M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => Swaps, Turbos, Buildups => Topic started by: darknight on November 03, 2008, 12:35:28 AM
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I'm researching the details about swapping a S14 into my 318is. I tried a search on this forum but found nothing. Any thoughts?
My M42 is running super solid and has very low miles. The AC still works and everything else. I'd hate to swap in a S14 and lose some of that reliability and cold air. :)
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Wow!! The almighty S14!! If you are planning on staying NA, I would say by all means go for it!
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I have same kind of plan. So far i have bought a engine & transmission(M3 euro dogleg version). It's quite straight forward project. 318IS have the same undergarriage parts as 325I, so what you are building is more or less italian/portuguese 320IS model with a little bit larger version of S14. Check out all possible info of 320IS model, it will help a lot to accomplish your project.
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The parts are all there since you are just recreating an e30 M3.
But the engine is going to be more expensive both to buy and maintain.
You are going to need an engine, tranny and wiring harness/ECU from an M3 donor. While you are there get the instrument cluster if you can. You don't need it. They are just cool.
Then you need to sign up for the M3 sig at bimmers.com to get all the little upgrades. Like motor mounts to use, etc. The subframe is the same. It once had a different part number, but no longer.
If your M42 is solid go with the DA supercharger. More reliable and cheaper. And more power.
Or just go get an E30 M3. Might as well have the rest of the coolness to go with all the downsides to that motor.
Anyone mention they are buzzy. Vibration was so bad that I couldn't see out of the rear view mirror. It was just a fuzzy image. And mine ran smooth compared to some others I was in.
Fan clutches are about $250 vs $60ish for ours. S42 parts are crazy. I can't remember what a distributor cap cost, but it was insane. Everyone buys them at the Volvo dealer because they sell a direct fit for 1/10th the cost. Again you need the M3sig for this stuff.
That being said I always wanted to drop one into a M42 powered Z3. So what do I know?