E24 M106 Swap Thread

[The Don]

I finally began messing with the engine performance on the 6. Ever since I bought it back in 2007 I touched everything but the engine. After doing the suspension last year I decided I liked NA and would probably do a mild NA build. I was going to gut the car regardless. That was summer 2010, fast forward to october of 2010 and I got my hands on an M106 for literally nothing. End of story.

The car:



Old B32:



M106:




In the car:


Misc:
Seats for the car


Rims


Gutted Interior



So currently the car is not finished. A few more things need to be addressed. Since I was doing a whole motor swap I researched the M1.3 swap. I decided I would convert the L-Jet to the M1.3 and pair that with a Miller War/Maf combo. I spliced the harness up and it was all cool until I tried it in the engine bay and it was too short for my liking. So I am currently working on extending that.

I also got to figure out where those two wires from the M1.3 harness go into my harness. I believe they are for the gauges to work correctly. "Pin 8 and 9."

Exhaust needs to be fabbed as the M106 downpipe does not work with the E24 chassis. After that is done a few things need to be finished and it should fire right up.

Mods/Maintenance:
-All New Gaskets
-New 36LB Injectors
-Bored Out Throttle Body
-BavAuto Ignition Wires
-Deleted AC
-UUC Stage 1 Clutch w/Resurfaced Flywheel
-Miller Maf/Chip
-Motronic 179 w/M1.3 Swap
-New Motor Mounts
-New Slave Cylinder
-New Water Pump
-New Timing Chain + Tensioners
-New Thermostat
-New Filters
-Braided Oil Feed Line
-Cleaned + Painted Engine

Probably missing a few. Thats' it for now. Enjoy.

[marc79euro645]

great project!
this is the combo bmw should have offered way back then.
good luck
marc

[9mil]

Love it- I am almost done with a complete rebuild of a m106 and it will be going in an 87e24... What motor mount did you end up using to clear the turbo? Have to reclock the turbo I take it? Couldn't tell if your going with an inteecooler- got one of those in the plan?
Keep us updated!

[Golosok]

I used E28 M5 motor mounts, had to add spacer on the right side for wastegate to clear the frame. And even then I had to hammer the rail near shock housing a little bit.

[The Don]

Love it- I am almost done with a complete rebuild of a m106 and it will be going in an 87e24... What motor mount did you end up using to clear the turbo? Have to reclock the turbo I take it? Couldn't tell if your going with an inteecooler- got one of those in the plan?
Keep us updated!

Yeah I clocked the turbo to clear the frame rail. Using the stock motor mounts. I am running without an intercooler for now as I am going to keep the boost low. But who knows since I am taking my sweet time I might throw an intercooler in. I already trimmed the front end to fit a large FMIC.

As for the wastegate it is literally stuck up against the frame area. I really do not like it, and in order to remove it I would probably have to lift the engine a bit. I think I am going to ditch it and get an adapter to run a more modern wastegate.

Still need to get a radiator as well. One of those metal trucks came through my alley and took mine.....

[LiftoffOversteer]

Very nice. I'd love to check this out sometime if the plates are any clue as to your location.

[The Don]

In Chicago. You?

Oh, and I just remembered I had to grind down the passenger motor mount a bit to clear the turbo housing. Nothing major maybe about 2mm.

[LiftoffOversteer]

Near southwest suburbs. I actually recall you selling those wheels on ETK awhile back.

[The Don]

Gotcha. Yeah I had them for a while and decided to go to some smaller wheels. Some guy up in Wisconsin bought them.

[The Don]

Haven't kept this thread up to date, so here's an update.

Work has been real slow, busy with school, was working on some other projects in between, etc. There's not much left before I can start the car up, just a bunch of odds and ends that add up.

So far since the last update, I have installed new 36# injectors, installed new coolant hoses besides the radiator hoses, new thermostat housing sensors and oil pressure sensor, installed the AEM wideband and boost gauges, installed a new crank nut + washer, finished my brackets for the seats, installed a quickrelease + Momo suede wheel, finished my 1.3 harness and adapter, a lot of other stuff im forgetting.

On my to do list:
-Torque Crank Nut
-Install Radiator + Hoses
-Install Fuel Pump + Fuel Filter + New Hoses (Gotta find the brackets)
-Install Vacuum Lines
-Turbo to Intake Pipe
-Install MAF
-Install the Wiring Harness
-Fab Exhaust + Wastegate
-Put in Fluids
-Turbo Feed Line

And it will hopefully start right up.

Here are some pictures:

[cajaka7]

Awesome! Almost exactly what I want to do with my e24 shark. How are you liking the m106? Is it reliable? How much did you spend on the swap? Thanks

[ZenitramNaes]

Dude, how did this turn out? I've read through some of your other threads/post and you said you were interested in MS. Did you ever go that route or did you stick with the WAR chip? Curious, about to start m106 ms build and convert the wiring harness to a 1.3

Just seeing how far you got with this, great documented progress so far!

[The Don]

Its "semi-done" running now. I was having ECU issues, user Demetk was able to help me narrow it down. When I started it and ran it, it was with a stock chip. I plan to open the ECU and install the WAR chip, along with necessary wiring.

The engine ran smooth for not being started in a few years, as well as having no AFM or O2 hooked up. I think it had a smoother idle than the original B32 in there!

[alexbaldy]

Its "semi-done" running now. I was having ECU issues, user Demetk was able to help me narrow it down. When I started it and ran it, it was with a stock chip. I plan to open the ECU and install the WAR chip, along with necessary wiring.

The engine ran smooth for not being started in a few years, as well as having no AFM or O2 hooked up. I think it had a smoother idle than the original B32 in there!

Hello, I'm doing same thing to 1979 E24. Have few questions:

1. Did you leave your old transmission?
2. Did you leave your old differential?

Thanks

[9mil]

Where did this end up?

[T_C_D]

Where did this end up?

I met "The Don" a few months ago. I don't think any progress has been made. I did my best to motivate him.

[Kyle in NO]

Hopefully it will be in excellent conditions when it is completed.