Warsteiner, Wazzu70 and bmwman91 convince Norm he can build a smoking M42

[normboudreault]

For those of you who've seen my thread in the general chat section I'm considering buying an M42 engine from metric mechanic. Have any of you guys either bought or have come across any of their engines? I've emailed them for information but I haven't heard anything back yet.. I know they are expensive but with the 240,000kms on my engine I think a rebuild would be a good idea. I figure a typical rebuild would be about 3000-4000. A Metric mechanic rebuild is about 10,000. Insanely expensive but I would have a new engine with 200 horsepower. What do you guys think?

[DesktopDave]

BMWMan91 has one, PM him. I'd love to have one myself.

He had some trouble with valve springs IIRC, but MM went over the top to fix all the problems.

[Beeker1972]

I remember when I was in jr high my dad had a friend who ran a BMW repair shop.  One of his customers told him to order a MM M30 crate engine to put into an E24.  It turned the car into a monster ... It might be cheaper to do a OBD1 M5x/S5x engine/trans/LSD swap than buying a MM-M42 crate engine, but It's been a long time since I have heard a BMW 4 Banger rev up to 8500 RPM.

[Nick_318is]

I've read that they aren't the greatest about responding to e-mail, but they are happy to talk to you on the phone.  Might be worth giving them a call.  I'd love one of their engines but have to save my pennies and hope that I can justify the cost to the wife one of these days.

[wazzu70]

Phone is the best way to get a hold of them.

MM builds quality engines and are nice guys. The cost is high though but anything quality is.

If you are on a budget you can build a similar engine for much less as the parts are all standard parts. Its a lot more hassle though and you have to trust the engine shop figures everything out correctly!

[normboudreault]

Thanks for the reply guys - its reassuring to hear some positives about them.. They did answer my email - they told me they would email me with more info next week but if i wanted to talk on the phone.... ha!!

:-)

Right now im just at the information gathering stage. I know I could just swap in a more powerful 6 but I want to retain the m42. There's a reason there is a 4 in the e30 m3 and its all about revs and handling. Same for the 318iS. While i wont be racing this car i may occasionally bring it in for a relaxed track day and i will ALWAYS be DRIVING the thing...the way its meant to be driven...

DesktopDave, i will pm bmwman91 and see what he has to say...

[Darky]

Norm relax a bit you have a whole car to do!
Plus mm m42 will still require tuning, injectors and driveline changes but your diff will be right.
I think a better way to go would be rebuild the one you have got and far less expensive anyway.
Undate a few things like timing wheel to rail, cop conversion and 360 bearings.
But by all means use the mm bearings.
I'll send you 2 s50 b30 pistons euro. I'm willing bet there is another dozen in this forum sitting on people desks probably, as they usually come in sets of 6.
M44 crankshaft and engine loom saves playing around with afm! Ie straight to maf.

3.14* 4.3*4.3*8.35*4= 1.94 l

And maybe a camshaft or 2, there is a couple on sale here in this forum!
Add a little tune and exhaust and it will be quite fun. There are heaps of people who will help you through the process here! Compression ratio, piston decking etc
And it gives the car a personal feel about it.
But I guess it will depend on how far you want to go!

[wazzu70]

I believe the MM engine packages come with tuning.

Are you guys from Oz? Sounds like it from the writing

The M42 is a really fun engine. Even with cams and tuning the engine really wakes up! The M42 also keeps the front end light, which is noticable when compared to a 6cyl.

[Darky]

I believe the MM engine packages come with tuning.

Are you guys from Oz? Sounds like it from the writing

The M42 is a really fun engine. Even with cams and tuning the engine really wakes up! The M42 also keeps the front end light, which is noticable when compared to a 6cyl.

Does mm supply injectors too?
Yes wazzu70 I'm from oz, but norm is Canadian.
I completely agree with you about the m42.

[bmwman91]

MM provides a chip and injectors with the engine. For the most part, I would say that no tuning is required. I bet you might be able to squeeze out another 1-5HP with a custom tune since no two engines are built exactly the same, but it runs clean and strong with the tune that Court @ MM came up with for it. One thing to note is that it gets 27-32MPG according to the OBC, but the real mileage is more like 20-23MPG based on the odometer. Maybe my wide-band controller is a little wonky (the exhaust does smell a tiny bit rich) which isn't helping, but I don't expect to ever see more than 250 miles on a tank.

Norm, as I mentioned in my email, get the car up and running with the stock M42 and get accustomed to how it drives. It's actually fun as hell with a stock engine (and a lot more fun with a 200bhp+ engine!).

[e3091318is]

I would have to pass on a $10,000 M42 engine.  I know it can be great and all but that is seriously pricey.  A normal engine rebuild is $2000 and no more if you take it to a machine shop yourself.  $8000 for pistons, head work, boring, ground cam, and a tune seems a bit high when you price things out yourself.  I am not doubting that their product is great, but the price may seem steep.  Especially for a $5k car. 

[Darky]

Bmwman91 I think is speek for everybody when I say that we would love to see some pictures of your mm engine.

I wonder whether you ever got itbs and the plenium going?

[normboudreault]

Norm relax a bit you have a whole car to do!
Plus mm m42 will still require tuning, injectors and driveline changes but your diff will be right.
I think a better way to go would be rebuild the one you have got and far less expensive anyway.
Undate a few things like timing wheel to rail, cop conversion and 360 bearings.
But by all means use the mm bearings.
I'll send you 2 s50 b30 pistons euro. I'm willing bet there is another dozen in this forum sitting on people desks probably, as they usually come in sets of 6.
M44 crankshaft and engine loom saves playing around with afm! Ie straight to maf.

3.14* 4.3*4.3*8.35*4= 1.94 l

And maybe a camshaft or 2, there is a couple on sale here in this forum!
Add a little tune and exhaust and it will be quite fun. There are heaps of people who will help you through the process here! Compression ratio, piston decking etc
And it gives the car a personal feel about it.
But I guess it will depend on how far you want to go!

Darky, as always your enthusiasm is awesome    But my experience with engines amounts to putting oil into them!! Still, that wouldn't stop me!! bmwman 91 has given me lots of great info and I really do have time on my side so I can definitely look into all possibilities.. What is the timing wheel to rail update? I havent heard anything about that... 

Im really leaning to using the original engine and some MM parts. But no doubt whatever route I take I'll be leaning hard on you guys to help me thru it.... 

[bmwman91]

Bmwman91 I think is speek for everybody when I say that we would love to see some pictures of your mm engine.

I wonder whether you ever got itbs and the plenium going?

Honestly, there isn't much to show in pictures. On the outside, it looks like a normal M42 with an M44 oil filter housing, an adapter bracket to hold the crank position sensor and some capped-off tubes welded onto the stock intake manifold.

No ITBs or anything at the moment. Maybe someday, but it has a nice balanced powerband and I don't want to make it feel "peaky" which ITBs seem to do. Sorry to be anticlimactic, but the real wonders are inside, and I am not about to crack it open any time soon!

[Beeker1972]

MM does some cool stuff to their heads, diff, and trans.

Bmwman91 I think is speek for everybody when I say that we would love to see some pictures of your mm engine.

I wonder whether you ever got itbs and the plenium going?

Honestly, there isn't much to show in pictures. On the outside, it looks like a normal M42 with an M44 oil filter housing, an adapter bracket to hold the crank position sensor and some capped-off tubes welded onto the stock intake manifold.

No ITBs or anything at the moment. Maybe someday, but it has a nice balanced powerband and I don't want to make it feel "peaky" which ITBs seem to do. Sorry to be anticlimactic, but the real wonders are inside, and I am not about to crack it open any time soon!