Spec me a 6 cylinder BMW.

iaind

iaind

iaind

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Yes, really.

But probably not why you think! Dad's wanted to build a kit car for ages so he's decided to take the plunge and just get on with it.

The kit he's considering uses MGB running gear, which is fortunate that he already owns an MBG :)

But there would be something utterly fail about building an awesome kit, to have the weeny little 1.8 from the MGB in there. The kit can also be used with the triumph straight six, rover v8 or BMW straight sixes. So I'm toying with the idea of surprising him for Christmas with a nasty, knackered old BMW.. What a lucky man he is!

The thinking is to find something, maybe an mot failure on non runner for 500 quid so he can pull the engine out and sell the rest for scrap. Bearing in mind, whatever engine he gets will be totally stripped, uprated and reconned, a lot of the usual concerns wouldn't matter.

So which car would be the best way to obtain the best engine possible for the money? Maybe an old 7? I'm guessing an x30 would be out of budget but maybe an x28? What should I be looking out for, aside from the usual cooling system? How expensive are internals for these, stuff like valves, piston rings and the like?

Is there anything I'm missing that would make this idea a total fail?
 
Surely you are going to be better off with something older like an M50B25, given the faff and hassle of the ECU etc in the newer ones?
 
Get an E36 325i (or just the engine M50B25 or M50B25TU). Bombproof compared to the later M52 and M54, and simple to work on. Parts are cheap and an entire engine and box can be had for £300~

As Fox also says, with the M50B25 you'll have none of the faff with the DME and associated electronics getting in the way of it needing the immobiliser gubbins.
 
How much does the kit come with?

G'box, prop, diff, driveshafts, hubs?

And as has been said, you've been very vague with what the kit 'works with'.
 
[TW]Fox;17687862 said:
In what way is a BMW Straight Six petrol engine a tractor engine :confused:
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In what way does it suit a kitcar?, if its something like a Cobra rep, you go V8 or bigger, anything else is a cooking 4 cylinder lump or a bike engine. Straight 6???
 
[TW]Fox;17687848 said:
Surely you are going to be better off with something older like an M50B25, given the faff and hassle of the ECU etc in the newer ones?
Click to expand...

What faff, just the fact there is one?


Lashout_UK said:
x what?

What BMW six is the kit designed to use? M20? M30? M50?
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Were not sure yet, waiting for a response from them. The one at the kit car show we went to had an e46 3.0 in it, the rep said it was pretty much any bmw six...so awaiting clarification as thats obviously not the case!

paradigm said:
Get an E36 325i (or just the engine M50B25 or M50B25TU). Bombproof compared to the later M52 and M54, and simple to work on.
Click to expand...

Do you think 500 quid for an e36 would be pushing it, even for shed?
 
InvaderGIR said:
How much does the kit come with?

G'box, prop, diff, driveshafts, hubs?

And as has been said, you've been very vague with what the kit 'works with'.
Click to expand...

Thats because the info we have so far is quite vague, pending clarification.

This is the kit

http://www.hawkcars.co.uk/hawk289/index.html

But the website doesn't even mention the BMW bit, the brochure does though - unfortunately that's at my parents house so I can't check it, it didn't elaborate much though
 
What about the M30B35 found in early E34s?

Slightly heavier than the M50, but packs considerably more torque and power. You might have more luck finding a non ragged doner car as well due to many of them having an auto transmission behind them.

I hear that adaptors for M5 throttle bodies are an off the shelf item for these engines as well ;).
 
That always helps!

This is quite a bit more complicated than I originally thought, didn't realise there were so many engines. What I really need is a list of the different engines, the pros and cons of each and what cars I'd find them in... Anyone? :D
 
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