engine and drivetrain M20 Swapped 2002's - Roll Call!

[JQ02]

On 2/27/2016 at 10:44 PM, kid2002 said:

Let's try this again.. You think my exhaust is too loud? 2.5" single pipe out the side right in front of the driver side wheel, temporary until I find a suitable resonator/muffler combo - just wanted to drive it and get the cooling system bled.

http://youtu.be/9sTzdnEPGRg

 

This thread is so helpful! Bummed this video is no longer available. Any chance you could repost @kid2002?

 

I had a ratty but fun '72 2002 that I autocrossed in the 80s and have always missed it. I sold my e93 335i - which was great - but not something I felt I could work on. Now I want to build out a 2002 like new with more torque. I started by researching the weights of all the BMW engines and seem to have correctly landed on the m20. I'm thinking stroker m20, Megasquirt and Zender box flares.

 

I'm grateful for all the info here and elsewhere on the 'net. I haven't even found my 2002, yet, but will be sharing my journey when I do. Thanks!

Edited April 17, 2022 by johnq22

[AceAndrew]

@johnq22 welcome!  Great to hear of your plans.  Joyriding and hotrodding these tin cans is addictive. Best of luck with the car hunt!  If you need any worthless opinions, m20’02 guys are always more than happy to help.

 

Where abouts are you located and what kind of 02 are you after?

[JQ02]

10 hours ago, AceAndrew said:

Where abouts are you located and what kind of 02 are you after?

Thanks @AceAndrew! 

I'm in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, PA

I'm looking for a relatively inexpensive roundie (pre '74 2002 or 1600) that's not in great condition, but not completely rotted out (ideally with solid shock towers) as I plan on completely redoing it. Since I'm going planning on box flares, it's prolly ok if it's a bit dinged up. I'm selling my 2019 Miata to provide the build budget:)

 

I'm hoping that I can find one that's affordable roadworthy (even if not currently running) so that I can get the m20 sorted out and then take it back out to put it on a rotisserie for paint.

 

I bought my first 2002 right out of college from a guy who had 4 of them; he sold me his parts car for $250 and we spent the next 6 weekends getting it back on the road ?  Life happened and after five years I gave it to my brother who gave it to a friend who gave it back to the guy I bought it from. We've just reconnected and he gave me some old parts he had laying around. He's since moved on to sailboats.

 

The local bmwcca in the 80s was almost all gearhead 2002 owners. I'm so excited to have found this community!

[Lucky 7]

Engine bay is all sorted and I had it running trouble free for 9 months. Took me a few months to sort some electrical gremlins and figure out a fuel starvation issue, but since I solved those I have 7-8 hundred reliable miles on the clock. 
 

 

Now I’m just waiting on paint and I can get back to annoying my neighbors. ?
 

 

I’ll get a build thread going eventually, maybe I can add a few helpful tips to the M20 conversation. 

[vinceg14]

That M20 install looks proper. 

[Ken]

When doing my M20 swap I tried to think ahead to ease of maintenance down the road.  In the case of possible transmission removal, I wanted to be able to do this without removing the engine or dropping the subframe.  When modifying the tunnel I cut a notch at the top of the tunnel to reach the top transmission bolts if needed.  Well my rear main seal started to leak so I put my theory to test and it worked great the extra room was very useful.  I was easer to do than on my son's E30.  Pictures for reference.   

[AceAndrew]

That looks so easy as if it was some cheat code.  Very clean accommodation.

 

I found a couple more holes that I initially instructed the body shop to remove... but they forgot.  Frustrating.

[markwelder]

Newbie working on my M20 swap now.  Mounted in engine bay

[Lucky 7]

And blown no less. What kind of HP are you aiming for?

[markwelder]

Even 200 hp would blow my mind.  I'm hoping to get it to spool quickly as its first priority.   But that is a long ways off... I have a lot of work to do.

Question to anyone:  Have you needed to leave your flywheel inspection cover off to avoid interference with the steering arm?   I wonder if I might even have to cut off some of my Getrag 260 bell housing.  I'm using IE M20 swap motor mounts. 

[Mike G]

Get the drop center arm from e9? Bavarian? It’s been discussed on this forum somewhere but I can’t remember the model it comes from. 

[Lucky 7]

Sounds like fun. 200 will rip in these cars.
 

I modified the flywheel cover to work with the center link. Seemed a more straightforward solution to me…and I didn’t have to buy anything to do it. As I’m sure you can relate, eventually the never ending acquisition of parts in pursuit of this swap wears thin. 🤑
 

 

 

edit: oh, and I should have mentioned that I’m using the Classic Daily mounts. They put the motor low and far back, so the center link doesn’t get near the bell housing. Not sure where the IE mounts put it, though. 

Edited January 9 by Lucky 7

[markwelder]

That looks great! 

But for me... where the IE mounts put the motor, I'm in more trouble than that would fix.  My "drag link" is in contact with the bell housing!  Pic:

 

I'm going to work on my rear subframe swap and driveline so I can see if it is all happy with where the motor's mounted.  My radiator, which currently has nowhere to sit, is already voting for re-fabbing the IE mounts to get the motor further aft.   But I'll see what the E30 subframe, diff and driveshaft have to say about it first.  Thanks!!

[66Vette]

I'm another 02 guy with an M20 swap.  I didn't do the swap, but I'm knee deep tidying up details from the original installer.  The car runs great with the M20....at least it did until I started tearing into it.

 

My swap uses the original computer and I must say I'm disappointed in the lack of diagnostic capability available.  I'd love to have a set up where I can plug in a computer and read status easily.  I know Megasquirt is out there, but has anyone fooled with Classic Daily's new computer for the M20?

 

BMW E30 M20 Plug and Play ECU

WWW.CLASSICDAILY.NET

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Classic Daily Turkey and Cheese 55pin ECU.  This will work for any motronic 1.3 cars with the 55 pin connector.  M20 and M30. Runs Rusefi firmware that tunes with tuner studio. This kit comes with the following Turkey and Cheese PNP ECU TPS Adapter  TPS Harness Variable TPS Injector...

 

[jimk]

5 minutes ago, 66Vette said:

I'd love to have a set up where I can plug in a computer and read status easily.

Once upon a time on an 89 E30 325IX I took the base plate from a junk yard ecu and mounted a Haltech ECU and a connector/header from DIY Autotune.  The connector/header is a direct fit onto the M20 engine harness connector.  I pieced a harness from the Haltech to the header.

 

The package mounted in the stock location using the original fasteners.  I rewired the injector wiring harness for 3 pairs instead of the 2 pairs that BMW had.

 

It require a ignition coil ignitor because the Motronic had drivers internal, while the Haltech does not drive dumb coils directly.