BRAAP

'97 BMW M3 engine, (S52us, 3.2L) and ZF 5 speed trans, (ZF S5D320 Z) out of my ’97 M3 Sedan. Just removed from car, MINUS; P/S pump and bracketry, minus A/C compressor and bracketry. WITH; Cast aluminum engine mount brackets, intake manifold, TB, injectors, fuel rail, all fitting/plumbing attached to intake, Exhaust manifolds, Alternator, starter, flywheel, clutch, trans, trans fluid, engine oil, approx half capacity coolant. 512.2 lbs MINUS trans, clutch and starter; 406.4 lbs WITH trans, clutch and starter; WithOUT trans, Clutch, Starter;

First off, huge thanks to Ron for his patience and not bludgeoning me yesterday while in the midst of the engine removal. For some unknown reason, I was not in a very sociable mood, yet Ron resisted the urge to beat me with the handle to the cherry picker pump… The last few days progress has been snails pace at best, with company, and family to-do’s, etc, though the M3 Engine and trans is finally out! Ron and I immediately removed the A/C compressor bracket, hooked up the scale , zeroed the scale with the lifting chain and weighed the engine trans combo. Engine with the Alternator, intake mani, exhaust mani’s, starter, trans w/flywheel-clutch, oil and coolant, both radiator hoses, 512.2 lbs! Removed the trans, clutch and starter, engine alone weighs 406.4 lbs! Lightweight for a twin cam engine with a cast oil pan! In weighing an LM7 long block at 490 lbs, T-56 is 125-130 lbs, I fully expect the car to gain 150 lbs, give or take 50 lbs… The increase in torque will be worth the penalty. More pics… BMW built the hood hinge to hyperextend to pert-neer vertical, i.e. “service” position, no need to remove the hood! Engine and trans free from the car; Ron found a tag indicating this engine is not the original engine for this car. Might explain why the back side of the valves are “spotless!” Now the head scratching and reorganization of the engine bay to accept the LSx begins; Tools, Fluke DMM, Jack pad, Bentley service manual, LSx swap book, and my 3-ring log book; My log book where I am keeping a detailed account of the progress made, notes and tips from others that have graciously shared their knowledge/experience, etc;

Oil pick up tube still sitting on the bench after installing the oil pan?! Been there! Engine backing plate still on shop floor?! done that! Almost done that. Couple/few years back in finishing up a custom L28, flat tops and MN47 head build up for a local customer, he asked if I could prime the oil system when he came to pick it up, I said yes. Engine still on the stand, hooked up my mechanical oil pressure gauge to the L-6 oil pressure port, (mostly to plug that port as oil will shoot out that port, been there as well), removed the oil pump to removed the quill shaft, reinstalled the oil pump, inserted priming rod own dizzy quill shaft hole, drill motor in reverse, start priming! Drill motor starts to bog down as pressure builds, owner of the engine standing behind the engine now starts dancing around like it is ho-down! He is an older gentleman, I can't imagine he is that excited about his engine?!?! His shoes covered in fresh oil, apparently I had forgotten to install the rear galley plug when I installed the front one! Good thing this customer is a good friend, we still get laugh over that one.

My idea of a wonderful do-it-all 4 door at a very reasonable price! Grocery getter, daily driver, sunday back road tootler, track day car, Viper eater, all in one package! http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=150253

Those wheels look tons better! Thanks for coming out and hanging with us, had a good time chatting Datsun with you. After you left I did get a little more done on my project, will update that on Monday. Looking forward to further updates... Take care, Paul

Sah-weeet! Looks like like an ideal Z-32 LSx oil pan! Love the Autokraft steel pans!

No turning back now, game is on! A couple hours, (and same amount of beers later), including watching the Ken Block Airport video, here we are! All goes well tomorrow, the engine and trans will be out and the weight of the 3.2L BMW M-3 S52 engine will be posted in the definitive engine weight thread.. Pretty cool how the entire front end just unbolts from the car allowing an easy removal of the power train eh?!

Earlier this week I established the engine removal to be when this last full tank of premium hit ¼ tank! Since Ron committed to the M3 engine for his 260-Z, he has been bugging me ad-nauseum to remove it. Rons wife made it crystal clear to Ron while we were all standing in the shop recently; "Finish the 510 project before you start any other projects!" As soon as she leaves the immediate vicinity he starts bugging me about pulling the engine and mocking it up! I keep threatening to tell his wife he is starting another project... he just stares with a fiendish intensity... He is mostly wanting to weigh the engine and trans and just drop it in our S30 mock up mule to verify how well we both feel it will fit, no intentions of starting the conversion until his 510 is done… Well, that ¼ tank is today! I’m struggling with parking the car and removing the engine. I’m still in the honeymoon phase with the car! Every time I get behind the wheel I get the biggest grin! The M3 is an ultimate driving machine! If you get the chance to drive one, DO IT! So here it is, jack, jack stands, parked in the shop, ready to start yanking the engine….

I realize you are possibly pursuing a different avenue, this is more to help kepe the gears turning for others… This fuel rail does come with one fitting. Both ends of the fuel rail are tapped NPT, so you could do as you please regarding fuel in and out if you desire. If you have an after-market FPR, it will generally have multiple outlet ports allowing the option of using the FPR itself as a "T", eliminating the need for a cross over hose, i.e. one port from the FPR per fuel rail.. That is how I plan to plumb mine, using the FPR itself as the "T" to both rails.

Aux, Here is the fuel rail kit I purchased for my LSx conversion. One of, if not the cheapest I found, ($91.95 retail!), http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PFS-10610/ I expected it to be really poor quality given the price, once I received it I found only the packaging was somewhat cheesy, the rails, mounts, machining and machining alignment all looks to be just fine! It is even height adjustable for the different length GM fuel injectors... Your C-5 filter with integral FPR is a great way to go. Return less fuel rails… Here’s one of my LS1 intakes with this fuel rail mocked up and scratch built EGR plug;

Cool! Gonna leave it M powered?

Happy Birthday Mike... Sunds like you had a good time... ... and you delivered a signature worthy quote... :lmao:

The stock Z car EFI does NOT play well with aftermarket cams! I have beating that drum for as long as some of you youngens have been alive! I personally have seen it time and again, tried to tune them time and again, and have learned over those numerous years as a professional engine builder/machinist, building and tuning Datsun Z cars, that the stock EFI does NOT play well with aftermarket cams! The milder the cam, the less the compromise though still a compromise in the tune will be made! I don’t give a rats arse WHAT those cam companies tell any of you, the stock Z car EFI can not be tuned to be just as drivable AND take advantage of the power gains an aftermarket cam “can” deliver, PERIOD! Even if you tuned the EFI the best you could for only WOT performance with an aftermarket cam, any power gain you might get would be doubled, more like tripled and better with an aftermarket EFI system! A quick search revealed more than few threads discussing the incompatibly of the Stock Z car EFI with aftermarket camshafts. Here are few that I recall specifically giving my $.02 in… http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=123950 http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=147745 http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=146548 http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=131214 http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=115088 Hope that helps, Paul

Filled the gas tank in the M3 today, once this tank is empty, (some time mid to late week, this week), the BMW gets parked, the S52 engine and 5 speed trans yanked out, weighed, and posted in the definitive weight thread, then immediately dropped into either Rons '77 parts car or my '75 Project FUZZY shell for a quick and dirty mock up..... ahead of schedule What "schedule" you ask? You see, Rons wife made it crystal clear to Ron while we were all standing in the shop recently; "Finish the 510 project before you start any other projects!" As soon as she leaves the immediate vicinity he starts bugging me about pulling the engine and mocking it up! I keep threatening to tell his wife he is starting another project... he just stares with a fiendish intensity... So when she sees the engine out of the car and asks about it, and she will, being a good friend I'll cover and tell her not to worry, that I was anxious to get my LSx conversion underway!.... (btw Ron, I like Fosters and Baileys Irish Cream... )

Thank you for sharing the vid, love it! ... which is something I wasn't going to do to my daily driver.. My age is starting to get the better of me I guess.

Happy 32nd Birthday frank280zx...

Chris, I grabbed a small handful of keepers, mailed them this afternoon. They should arrive wednesday. Don't worry about shipping etc, its on me.

PM me your mailing address and they'll be on the way this afternoon or Tuesday at the latest...

Chris, I have quite a few Datsun L-series valve keepers, (they are all the same), you can have some free. If you feel like making the trip over the mountain to the town of Sandy, bring your head along if you want... Take care, Paul

Jon, I have faith in that, you know what you are talking about. Your knowledge and experience with L-6’s is well documented. As such, I cannot argue against your testimony. All I can say is that my experience in this field does not support the experience you described. That is not to say it didn’t or couldn’t have happened, it just goes against conventional wisdom and I would not put faith or condone that spring/cam combination to anyone.