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DISCUSSION => Swaps, Turbos, Buildups => Topic started by: e30phill on April 18, 2008, 07:51:34 AM

Title: M42 Engine Swap
Post by: e30phill on April 18, 2008, 07:51:34 AM

Hey guys, ok first post!

Right track/road car I have is a 'F' E30 325. Havent had it that long but prepped it all up for my track day use on a budget etc etc....driving it home the other day and  started over heating bla bla...basically headgaskets gone and got a feeling the head is cracked too.

So...iv been looking around and thinking about a different engine to put in...and was thinking about the M42, mainly because i can pick one up rather cheap, although i really dont know much about these engines!....soo hear i go with the questions!

In the end i would like to do the usuals to the engine, cams, manifold and all that...and maybe some itbs proberly along the lines of bike bodies running with either omex or megasquirt. But to do this...i need to get the engine in first!

So first question, cams and bits and pieces, who do i go to and what should I run?

Car was/is/running a M20 at the moment...can I run the gearbox in the car with a M42? And engine mounts im hoping that its all based around the same thing and will just be a some fettleing here and there or am i just completely barking up the wrong tree?

Has anybody else done this? Reason for going to the 4 pot is just well price one and just I imagine them to be quite a lively engine, the 6 is good but i find it very lazy......but anyway and help or advise would be magic!

Thanks
Phill

Title: M42 Engine Swap
Post by: rob_e30 on April 18, 2008, 08:56:33 AM

A stock M42 will weigh a bit less and produce less power than an M20.  The tranny will bolt up, but will require changes to the drive line, shifter linkages, and tranny mounts.  You'll need new motor mounts.  There has been a lot of talk about cams for the M42, but very little real data.

We ran an M20 for quite a while on the track and found it to be a very reliable and fun motor.  Swapping in an M42 won't change that a lot as you'll still have a momentum car.   I'm not sure how much cheaper you can get an M42 versus an M20 because those are cheap too.