engine swap?? i currently have m40 ! oh, the power :P

[kickboxerphil]

I was just wondering how easy it would be to upgrade my m40 engine and gearbox to something a bit more pokey... whether it is just a 16 valve m44 (i assume would fit on to existing mounts etc) or to go for a 6 cylinder model. any ideas on cost for labour would be greatly appreciated, i will probably buy the engine from ebay.

[strogg]

to be honest, it's quite expensive and is also a lot of work. with the cost of e36's nowadays, it's cheaper to just get a used 325/328 or an m3 for power. if you feel really attached to the car, you may just want to invest in a supercharger to get it up to 200+ hp territory.

but to the point, to an engine swap, and OBD-1 to OBD-1 swap would probably go for $1500-2000 for labor, plus the cost of the sourced engine, plus the cost to make sure the said engine works well, plus the cost of the engine wiring harness and ECU. an OBD-1 to OBD-2 swap (M44/M52/S52) would cost a bit more for an extra cost to convert the OBD-2 engine to OBD-1. it's a lot of cost and effort, and not recommended unless you have a ti (and want to do it for kicks), or you are seriously attached to your car and have nothing better to do with your money.

[kickboxerphil]

Thanks for the reply, being a novice diy'er, i thought it might just be a plug and play, having read what your reply, im just going to drive this for a while and save up for a 328i or m3

[ianiac]

Definately the best decision.