Freshening up a 1984 BMW 325e

Happy Friday!  Although it’s been a much cooler week, things are staying heated up in the shop!
We’re changing up our Friday evening routine a bit this week.  We won’t be having our usual Friday night Cruise-In, but we will be attending an “Old School Hip-Hop” night at Barley Island Brewing Company (639 Conner Street, Noblesville, IN 46060), if you would like to join us!  The music starts at 10pm, thanks to our friend Jake, aka DJ Mass Appeal.  It should be a fun time!

And now back to bimmer business!  Reggie’s been working on a balticblau-metallic 1984 BMW 325e in need of a bit of freshening up.  This beautiful bimmer came from Texas a few years ago and now has 255k miles on the odometer, as well as on the original engine.  It has been very well-maintained.  Despite a seeping head gasket, the car ran just fine.  When we found the swap car, the 1986 BMW 325 that now houses the S50 engine, with a perfectly good lower mileage engine, 89k miles, we knew it would be a great fit for the balticblau-metallic bimmer.  Win-win!

Out with the high-mileage engine!

Once the engine was removed, it was time to clean the engine bay:

Here it is! All clean and ready for the low-mileage engine:

The engine is positioned over the engine bay:

Slowly and steadily the engine is lowered while checking for clearance and getting into proper position on the engine mounts:

She’s in!  Time for wiring!

On the left, you’ll see the original 2.79:1 limited slip differential.  It has been swapped out for a differential from an M coupe, which is a 3.23:1 limited slip.  Why swap these 2 diffs?  To help with acceleration!

Then the bolts were tightened at the axles:

The stock exhaust was put back in place.

Stay tuned for more next week!

Need a wagon?  We’ve got just the one for you!  Check out the details here!

Send us an email if you’re interested!

Have a great weekend!