[QUOTE=Dominic49]
Quote Originally Posted by straight6
It's not really worth it to pour a bunch of money into the 325E engine, since the 325i engine swap can be accomplished for less than $1000, which will get you 170hp and 165tq bone stock./QUOTE]


why swap the whole i motor motor why not just the i head... lets you rev to 7000 and get the hp increases without the major tourque decrease...
It's not as simple as it sounds. The combustion chambers on the two engines are differently shaped, so just slapping the I head on an E block will get you a compression ratio of about 7.9:1, not exactly ideal for N/A. You have to find a set of pistons out of a super ETA or have a custom set made, or you can use the I pistons and shave the top of them. Either way you do it, you're going to end up throwing a whole lot of money at it. If you really want the best swap, get an M50 out of a 93'-95' 525i which bolts right up to the stock E30 transmission, and then you have 189hp, twin cams, a timing chain instead of timing belt, and VANOS on the exhaust cam, and all for less money and less labor than the I head swap. Strictly German makes adaptive wiring harnesses specifically for the M50 swap.