried to use an M62 dating to 1997. That proved problematic. It was full of water, then was butchered by a machine shop that didn’t know how to hone cylinders made of Alusil alloy. The builder had more success on the second try when an engine from a 2000 740i made it into the E30.
However, it had two bad cylinders. So a new block was obtained, the heads remanufactured, and the whole engine overhauled. Finally, it was connected to a six-speed manual transmission.
Of course, the M62 was made for a bigger and different car than the 3-Series, so it needed to be shoehorned into place.
The List of Mods Continues
Carbon fiber is used extensively in the interior.
The whole car was cleaned, stripped, primed, and painted (twice), including the engine bay and trunk. The owner fitted Duraflex GT fiberglass fenders. All the windows came out, and a new windshield was installed, as was new carpet ordered from Europe. He replaced the headliner and rebuilt the moonroof.
The builder reinforced the subframes via a kit from Garagistic, which also supplied the M62’s motor mounts. He refreshed the suspension.
The brakes were reworked to handle the M62’s extra power. Large rotors from Ireland Engineering and Willwood six-piston calipers were installed. A Tilton three-chamber brake fluid reservoir completed the job. OZ Ultraleggera wheels and Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R XL tires provide the connection to the road.
The exhaust was a project in itself. The new Supersprint setup is from Italy. The owner said:
Supersprint has a custom exhaust they make specifically for the E30 M62 engine swap. Garagistic used to make an exhaust, but today Supersprint is the only company that makes it, and they do a very nice job.
A Fire-Breathing M62 Dragon
Everything that could be done was done.
The M62 engine was a tight fit. A Flux adapter to mount the oil filter directly to the motor provides a tidy look. The builder fitted a Mishimoto radiator, using a relocated stock expansion tank, and hitched it to a 16-inch Mishimoto Race Line high-flow fan. There’s more.
- Redline Motorsports provided the plug-and-play wiring harness.
- RacingDiffs offered a rear differential that could handle the power.
- Speedhut made the gauges, and Rockford Fosgate made the speakers.
- The carbon fiber custom dashboard was custom from 2M Autowerks, complementing the carbon fiber steering wheel and door cards by Vink Motorsport.
And then it was all together. There are still things to do. The air conditioning needs to be connected. The seller also suggests replacing the rear axles with ones rated for more power to eliminate a weak link in the drivetrain. But the car is on the road, with less than 1,000 miles since the rebuild.
The V-8 swapped BMW 3-Series is immaculate.
The seller said:
It’s a dream to drive. Turning the motor puts a smile on your face. Rowing the gears is just how driving is supposed to be. The car wants to go, and it will leave everyone behind. The idea was to make a sleeper, but honestly, this is no sleeper. Everybody knows that there is a fire-breathing dragon under that hood.
This was the vendor’s ninth project, and he’s selling it to make room for the tenth—which might be a Factory Five Cobra replica built from the ground up.
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