Hello,

As car prices keep falling I have been thinking of getting a rear wheel drive car for a bit of fun/roundabout action. In the past I have always been put off BMW's because they are heavy clumsy machines, but after a bit of research I have found out that the older ones are around the 1100kgs mark.

So I dug a bit deeper & found the '86 325i, 2.5lt Straight Six , 171bhp, 0-60 in 7.2., now I cannot afford to run one of these but I have a cunning plan. Its called LPG. So I have a look around & find a 84' 323i with LPG installed, nice & affordable (only 150bhp).

What I need to know is can I fit the 325i lump into the 323i? or is a conversion to the more modern Bosh motronic injection possible on these older engines. Also what mods can be done to the old 323i engine to get some more power out of it? (without increasing fuel consumption)

just get a 91 318is, you get most of the goodies from the e30 m3, at a much much more affordable price... i know since i had one . A blast to drive and handles like no other car i've owned.

I have a BMW, its the e36 shape and you are after the e30 shape.

On the e36, the 323 has a 2.5 engine in there, but restricted to produce less BHP.

I am 95% sure this is the case on the E30's. so, you wont even have to do an engine change, as it already has a 2.5 engine in there, but a little "de-tuned"

EDIT: ignore the last bit. its wrong just do what RMachucaA said, but get a 91 323i. make sure you get the 91 onwards as it had the 2.5 engine.

Quote from anttt69 :

What I need to know is can I fit the 325i lump into the 323i?

Bit lost to your logic here, attempting to perform an engine swap on a 323 engine that's already been converted to LPG. Wouldn't it be far simpler to just start with a 325 then convert it to LPG?

Quote from ajp71 :

Bit lost to your logic here, attempting to perform an engine swap on a 323 engine that's already been converted to LPG. Wouldn't it be far simpler to just start with a 325 then convert it to LPG?

Yes it would. Only thing is I have already found a 323i with LPG fitted so I am tempted to mod that to get it upto 175bhp. The other option would be to buy the 323 purely for the LPG kit & then find a 325 to fit it to.

The modding option is by far the cheaper & I am on a tight budget.

Just get a J plate 325i. great cars and very much cheap as chips.

Quote from anttt69 :

Hello,

As car prices keep falling I have been thinking of getting a rear wheel drive car for a bit of fun/roundabout action. In the past I have always been put off BMW's because they are heavy clumsy machines, but after a bit of research I have found out that the older ones are around the 1100kgs mark.

So I dug a bit deeper & found the '86 325i, 2.5lt Straight Six , 171bhp, 0-60 in 7.2., now I cannot afford to run one of these but I have a cunning plan. Its called LPG. So I have a look around & find a 84' 323i with LPG installed, nice & affordable (only 150bhp).

What I need to know is can I fit the 325i lump into the 323i? or is a conversion to the more modern Bosh motronic injection possible on these older engines. Also what mods can be done to the old 323i engine to get some more power out of it? (without increasing fuel consumption)

i work in a German car garage and id say with the engine mounts adjusted id say you'll have no problems with it plus why don't you just by a e20d basically the same except a million times more tourqe j/k

lpg is a good option to chose , tho i think it may make engine feel pretty work

Quote from theirishnoob :

lpg is a good option to chose , tho i think it may make engine feel pretty work

did u mean weak? does that also mean less bhp?

btw love the avatar, it rocks!

yeah , it ( to the best of my knowledge ) contains less octanes , over ere we have bio diesel , basically the same but its made slightly different and government tax's it , if you can get it don't to you car go for it then when you can afford to run the car on norm fuel get it removed

I had a 86 E30 325iSE and also an 85 318i. Great cars. Things to watch for when buying:

Exhaust Manifold - the headers can split between the two middle cyclinders and this cannot be welded because of the heat. Even Tig welding won't work - trust me - I tried it. These aren't cheap parts.

Check condition of the exhaust generally cos even the rear box will cost you a fair chunk of money. I managed to get one for £180 but that was years ago.

Rear bushes - these take a battering on these cars and will make the handling very oversteery. You will feel the back slopping around if they've gone, or get under it and check them with a cro- bar

Gearbox Mount - If you struggle to put these in reverse it's often a sign that the mounting for the gearbox is shot. This will cause other problems and can put stress in the gear linkage amonst other things. It may pop out of reverse too.

Steering racks - If there is any play in the steering the power steering rack is shot. This will cost you an arm and a leg even for a recon unit.

Water leakage - these cars can suffer from water leakage into the boot which will find it's way throughout the car. Check the carpets for dampness in the boot and in the car itself. I think the seem welding around the light cluster can fail but I never got the the bottom of this mystery with mine.

Those a the common things to look for I'd say.

GF

exhausts n bmws are dirt cheap to replace tho , i got a stock bmw exhaust with a borla back box for 400 euro , which is good considering you'll get 100,000 km before changing it

most all bmw parts are hesap because everyone who drives an e30 can fford to upgrade to the e36 models and even newers version but in my mind why sell an e30 , its like selling your mother , you just cant

Quote from theirishnoob :

exhausts n bmws are dirt cheap to replace tho , i got a stock bmw exhaust with a borla back box for 400 euro , which is good considering you'll get 100,000 km before changing it

most all bmw parts are hesap because everyone who drives an e30 can fford to upgrade to the e36 models and even newers version but in my mind why sell an e30 , its like selling your mother , you just cant

Don't forget though that the 325s had big twin pipe rear boxes. They weren't cheap when I had to find one. 318 exhausts are much cheaper.

Quote from Gentlefoot :

Don't forget though that the 325s had big twin pipe rear boxes. They weren't cheap when I had to find one. 318 exhausts are much cheaper.

you can get it after market by crappy company's for cheap but if i had the money id ship it over to a.b.t in Germany and get them guys to work on a bmw with me


don't worry you can find any parts if you need them just gotta look in the right places

Quote from theirishnoob :

yeah , it ( to the best of my knowledge ) contains less octanes , over ere we have bio diesel , basically the same but its made slightly different and government tax's it , if you can get it don't to you car go for it then when you can afford to run the car on norm fuel get it removed

Yes we got bio diesel over here too. You can even make your own if you know how.Thing is you dont need to convert a diesel car to run on it. Did you mean run it on LPG till I can afford petrol? It's hard to read what you have written.

Thanks for the advice GF I thought bm's were bullet proof. Sounds expensive if I find worn out parts that need replacing.

Quote from anttt69 :

Yes we got bio diesel over here too. You can even make your own if you know how.Thing is you don't need to convert a diesel car to run on it. Did you mean run it on LPG till I can afford petrol? It's hard to read what you have written.

yes that is what i said . Bio diesel can be made at home , might be worth your while look on youtube or Google for the recipe on how to make bio diesel , you never know might save yourself 5-10 £ a year

Mine has done atleast 200,000 miles and I had my dads mate (A top mech at RAC) look over it and he said it is a very healthy engine and will run for many many miles.

I'm worried about it tbh, its my first car, if it goes bang, replace the engine or better a better Beemer

It is nice and smooth, so it wont go pop while I own it thats for sure.

Quote from Christofire :

Not all BMWs. My parents had a number of BMW lemons - one needed the engine replacing after 12000 miles (it lost compression), one had a list of faults running to 2 sides of A4 paper. That had a minor engine rebuild and three new on board computers as they crashed and failed, among many smaller faults.

In general they seem fine, but they're not all great, so go over it with a fine toothed comb.

thats bs no bmw's ive worked on have had that kinda trouble , the only real trouble is bmw's differentials gear/clutch linkage's and maybe suspension after a few years of wear


remember bmw's and every car must be serviced every 10 -15 k miles to ensure their running at 100 % performance plus the only bad examples of any cars are either teens with ricer mods or ex taxi-cabs so be awful when doing the background check on the car .

Quote from RMachucaA :

just get a 91 318is, you get most of the goodies from the e30 m3, at a much much more affordable price... i know since i had one . A blast to drive and handles like no other car i've owned.

Just out of interest ... why did you sell it ?

I own one myself.

anttt69 just go and get one because its very cool car but carefully listen to the engine because the control chain (it has no camshaft drive belt) is a big issue with this car if it hasnt been looked after. some noise around 3000 rpm is normal but everything else will be really expensive repair.

other point would be the aluminium cylinder head which easily "breaks" if you dont keep the revs down for the first 10 kms or so... so look for oil in the cooling water and grey brownish mud in the oil cap.

camshafts are no issue with this car unlike the 318i where they tend to shrink.

Quote from The General Lee :

Mine has done atleast 200,000 miles and I had my dads mate (A top mech at RAC) look over it and he said it is a very healthy engine and will run for many many miles.

I'm worried about it tbh, its my first car, if it goes bang, replace the engine or better a better Beemer

It is nice and smooth, so it wont go pop while I own it thats for sure.

I'VE SEEN THE PHOTO'S

It's rusty. Old. Chavved up with bodykit and wheels. And also you are too young to even drive it.

NOT rusty. There are a 20p sized bit of rust of each of the front wings. Not bad for a 14 year old car. What bodykit, its all standard. The wheels are Genuine BMW alloy wheels.

Not a single peice of chav.

P.S..I wont be too young in less than 2 months

Quote from Christofire :

So the lemons that sat on the drive and let us down were a figment of my imagination? Watching the BMW roadside recovery guy show up, do various checks, then pronounce the engine dead was a dream?

These were cars used by relatively gentle drivers (I wasn't allowed anywhere near the drivers seat! ), dealer serviced on time, every time (whether by distance, or time, or the little gadget in the dash).

Come on, wake up. Every car, every bike, every vehicle manufacturer has bad days. I don't doubt they are generally bad cars (a friend has a 520 with 150,000 miles on the clock and it still seems smooth and strong), but ant should still have some caution about what he's buying. I certainly wouldn't buy a BMW without having an expert with me, considering the cost of parts if it is a lemon.

you never stated the cars year and model

Quote from Christofire :

There were 4 cars in total, from about '95 to present, from both 3 series and 5 series. I can't remember exactly, but I think they were 316, 318, 520, and a 318. The 520 was the most troublesome car.

I know they don't all go wrong, just trying to add a little balance to the thread...

going of topic for a sec , why did your parents keeping buying them if there so "troublesome" ?? :bananadea



back on topic , did you look into the lpg thing or whats the story on your car ?

Quote from AJS :

Just out of interest ... why did you sell it ?

I own one myself.

anttt69 just go and get one because its very cool car but carefully listen to the engine because the control chain (it has no camshaft drive belt) is a big issue with this car if it hasnt been looked after. some noise around 3000 rpm is normal but everything else will be really expensive repair.

other point would be the aluminium cylinder head which easily "breaks" if you dont keep the revs down for the first 10 kms or so... so look for oil in the cooling water and grey brownish mud in the oil cap.

camshafts are no issue with this car unlike the 318i where they tend to shrink.

I sold it for several reasons, main one being that i discovered some hidden rust which was working its way to the exterior, the rocker panels looked and "sounded" solid, but trust me, they wherent. Thats the bad thing about living in the rust belt .