1982 BMW 323i Baur

1982 BMW 323i Baur
Memorial Day 2010 First Drive 1982 323i BMW Baur Lapisblau M20 5 speed #4154 of 4595 made. The car was imported to California by Dietel Enterprises. I have since changed the wheels, installed the clear turn signal lenses, and I am in the process of installing a new cabriolet roof. I have to do something about those bumpers, too. :) I love this car! To see one of the reasons why, check my post "Score One For the Good Guys" on 6/26/2011.

Friday, October 5, 2012

M3 Engine Into A 2002 Baur Targa: Kudos Deb, Terry and Duncan Sayther!




Readers may recognize that we posted this pic in our "Known Baur Targas in the US' blogpost a couple of days ago.  
http://baurspotting.blogspot.com/2012/10/known-2002-baur-targas-in-us-so-far.html
(scroll down to see it)

It is a pic of the M2  owned by Deb and Terry Sayther of Austin TX.  The M2, correct me if I am wrong, is defined as a BMW 2002 that has been upgraded with an E30 M3 engine transplant... S14 engine, I believe.   Since there was no official "M" version of the 2002, and, since the M3, M5, etc is the designation given to the Motorsport Group version of the 3 and 5 Series, the designation "M2" seemed appropriate for a 2002 with an "M" engine.  At least I think that is how the name "M2" originated.

Anyway, this pic was taken at The Vintage 2012 in Old Salem, NC last Memorial Day weekend by our friend, HarryPR.  At the time, we didn't know who the owner was.  Clay W. of 2002faq informed us that Deb and Terry were the owners. (Thank you, Clay!)

Clay 
also generously provided us with a link to the story behind this cool little car.  Baurspotting is pleased to share it with you here.

This kind of story is an inspiration to car guys/gals, BMW enthusiasts, and '02 Lovers everywhere!  Congratulations to Deb, Terry and Duncan too!  And we are fortunate that Terry and Deb were evidently the kind of parents who encouraged Duncan's reading:  Because without that, This may not have happened at all!  Nice job!

;)


Here is the story in its entirety below, but please also click the link to Terry's page, where this story and more can be found:

http://www.terrysaytherauto.com/M3EngineIntoBaur2002.htm

It was circumstances that got me here. Just a combination of
coincidental events. It coulda been different. If the Roundel hadn't
printed the story saying that it took just 3 days to put an E30M3
engine in a 2002. If we wouldn't have had an E30M3 engine
laying around from a parts car. If only son Duncan hadn't read the
article. If only Duncan hadn't learned to read at all.
Well, I'm sure it's for the best. We're not telling Debbie yet
that we're putting it into her 2002---we've just told her that we're
fixing her carburetor leak and putting on a bigger valve cover [all
true of course]. We won't be able to fool her for long though---
she's much too sharp for that. If it's only a 3-day job, maybe we'll
be done before she figures it out. Yeah, right. So, here we go.
Day 1
(She figured it out.)
Old engine out before noon, this is going great. Took off the 
E30 mounts and bolted on the 2002 mounts---sweet. Replaced the
water pump while the engine was out, removed the fan, removed
the oil pan for modification, left the headers on, removed the AC
compressor mount [no AC in this car], and started looking at the
transmission.
The Roundel article said that they used a 5-sp from a 320i,
which is what we already had in this car. That is the trans of choice
because it has provision for a speedometer drive and the E30M3
trans does not because modern cars use electronic speedometers.
But what the Roundel didn't say was that the 320i trans has to be
modified to allow the M3 crank sensors to be installed in the bell-housing. I shoulda thought of that. So�back to the car to remove the transmission. Next step---put that sucker in!! Hooked up the chain to the M3 engine and picked it up with the A-frame and hoist. Pushed the car underneath with the hood closed, opened the hood and lowered the engine into the engine bay---and right onto the mounts. Just like it belonged there. Wow. Looks great. End of a great day.
Day 2

    
Cut out part of a M3 bell-housing and the corresponding part of the 320i 5-sp bell-housing, bolted both parts to an empty M10 block for alignment purposes, and sent the whole mess out to Jim at K&K welding.
Sent the upper part of the M3 oil pan and the lower steel part of a 318 pan to Jim also for narrowing two inches so that it will fit within the 2002 frame rails. A stock 2002 pan will work, and would be simpler, but I like the elegance of the more complex pieces. 


Click on thumbnails for larger photosThe steel 318 lower pan is used instead of the aluminum
M3 lower pan because the oil pan will now be the lowest part of
the engine, and the steel is much less likely to be broken by
impact.
    Cleaned up a tii fuel tank, installed it, installed the tii fuel
sender and fuel pick-up. Mounted the M3 electric fuel pump and
fuel filter under the car, drilled a hole for the new larger diameter
fuel suction line, installed one of the M3 high pressure steel lines
along the left rocker panel under the car and attached the rubber
connecting hoses from the pump to the steel line and from the steel
line to the fuel rail at the engine. Ran another hose from the fuel
pressure regulator to the stock plastic body fuel line to serve as the
fuel return line [BMW fuel injection systems use continually
recirculating fuel].
   Trimmed the fan clutch attachment threads at the front of the
water pump to give a few millimeters more radiator clearance, and
installed the same 320i radiator we had had in the car before.

End of day 2. Wait just a darn minute. There's still a ton of
stuff to do. Somebody is slackin' here. Two days are done on a
three day job---somebody is gonna have to bust butt on day 3.

Day 3
Installed the modified trans and driveshaft, installed the
narrowed upper and lower oil pans, and turned the brake booster
180 degrees to gain a bit of clearance. End of day 3.

End of day 3? Aren't we supposed to be done? Oh, it was a trick. They had 3 or 4 or 5 guys working three days!! That's 10 or 15 man-days, so we're right on schedule.
The rest of the days:
Taking out the 320 radiator and installing the M3 radiator
and coolant reservoir; making the bracketry to hold them in place.
Finding coolant hoses to connect engine with radiator and heater.
Routing wires for the engine harness and the DME control unit.
Fabricating brackets to install the relay pack and air flow meter.
And, and, and....a thousand other details complicated by our sudden decision to take the car to the European celebration of the 2002.  But we got it done---Brandon Littleton wrapped up the details in time for us to take it to Germany.
So, how does it run? Smooooth and powerful, both on the street and on the track (where it needs BRAKE upgrades). Would we do it again? Maybe not, but I'm glad we did it this time.
Click thumbs below for larger images
         



http://www.terrysaytherauto.com/M3EngineIntoBaur2002.htm

Congratulations to Deb and Terry on great project!  And thanks to Clay W. for linking us to it!

No comments:

Post a Comment