BMW e30 power steering rack

[Swamp_Hedgehog]

Would it be possible to put this on a capri ?, it looks quite similar at first glance, has anyone tried ? or done this, I can pbbly get a rack for free

[Will-Silver-GL]

Will

[Matty2148]

Ive always wondered about the old 3 series and compatabilty, such as the 2.3 engine or the 2.8 the gear box and rear axle are they compatable or what? i wouldn`t object to a stright six under the bonnet

[Swamp_Hedgehog]

That would be nice wouldn't it, maybe worth having a look at, I guess a BMW v8 would also fit, Capri's got a nice long bonnet and the v8 blok is not longer than the inline 6, although the inline 6 2.5 has got 179 bhp standard

[Matty2148]

you see what i`m saying though! not only that i`m sure that the power steering rack will go in there aswell, having seen one next to a 2.8 rack i`m pretty dang sure it`ll work pretty good! maybe i`ll see if i can find a suitable donor car from the scrapies,i don`t even know how i`d possibly manage to do it,because i still havent got my car running after changing the head gasket! but we can dream!

[johnnalino]

The e30 is the 1982- 1991 ish 3 series.
the e36 is the one with the 2.3 & 2.8 engines.
The e30 engines can be thirsty, especially the 2L 6pot. The 325i engine is more frugal than the 320i. 325's are sought after and still pricey.

ALL BMW engines will fit into a capri. There is a german e30 with a V12 out of a BMW 850i fitted to it. (will find link)

The BMW engines in the e36;- 320, 323, 325, 328 M3 and M3evo are all superb engines which are very long lived. It gets better too- all have timing chains which should last the life of the engine! And all are often attached to superb Getrag gearboxes! Each and every one is easy to work on.
My 320i can return 35mph (my figures) and can hit 130mph (track timed).

Even the 325tds diesel is a superb engine, knocking out 143bhp without chipping!

The latest 3 series (e46) has even better engines.

GO ON DO IT!

[johnnalino]

http://www.unofficialbmw.com/cgi-bin/ul ... 1&t=002780


Look at that!

[johnnalino]

???
http://www.bmwland.co.uk/talker/viewtopic.php?t=3384

[Matty2148]

because i`m slowly begining to loose my rag with the dang Pinto engine (see above why) i did have my mind set on a engine change, a V12 is out of the question because i have a friend with a Jag V12 under his Capri hood, but the straight six is begining to appeal, i may be off to the Scrapies this weekend ! i did see a 2.3 down there the other day!

[Matty2148]

Thats a pretty good site to see! don`t think wife would agree though

[Swamp_Hedgehog]

Well, actually the 6 pot 2L is not vary thirsyt neither is the 325i, the thirstiest mother of them all is pbbly the 323, I don't know why, but my brother has owned all of them and this was the worst when it came down to mpg.
I've had a quick optical check on the engine mounting, it looks quite similair, with the stands, although the bBMW ones are a bit further apart, tha main worry I have is how to connect the box to the drive train, I haven't seen any pics of a BMW from the bottom so wouldn't know if this would work

[johnnalino]

.. I have an e36 320i which can return 35mph. It is a 24v Vanos M50 engine from a 1993. The thirsty engine is the 12v M20 engine from the e30 320i. (before 1990 ish). Of the e36 engines the 328i can actually be the most frugal!!!!!!

[Swamp_Hedgehog]

Hunky dorie , anyways it would be a cool mod, but wouldn't it be very cool to transfer the rear suspension too , so you'd get a nice Capri BMW Hybrid ?

[Matty2148]

seeing that i`m at work at the moment with the internet at my disposal i`m going to have a look see for the drive train Dims and locations, i have checked the engine mounts and its a couple of mods here and there, if the beamers box is left in place that would suit me better, so i`ll have a look see about the capri drive drain,

[Swamp_Hedgehog]

The mods are pbbly that they need to be further apart right ?, I couldn't really spot any other difference

[Matty2148]

don`t take my word for it! BUT they need to be a little wider and maybe a bit of a tilt, but i haven`t seen the gear box yet so i`m not to sure about gear stick locations in relation to engine position! i don`t fancy messing around with bell housings for the capri!