1978 e21 m20 turbo swap, AKA What did I get myself into

[jc43089]

bfinley said:

Well I decided to spend the weekend pulling the motor, and help do head gaskets on one car and install coilovers on another... Busy busy.

After two days of shop shenanigans and working in a shop barely above freezing All that did get accomplished, and I discovered that the previous owner welded the bumper to the fenders and the buried the joint under a quarter inch of bondo... Not amused

Weight savings, no bolts needed.

Looking good!  I am off tues-thurs this week so I will try to make a template of the e30 wheel arch. 

Is that Miata owned by a guy named Chris?

[B C]

I dont think so, that doesn't look like Chris' boyfriend, but you know how Miata guys get around.

[bfinley]

John at least they could have done a better job with the welds ! that template would be awesome so I can move on those kamotors flares.

Snap, truth about miata guys. This one belongs to a local tuner, Matt schreck. It's affectionately named the unicorn and is going to get giant googly eyes and rainbow decals

[RamRod E28]

bfinley said:

John at least they could have done a better job with the welds ! that template would be awesome so I can move on those kamotors flares.Snap, truth about miata guys. This one belongs to a local tuner, Matt schreck. It's affectionately named the unicorn and is going to get giant googly eyes and rainbow decals

That is hilarious!

[bfinley]

Transmission is out, driveshaft, glass, and dash are next.

Did some exploratory wire brush grinding in the trunk which revealed fiberglass covering welded patch panels... And am now covered in fiberglass slivers ...

I'm glad I don't have to do all the patches, but I'm pretty sure a blind monkey can weld better than this

[bfinley]

I forgot the pink fiberglass insulation I found wired and melted to the top of the trans. I'll find a picture of that very custom mod...

[jc43089]

Might as well use fiberglass everywhere right?

[bfinley]

[Rowleym]

Gotta love PO nightmares.

[bfinley]

Anyone know if the 4 speed linkage is drastically different than the 5 speed ?

[jc43089]

From that pic it looks like selector rod is very long.  I would think it is very similar though, what is the date on your g260?  Early ones have a steel plate carrier like the one on your 4spd, late ones have an aluminum shift carrier.  And some in the middle have provisions for both.  The date should be inside the bellhousing I think.

[bfinley]

That's why I'm thinking I could chop mine down to size but it's probably easier to pull one out of an e30 ...

I'll check for a date on the trans tonight

[jc43089]

That carrier looks quite different than the early 260 one.  Went back to your pic and it has the spot above the shift link on the back for the aluminum carrier, see if the holes below that on the back are tapped or not, hard to see in the pic but it looks like it has the spots for the eta sensors on the drivers side of the bellhousing.

[RamRod E28]

If the holes are there it'll b a direct bolt on plug n play senario for the eta ur getting off me

[bfinley]

Mr. Menard made these templates from his e30 vert to see if I can run e30 flares on the e21 I think they will fit!

Thank you sir!

[Earl]

I thought you were going to make skirts to cover the well!

[bfinley]

Spent the day tearing down the old m10 motor and drinking beer in the shop. I'm planning to clean it up maybe paint it and then weld it into a coffee table or something.

For having 36 years of wear and tear she wasn't in awful condition

[RamRod E28]

Coulda sent me a text im always down for working on bmws and drinking beer as well lol also found this vid for a little inspiration.

[bfinley]

Ah! Next time I will do so !

[RamRod E28]

yeah dude do! I shall b down tomorrow to help john on his e30