BMW 318is. But wait, there's more...

[Beagle]

the exhaust will be interesting - almost begs for turbo.

[Deaf Bob]

I was thinking the same thing..

[greeneggsandstam]

Thanks for all the responses! Dan, most of my problem with the driveshaft was that the guys are all polarized towards domestic or foreign, and refuse to touch a driveshaft that's both! Also thanks for the info on a header, it's not too big of a deal to ship it, but I think I'll wait and see if I can find one locally first!
Beagle- I know that photo! That's the guy who makes the motor mounts. We'll be doing it slightly different, using two passenger-side headers instead of having that 180 degree bend. A turbo would be a hell of a lot of work, I'm not that great of a welder Also there's not a lot of room once the front clip/rad is on. Wouldn't be impossible though, and I do like a challenge. Hmmmmmm.....

[SuperBuickGuy]

Thanks for all the responses! Dan, most of my problem with the driveshaft was that the guys are all polarized towards domestic or foreign, and refuse to touch a driveshaft that's both! Also thanks for the info on a header, it's not too big of a deal to ship it, but I think I'll wait and see if I can find one locally first!
Beagle- I know that photo! That's the guy who makes the motor mounts. We'll be doing it slightly different, using two passenger-side headers instead of having that 180 degree bend. A turbo would be a hell of a lot of work, I'm not that great of a welder Also there's not a lot of room once the front clip/rad is on. Wouldn't be impossible though, and I do like a challenge. Hmmmmmm.....

there is a list of people you don't listen to:
Beagle
Stiney
Bob Holmes
Superbuickguy
Deaf Bob
Milner
Dan Stokes, especially not Dan Stokes

If you do, there will be a derailleur followed by much whining about why a Fiat isn't finished... or in your case, a BMW

So by all means, turbo that sucker!!!

Seriously, the driveshaft ends look identical to the ends on a Cadillac CTS - so that's kind of weird that they are divided along a line that no longer exists.

[Dan Barlow]

I'm a little late to this party but I overheard SBG say something about bicycles . Really though cool project . I assume the torque tube comes out and a driveshaft goes in. You have any shots of the front of the diff. With it out of the way. Just curious how the driveshaft hooks up.

[Huskinhano]

That 5.0 looks like it's fits pretty well. Back in the late eighties, I think that was a popular swap too. Funny how some of these swaps seem to be made for each other. I saw a 5.0in a S10 2WD that fit better then a SBC!

[greeneggsandstam]

SBG: thanks for the advice, haha! Will not listen to it. Also you guys can fling derailleurs all you want, I'll take 'em if they're free. Most driveshaft places heard the letters "BMW" and refused. I wasn't going to argue. Guys with "can-do" attitudes get my money, it's simple. Hoosier- no torque tube, the BMW just has a 2-piece driveshaft with funny flange things. I don't know much about that stuff, but wouldn't that require a complete rebuild of the rear suspension to allow it to deal with the forces that the torque tube would normally handle? I'll grab a pic the next time I'm underneath the car. The two piece driveshaft on the right in the pic is the old BMW, it has a flange that bolts to a flange on the diff. Huskinhano- it's really strange how well this thing goes together as far as engine and trans fitment. The oil pan looks like it was made for this car, the trans couldn't fit better in the tunnel. No hammering or cutting required so far. The 5.0 is actually quite physically small for a v8, it's really nice.

[Beagle]

SBG is confused, it happens to bicyclists. Either that or he's trying to be all crafty, like lawyers will.


just there to change gears.



Now THAT'S the kind of deraillment we specialize in here.



-beagle

/edit -

I think the Germans like to make solid flange mounts at each end of the shaft (like Ford does on the Fox body differentials) and put the slip joint in the middle with the carrier bearing. I was thinking an offroad shop might be a good place, they'll hack anything into anything! Sadly, that's what hotrod shops used to do.

[DanStokes]

As I writ a couple of posts ago, I was pleased that our local driveshaft guy got right on it. Jags That Run (JTR if you're on a first-name basis) makes the 3 ear to U-joint adaptors as a standard item and they have 2 different bolt circles drilled into them for the different German patterns. They tell you the Dana/Spicer front section to use which gets you to the splines. The rest is tubing and U-joints. MUCH simpler that the Tutonic stuff. The more I work on the Benz engine the more I realize that they don't make stuff better, just more complex - and I used to do a lot of work on English cars! The German driveshafts (my Benz shaft was pretty much identical to the BMW) are a case in point.

Dan

[Beagle]

Yep. If I remember, I think I got beat down in your thread mentioning high speed driveshaft harmonics being less destructive with two short shafts...maybe true for old Mercedes, but the BMW's have 3.xx gearsets and short tires. The shafts spin some RPM at speed. The two piece shafts are probably a good idea when there are roads nearby with no speed limits.

[DanStokes]

Having been around most of the really fast Bonneville cars I've seen that they almost all go with a "traditional" US-style shaft and most of these guys run well over 200 MPH on a constant basis. Some of these cars are REALLY long with stunningly long shafts (some 2 piece) but these shafts seem to hold up OK. Not to say that no one ever has driveshaft issues but few have strayed for the "US" template. Generally they'll go with better balancing, larger tube diameters, or alloy or carbon fiber tubes.

So Beags - not saying that your theory is inaccurate, just that racers have worked around any design flaws pretty well. I'm thinking that as a practical matter it's 6 of one, half-dozen of another.

Dan

[Monster]

Nice project ... I had a stock 1992 318is that I loved tearing up the streets in Sydney on, cornered like it was on rails. Following with interest.

[greeneggsandstam]

I'm not too concerned about the driveshaft, the guy who made it was a drag racer. This car won't be seeing 200mph anytime soon! 200kph? Probably ;) A nice thing about going to a 1-piece is it leaves me a nice place to mount an extra safety loop where the carrier bearing was.
White Monster- we bought this car running and driving for 800$ and beat on it for a couple of days before tearing it apart for the swap. It was an absolute blast! The 1.8L was a little tired, but it corners like no other 800$ car you could find anywhere. Feels very stiff and light, definitely a super fun car even in stock form.

[Beagle]

does it make vroomy noises?

[greeneggsandstam]

I wish I have been slacking off with my schoolwork this semester, and its coming back to bite me now, so it's time to get serious. Also my buddy's hunting truck needed a carb rebuild and some other work. Also there's this girl...
In short, I'm busy and distracted. Please forgive me I'll be back working on it soon!!