Project BMW 357i V8 from UK

wow....lots of love and labor went into that beast! Have fun and be safe !

a tear came to my eye when i just read the thread title.

AMAZING JOB!!! Iv never seen anything like this put into a bimmer before, just can hope that one day ill have the time and money to do a project on this level. You have def given me hope!

Thanks guys Don't know if you get Performance BMW Mag stateside but the next issue has a feature on the car.

A micro update
Had a bit of time to play with the E92 mirrors I've fitted some E46 6pin motors into them & wired them to my car which was 12 pin..

All I can say is.....wow.

Awesome pictures!!!

Such a crazy sleeper! Great work, lad!

Good job retrofitting them! I cant believe you scrapped the bumper already...lmao.

Originally Posted by LA Prince

Whats a 357i?

Not your business.

( 3series, 5.7 litre, coupe....)

Great pics btw Blair!

Originally Posted by djnekkon

Good job retrofitting them! I cant believe you scrapped the bumper already...lmao.

It's mud

Originally Posted by DanielJames

Great pics btw Blair!

So after what seems like forever but in reality is only 6 weeks or so the car is back up & running and better than ever to boot! So why has she been off the road? Well I've had a little change in my work & I'm now working from DynoTorque's workshop full time doing wiring DynoTorque & Driftworks being my main customers, being here full time gives me more time to mess with my own motor....so... The gearbox hasn't been playing ball shifting gears when revving the engine hard hasn't been possible and over time shifting has become an unpleasant experience good job I've got plenty of torque, my quick shifter keeps coming loose, the rear seal is leaking and the diff input seal is leaking to.

So gearbox out & stripped






Lots of parts are ordered even tho only spring washer for 1st gear was broken much of the box was slightly worn so we replaced as needed & fitted some upgraded shifter pads & filled it with some Redline oil. Craig noticed I'd bottomed out the quick shifter bolts which is why it kept coming loose..

While it was in bits I was offered some BBS LM reps for almost no money so I had to have them, they weren't in perfect condition & the polished rims were a bit to bling for me so I had them powder coated silver & binned the fake chrome pretend bolts & tapped the holes out & put some stainless steel bolts in.





Tried them on the car & they wouldn't clear the brakes so with Craig on the lathe some spacers were turned down so the wheels sit perfectly.




Something that's bugged me for a while is the MPG needle it's the final bit of the cluster that won't do as its told! And I really wanted an oil pressure gauge but noway will an aftermarket gauge be getting fitted into my car so I stripped an aftermarket gauge & removed the mpg needle workings from the cluster





I used an old landrover gauge as they read right to left so here it is with the engine not running.


Craig fitted a sender unit to the engine for me, unfortunately it didn't seem to work so doubting myself I pulled out the cluster & fitted a Mazda gauge only to have the same issue, after checking the sender unit it seems I've ordered the wrong one (NC at rest instead of NO) so a bit more creativity from Craig and a spare sender unit fitted & my mpg needle is now an oil pressure gauge I've ordered a new sender & gauge so I can do it again with better quality components.

Another part which I've not been 100% satisfied with is the air intake even tho it has a large Pipercross filter by the N/S fog light the intake was creating a slight vacuum so I ordered some 90mm tube & bends for Craig to make me a new intake, what I thought would be a quick job was a lot more involved than I thought & after much cutting & welding the filter now sits perfectly behind the N/S air intake & is no longer restricting the car. I've made a couple of other very minor changes the silver trim has been painted black and suits the car much better.

I've done a 100 or so miles in it now & the gearbox is superb, the shift is very positive & will shift as easily at WOT as at tickover it might be cause I haven't driven it for a few weeks but it really seems to rev faster too, corners keep throwing themselves at me! I'm still loving the car & making more & more like a factory car.

A friend of DynoTorque 'Lippy' called down the other day by day he works in car design & has driven way to many new cars and being a massive petrol head & nervously handed him the keys!

Lippy said

After working yesterday morning, and the previous day trash talking about monster V8's on FB went to see Craig's progress with his monster 7 litre twin turbo Mazda. Great fun shooting the breeze with old mates laughing at old pic's of us racing SM. Then Blair slid me the keys to his LS1 5.7 E46 BMW coupe and said...."Take it out for a spin, tell me what you think..."
Out the door faster than Usain Bolt, sliding into the drivers seat it feels just like my old E46 Coupe, until you turn the key and get the unmistakable crobba,crob thunder rumble of a big bore V8. There are many superlatives I could use to describe the almost OEM like ride comfort (really well chosen dampers and springs, firm, and precise but never jarring),lovely steering feel, superbly judged brakes etc, etc...but the engine is the dominant factor, but only in a good way. The whole car makes a stock M3 feel like an effete limp wristed barbie chariot. It really is that good, pick a gear, (any gear from the 6 available!) and you have major boost on tap, revs (ala stock M3) are good but torque is what we really want. The LS gives it in spades, and yet still revs like a crazed spinning top too. This car is like having yer cake and eating it...I could woffle endlessly about it, but I'm picking two words only....F*cking Sweet!!
I am currently in negotiation with Mrs L, we both have spare kidneys, if I can convince her to sell her spare one too, maybe I can get Craig to build me one "just like Blair's"
I would have offered my soul to the Devil but apparently I lost that several years ago in a tequila fuelled dice game in Germany....

Blair

Brilliant brilliant job!!

Bringing my car over tomorrow!

You have crazy long write ups lol. Amazing job!

congrats on the build, how long did the Aircon lines take to marry up?

I love reading through projects like this. Awesome and clean!

Every time I come back to this thread, it makes me want to do the swap even more.

Amazing work