Fellow E30 owner here. I've done an M50 swap on mine and also had to modify my selector rods. Drilling and riveting doesn't keep for long, and I welded it too but not sure if the rods I used was for the incorrect material - but I measured 21.5mm length from each centre point of the lower rod. I had shortened it to size, and squeezed some square steel tubing over the lower rod and welded it. zero issues since. The chassis mount shifters are hard to come by depending where you are in the world - super expensive to get in South Africa where I'm based, and z3 goodies are a challeng too
Hi mate, thanks for sharing your experience with that. From my research, I found a few instances where people had issues reconnecting the shifter linkage after chopping to shorten. Sounds like you came up with a good technique using that box tube section. A chassis mount shifter sounds good. Let's see how I find the Z3 1.9 shifter before I look too closely into that. They are super expensive here too! 😅
@@SPANNERRASH to DIY my chassis mount shifter I drilled and tapped a thread into the upper selector road and drilled into the trans tunnel, and used a lock nut to secure. Dead solid now and shifts are great but the Z3 gear stick assembly with the longer pivot will work great with that
I am currently busy with this shifter upgrade for an E30 325iX. This job sucks with the transfercase in the way. I am almost jalous of how easy this job is on your car. Love your vids btw.
Awesome, you've got an extremely cool car in the 325iX, so it's worth the extra trouble. Hopefully, you have small hands so you can get the job done. 😂 Cheers!
Haha thanks man! Yeah, it seemed so obvious in hindsight, but at the time I was somewhat baffled by it's position. 😆 Sometimes you just need to take a step back and think for a minute.
For what it's worth, if doing this job under the car the best tool for getting that clip off is to use an angled pick. Something kind of in the shape of a U on the end. I made my own tool for this. Just slip it up under the clip, give it a wiggle and it pops right off. It took about 90% of the profanity out of this job.
Haha! Yeah those clips are a real pain, I remember doing a gear lever swap from the top side on my E46 with a pair of long pliers. To this day I don't know how I managed it, but in the end, I got it! Plenty of frustration along the way though. Doing it with no prop shaft or under trays in the way on the E30 was easy compared. I can visualise the custom tool you're describing, great idea! I might have to make one next time.
Awesome, really glad you're enjoying a watch through this E30 build. There are tons of similarities between E30 and E36, not least the engine in this case. So I suspect it will come in handy for you. 👍
Cheers, glad you're enjoying it. The M20 is a cool engine in its own way though. Old school. Ahh - you're a Landrover man then. You must be very busy with that. 😂
Amazing timing again! Just yesterday I was scouring the internet trying to find the length of the 320i selector rod to no avail, then here you come today with the exact measurement. Unreal. Have you considered a dual shear selector rod as an upgrade over stock? A DSSR and a new gear selector joint seem to be the biggest upgrades to ensure a tight shifter feel. It appears that the 215mm DSSR for the E30 M3 would work perfectly
Awesome Johnathan, I knew that measurement would be valuable for people as I'd tried to look it up myself previously and concluded with uncertainty. 😆 Really hope it helps you out! Ahh that's very interesting, I actually didn't know about these DSSRs. I will do some reading into that, it could be a sweet mod to add into the mix down the line. A positive shift feel is a fine thing. Cheers
hello brother, good for you and too bad I don't understand much English but like cava😅, so what I understood well for fact extment like you it fires me getreg240 gearbox, fly M20 engine, M20 clutch disc, M20 starter too, Z3 1.9L gear lever Asque that's it, thank you in advance.❤
Haha who doesn't like sparkling wine? 😆 I'm not totally sure I understand your query, but let me clarify what I'm using here: - Getrag g240 from an E30 318is specifically (longer output shaft) - Lightened M20 flywheel and clutch kit - M20 starter motor - 320i manual shift linkage (it's shorter) - Z3 1.9 gear lever Hope that helps!
Great video mate! I was just wondering, why not go for a chassis mounted shifter? In my experience there always will be movement/play with this shifting mechanism.
Cheers! That's a good question, I bet they transform the shift and feel great. I'm not saying I won't change my mind and go for one eventually, but I'm trying to keep this car super simple and OEM+, avoiding any too serious type stuff like a fancy shifter. We will see though, I do change my mind.
Cheers, glad you enjoyed it! I actually picked the dash mat up second-hand on FB marketplace for like £60 - it's branded "Shevron". Not to everyone's taste, but I like it, and it hides my cracks for now too. 🤭
@@SaulidSnake They're almost all cracked now, even in the UK where the climate is mild. I had a cracked dash in my 318is years ago, added a grey dash mat to match the interior and never worried about it again. I thought it was very cool too, so had to have another for this car. 😁
Lol after watching this video.. I've been searching for an 320i shift linkage .. And low and behold. I found 1 in the first google result... And believe it or not.. It was sold with a short shifter.. When it arrived today I immediately checked the shifters part nr.. And guess what... It's also a z3 1.9 short shifter.. Payed 75 euro including shipping costs 🎉
@@SPANNERRASH yes.. Except that I now found out that my 84 e30 has a whole different shift linkage.. Some kind of metal al plate instead of a linkage. 😑
@@SPANNERRASH Yeah it is the m10 carb engine. But I got the 318is gearbox bought. Also need a different fuel tank.. Danthe from e30zone guided me towards that. But idd.. Instead of the shift rod where the ball slots into.. An early e30 has a metal plate 20x30 cm that covers the whole transmission tunnel.. And acts like a shift ball holder.. Like ur rod.. Mind my English lol. Not my native tongue. But I'll convert into the new style now.😅 Just alot to do.. Wish I had a facelift e30.. But I so much love the Chromie 🤣 Ps: owh and also.. I noticed U had alot of metal spacers between ur shift rod. So after checking ur video I've been searching for it.. And it's because(I think) ur transmission ball joint rod carrier.. Or whatever it's called.. Is the wrong part number.. U need the one also from a 320i.. Wich is like half a cm wider. I've ordered one today. Will let U know if I'm correct 😅 Then just the 2 washers on each side are sufficient Owh and thnx alot for ur responses.. Im a fan 🙏🙏
@@brintacornflakes7573 Ahh thats good to know, I've never worked on a pre-facelift, they are hard to come by these days. I am a fan of the early style E30 with chrome too though, they look so cool now. If you are speaking to Dan then he will certainly set you on the right path, he's a wealth of knowledge when it comes to conversions. Hopefully your gearbox swap goes easy. And thanks for the mention about the shift rod, I was surprised when it was the wrong size too, but with the stack of washers it seems to work perfect so I don't think I will rush to correct it. Do let me know if you confirm the part number though, I'd appreciate it. 😃
Good job Lad......I swapped my 1991 325i auto trans for a manual Getrag 260 five speed from a 1988 325 ETA....do you know what's the difference between the 240 and 260 gearbox.
Cheers! I think they are quite different, the bellhousing bolt pattern is rotated a few degrees to suit the M20, the ratios are different and some say they are a bit more robust for 6-cyl torque. But then again people seem to rate the 240 fairly well for robustness and it would have done the job fine on an M20. I think there are more details on gearboxes on E30zone wiki if that helps. 😄
@@SPANNERRASH yes its really annoying as i know it will need drilling out & a new pin but cant do that in situ. Also the selector seals are known to leak
I could barely stand watching to the end before writing that shifter was installed in the reverse position xD Also you may consider replacing plastic bushing on a shifter to a copper one if yours is a bit worn (which looks so)
Hahaa! Yeah that took me too long to figure out, but I got there eventually.. 😄 That sounds interesting, which plastic bushing are you referring to? The one on the gearbox side?
Hey there, love your vids! my swap Is literally identical to yours I'm using the same getrag 240 and 320i gear linkage, but my gearstick sits right over to the left hand side and ideas? The engine mmand gearbox mounts are revshift and definitely the right one round any ideas would be appreciated man thankyou!
Hey Thomas, sounds like our E30s are twins :D Hmm, are you sure you haven't got the shifter the wrong way around? I started with mine the wrong way and the position of it was off, but when I rotated it 180 degrees and buttoned it back up, it was perfect.
Hi thanks for the reply! It sure looks that way :) I've had a play swapped the rod in every combination and still the same so think I'm gonna cut it and weld to the right position for the time being. Many thanks for your help 😊
I'm not 100% sure because it came with the car when I bought it! Its an OMP wheel, it was very scruffy and filthy but I refurbished it. Check out out Instagram account to see some pics of how. 😃
Do you mean the rubber guibo between the gearbox and the prop? I don't think you could run without it because I'm not sure the gearbox output shaft flange and the prop shaft flange will mate up properly. I'm not 100% though as I've never tried. I'm figuring out the prop shaft options in detail next so stay tuned for that, sounds like it could be very useful for you.
@@SPANNERRASH it is the item you held in your hand at 21:02 in the video. I have been running my car without it for manyu years and seems ok. It is missing or mechanic didn't install back on last time.
@@selespeed3 Aha! Yeah I believe you're fine to run without that. A lot of people remove them including me now! I'm not sure all cars got them originally, only some. I thought only 4-cylinder cars to help smooth them out, but I've seen them on 6-pots too. If someone has more detailed knowledge about these hopefully they will comment. :)
yes it's fine all along until i go under the car to check and compare that with ETK to confirm it is not there. It goes a little faster without it I think! 🙂@@SPANNERRASH
![E30 M52 Prop Shaft Options [24v M50 + 318is Getrag g240 Gearbox] BMW Drive Shaft Length Guide | 051](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cqsZ8968SEM/mqdefault.jpg)
![Fitting An M52 Engine Into A BMW E30 [E36 24v M50 Swap] 047](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vUxLbl0Bg3o/mqdefault.jpg)
![Why Won't My M52 Swapped E30 Run?? [M52B28 BMW E30 Build First Start Problem Solving] 054](/img/n.gif)
You are just perfectly enough ahead of my swap that you are solving problems I haven’t discovered yet 😂
Hahaa! Hopefully I will save you a lot of trouble in figuring things out, and you can get your swap done in double quick time. 😁
@@SPANNERRASH I don’t know about double quick time, but you will definitely help keep it on track!
Have the same prob and the driveshaft is to long
@@shivasewnath6086 Check out my prop shaft video for more info on driveshafts. 👍
Fellow E30 owner here.
I've done an M50 swap on mine and also had to modify my selector rods.
Drilling and riveting doesn't keep for long, and I welded it too but not sure if the rods I used was for the incorrect material - but I measured 21.5mm length from each centre point of the lower rod.
I had shortened it to size, and squeezed some square steel tubing over the lower rod and welded it. zero issues since.
The chassis mount shifters are hard to come by depending where you are in the world - super expensive to get in South Africa where I'm based, and z3 goodies are a challeng too
Hi mate, thanks for sharing your experience with that. From my research, I found a few instances where people had issues reconnecting the shifter linkage after chopping to shorten. Sounds like you came up with a good technique using that box tube section.
A chassis mount shifter sounds good. Let's see how I find the Z3 1.9 shifter before I look too closely into that. They are super expensive here too! 😅
@@SPANNERRASH to DIY my chassis mount shifter I drilled and tapped a thread into the upper selector road and drilled into the trans tunnel, and used a lock nut to secure. Dead solid now and shifts are great but the Z3 gear stick assembly with the longer pivot will work great with that
You deserve more recognition
Thank you! 😃
I am currently busy with this shifter upgrade for an E30 325iX. This job sucks with the transfercase in the way. I am almost jalous of how easy this job is on your car. Love your vids btw.
Awesome, you've got an extremely cool car in the 325iX, so it's worth the extra trouble. Hopefully, you have small hands so you can get the job done. 😂 Cheers!
So happy you spun the shifter round. Was screaming at the TV 😅 another good watch mate 👍
Haha thanks man! Yeah, it seemed so obvious in hindsight, but at the time I was somewhat baffled by it's position. 😆 Sometimes you just need to take a step back and think for a minute.
Keep it coming 👍
I was about to comment the same thing, so glad you got it spun around in the end
@@JoshuaStacey782 I got there in the end 🤣 Cheers!
For what it's worth, if doing this job under the car the best tool for getting that clip off is to use an angled pick. Something kind of in the shape of a U on the end. I made my own tool for this. Just slip it up under the clip, give it a wiggle and it pops right off. It took about 90% of the profanity out of this job.
Haha! Yeah those clips are a real pain, I remember doing a gear lever swap from the top side on my E46 with a pair of long pliers. To this day I don't know how I managed it, but in the end, I got it!
Plenty of frustration along the way though. Doing it with no prop shaft or under trays in the way on the E30 was easy compared.
I can visualise the custom tool you're describing, great idea! I might have to make one next time.
Great video been watching this hole e30 playlist hoping that it’ll be the same as me putting my m52b28 in the e36 1994
Awesome, really glad you're enjoying a watch through this E30 build. There are tons of similarities between E30 and E36, not least the engine in this case. So I suspect it will come in handy for you. 👍
Love your content. I’m doing a manual swap on my 325is. Would love to have a more modern engine but I have a 300tdi that takes up all of my time. 😂
Cheers, glad you're enjoying it. The M20 is a cool engine in its own way though. Old school.
Ahh - you're a Landrover man then. You must be very busy with that. 😂
Amazing timing again! Just yesterday I was scouring the internet trying to find the length of the 320i selector rod to no avail, then here you come today with the exact measurement. Unreal.
Have you considered a dual shear selector rod as an upgrade over stock? A DSSR and a new gear selector joint seem to be the biggest upgrades to ensure a tight shifter feel. It appears that the 215mm DSSR for the E30 M3 would work perfectly
Awesome Johnathan, I knew that measurement would be valuable for people as I'd tried to look it up myself previously and concluded with uncertainty. 😆
Really hope it helps you out!
Ahh that's very interesting, I actually didn't know about these DSSRs. I will do some reading into that, it could be a sweet mod to add into the mix down the line.
A positive shift feel is a fine thing. Cheers
hello brother, good for you and too bad I don't understand much English but like cava😅, so what I understood well for fact extment like you it fires me getreg240 gearbox, fly M20 engine, M20 clutch disc, M20 starter too, Z3 1.9L gear lever Asque that's it, thank you in advance.❤
Haha who doesn't like sparkling wine? 😆
I'm not totally sure I understand your query, but let me clarify what I'm using here:
- Getrag g240 from an E30 318is specifically (longer output shaft)
- Lightened M20 flywheel and clutch kit
- M20 starter motor
- 320i manual shift linkage (it's shorter)
- Z3 1.9 gear lever
Hope that helps!
Great video mate! I was just wondering, why not go for a chassis mounted shifter? In my experience there always will be movement/play with this shifting mechanism.
Cheers! That's a good question, I bet they transform the shift and feel great. I'm not saying I won't change my mind and go for one eventually, but I'm trying to keep this car super simple and OEM+, avoiding any too serious type stuff like a fancy shifter.
We will see though, I do change my mind.
Another great video 👌🏻.Quick question where did your dashboard cover from?
Cheers, glad you enjoyed it!
I actually picked the dash mat up second-hand on FB marketplace for like £60 - it's branded "Shevron".
Not to everyone's taste, but I like it, and it hides my cracks for now too. 🤭
@@SPANNERRASH Ooh thanks, yeh i need to cover my dash cracks up too.
@@SaulidSnake They're almost all cracked now, even in the UK where the climate is mild.
I had a cracked dash in my 318is years ago, added a grey dash mat to match the interior and never worried about it again.
I thought it was very cool too, so had to have another for this car. 😁
Lol after watching this video.. I've been searching for an 320i shift linkage
.. And low and behold. I found 1 in the first google result... And believe it or not.. It was sold with a short shifter..
When it arrived today I immediately checked the shifters part nr.. And guess what... It's also a z3 1.9 short shifter.. Payed 75 euro including shipping costs 🎉
Haha nice sounds like you lucked out too there!
@@SPANNERRASH yes.. Except that I now found out that my 84 e30 has a whole different shift linkage.. Some kind of metal al plate instead of a linkage. 😑
@@brintacornflakes7573 Really? thats surprising! which gear box has it got? is this an M10 car?
@@SPANNERRASH
Yeah it is the m10 carb engine.
But I got the 318is gearbox bought. Also need a different fuel tank.. Danthe from e30zone guided me towards that. But idd.. Instead of the shift rod where the ball slots into.. An early e30 has a metal plate 20x30 cm that covers the whole transmission tunnel.. And acts like a shift ball holder.. Like ur rod.. Mind my English lol. Not my native tongue.
But I'll convert into the new style now.😅
Just alot to do.. Wish I had a facelift e30.. But I so much love the Chromie 🤣
Ps: owh and also.. I noticed U had alot of metal spacers between ur shift rod.
So after checking ur video I've been searching for it.. And it's because(I think) ur transmission ball joint rod carrier.. Or whatever it's called.. Is the wrong part number.. U need the one also from a 320i.. Wich is like half a cm wider. I've ordered one today. Will let U know if I'm correct 😅
Then just the 2 washers on each side are sufficient
Owh and thnx alot for ur responses.. Im a fan 🙏🙏
@@brintacornflakes7573 Ahh thats good to know, I've never worked on a pre-facelift, they are hard to come by these days.
I am a fan of the early style E30 with chrome too though, they look so cool now.
If you are speaking to Dan then he will certainly set you on the right path, he's a wealth of knowledge when it comes to conversions. Hopefully your gearbox swap goes easy.
And thanks for the mention about the shift rod, I was surprised when it was the wrong size too, but with the stack of washers it seems to work perfect so I don't think I will rush to correct it. Do let me know if you confirm the part number though, I'd appreciate it. 😃
thanks for sharing
Cheers!
Good job Lad......I swapped my 1991 325i auto trans for a manual Getrag 260 five speed from a 1988 325 ETA....do you know what's the difference between the 240 and 260 gearbox.
Cheers! I think they are quite different, the bellhousing bolt pattern is rotated a few degrees to suit the M20, the ratios are different and some say they are a bit more robust for 6-cyl torque.
But then again people seem to rate the 240 fairly well for robustness and it would have done the job fine on an M20.
I think there are more details on gearboxes on E30zone wiki if that helps. 😄
I found the hole in the selector shaft in gearbox gets worn and allows side to side movement
Interesting, I don't remember noticing any slop in mine to speak of but I will bear that in mind if I need to go back and diagnose any slack.
@@SPANNERRASH yes its really annoying as i know it will need drilling out & a new pin but cant do that in situ.
Also the selector seals are known to leak
@@mcjjordan Yeah I definitely should have changed that seal in hindsight. Hope I don't live to regret that! 😅
I could barely stand watching to the end before writing that shifter was installed in the reverse position xD
Also you may consider replacing plastic bushing on a shifter to a copper one if yours is a bit worn (which looks so)
Hahaa! Yeah that took me too long to figure out, but I got there eventually.. 😄
That sounds interesting, which plastic bushing are you referring to? The one on the gearbox side?
@@SPANNERRASH Actually both should be checked =)
Should the z3 short shifter turn 180° then connect to the select rod? The shifter looks leaning forward a lot.
You're right, if you watch right to the end, I did eventually figure that out and switch it. 😂
@@SPANNERRASH You got me! I didn't watch to the end🤪🤪🤪. I'm going to watch again.LOL
@@muska0213Haha gottcha! 😆
Hello my friend!
linkage shifter from E30 32Oi M40 Or M20 320i ?
thank you!
Definitely E30 320i M20 2.0 Straight six engine car. Hope that helps! 😃
Many thanks!
You are the best👌
where did you buy the end shifter bushing please 🙏🏻
The black one which is furthest from the gearbox? I reused my original one as it seemed in such great condition. I just painted it black 😃
@@SPANNERRASH ok i found one with a bit of searching 😅 mine was automatique swaping to manual now .. anyway thanks for your time
Hey there, love your vids! my swap Is literally identical to yours I'm using the same getrag 240 and 320i gear linkage, but my gearstick sits right over to the left hand side and ideas? The engine mmand gearbox mounts are revshift and definitely the right one round any ideas would be appreciated man thankyou!
Hey Thomas, sounds like our E30s are twins :D Hmm, are you sure you haven't got the shifter the wrong way around? I started with mine the wrong way and the position of it was off, but when I rotated it 180 degrees and buttoned it back up, it was perfect.
Hi thanks for the reply! It sure looks that way :) I've had a play swapped the rod in every combination and still the same so think I'm gonna cut it and weld to the right position for the time being. Many thanks for your help 😊
what is the model of steering wheel you use?
I'm not 100% sure because it came with the car when I bought it! Its an OMP wheel, it was very scruffy and filthy but I refurbished it. Check out out Instagram account to see some pics of how. 😃
My vibration damper is missing. Is it really necessary?
Do you mean the rubber guibo between the gearbox and the prop?
I don't think you could run without it because I'm not sure the gearbox output shaft flange and the prop shaft flange will mate up properly. I'm not 100% though as I've never tried.
I'm figuring out the prop shaft options in detail next so stay tuned for that, sounds like it could be very useful for you.
@@SPANNERRASH it is the item you held in your hand at 21:02 in the video. I have been running my car without it for manyu years and seems ok. It is missing or mechanic didn't install back on last time.
@@selespeed3 Aha! Yeah I believe you're fine to run without that. A lot of people remove them including me now!
I'm not sure all cars got them originally, only some. I thought only 4-cylinder cars to help smooth them out, but I've seen them on 6-pots too.
If someone has more detailed knowledge about these hopefully they will comment. :)
yes it's fine all along until i go under the car to check and compare that with ETK to confirm it is not there. It goes a little faster without it I think! 🙂@@SPANNERRASH
@@selespeed3 Ideal then, thanks. And yes it should remove some dead weight from the transmission.