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-   -   My 2001 BMW 328i (E46) build thread | EDIT: New video & upgrades on page 15 (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/189534-my-2001-bmw-328i-e46-build-thread-edit-new-video-upgrades-page-15-a-4.html)

Hi Karan Sir,

Couldn't resist myself from making an advertisement for this car. The classic lines of the 318i had me fall for it, and thus decided to spring up a surprise for you. It isn't perfect, but I hope you find it acceptable.

Here's a custom made advertisement for your car! You can put it up on your bedroom if you want to :D :


P.S: Sorry for posting the edited pic without your permission. I have forgotten to put your handle in the subscript. Hope its fine. Do PM me if you want it to be edited further.

Thanks, yes & a big update coming soon.

Hey Vishy, Wow thats a great surprise indeed :)

Thanks a lot for this effort, loved it :thumbs up

The engines are out & here is a WIP pic with the donor e46;



:thumbs up

I am extremely happy to announce that the engine is in & the swap is successful :D



The swap was completed within 3 days without much trouble.

I will be compiling a full report of the swap with all the details & also will be making a video of the same very soon, till then stay tuned & thanks everyone for the support.

The car is now a 328i Manual :thumbs up

How about a Karan-styled detailed post now. Dont forget to include driving impressions and comparison to the newer 328i's included!

Hi sir,
Congratulations for completing the engine swap without much of an hassle. You can enjoy the best of both the worlds with both the 328i manual (E46) and the 328i 8-speed automatic (F30). A sweet little garage of the 3'er which is really cool. BTW, my dad really likes the way you've maintained the 328i (F30) and if you wish to sell it sometime in future, then I'd be in the line to purchase this beemer :D.

PS : It was me who asked you on YouTube whether you were interested in selling the F30. Id asked this to you sometime in April.

Drive hard and drive safe,
Varun_HexaGuy

I assume the donor car was a straight 6 with an Auto box. How easy is it to match the manual transmission (assuming you are using the same Getrag box that came OEM with yours). I know you would post the same soon. It would also be interesting to know the intended swap on the donor car is doing without snatching away any of your car's highlight.

Let me also brag a little for you that yours is the first successful BMW swap known publicly in India.

You will see many threads in team-bhp where all such or similar swaps have been left half-way -- part issues, tuner issues, expectation issues, reliability issues, old car issues and the likes). Eg: a Bigger engine in an E34. Manual swap for E36 M3 with SMG and more.

We are whole-heartedly hoping yours continues to live a long happy life. We know the trailer seems promising for sure.

Hey Akshay,

Have started working on the video, hoping for it to be uploaded with the pictorial report before next weekend.

Hey Varun, thanks for the wishes. Well, im not really sure about selling my F30 328i yet. BUT if some good offer comes in & a like-minded petrolhead wants to buy then im all ears :)

Good to see you here !

Easy bolt-on, more details soon.

Thank you Dipen for your special comments & wishes, truly made my day :thumbs up

Video;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvVx6tNjtc8&t=95s

Engine Selection;

T​he hunt ​for the engine ​began, it was going to be difficult as the E46 is an extremely rare car so finding a spare engine was not easy. Also i did not want to attempt a complicated swap like​ a M3​ engine​ (s54 engine) or much more complicated LS ​(Chevy v8) ​or 2JZ ​(Toyota) ​engine, which are done commonly in the US/EU.
But i finally found a engine worthy enough to be put in my car & yes it was the 328​i​ engine​ (6 cyl)​ codenamed the M52TUB28.
This engine was coming off from a car which had only about 25,000 kms on the odo (compared to the existing 86k in my 318i) which was another advantage.
Fortunately this engine was from a friends E46 coupe & he was willing to let go as he had the vision of an M3 swap for his car.
But there were some challenges, his car was an automatic & mine was the GETRAG 5 speed Manual & i wanted to retain the manual.

So for this job though a bolt on, but at the same time required skill as not many such swaps have been attempted in India. I chose D.A.D workshop [D.A.D] to get this done.

Day 1​ @ D.A.D Workshop: Engine​s​ Coming Out​;​

To get the engine out it was obvious we had to dismantle the front end completely and get the AC condenser, Radiator and other things out of the way.



After the front end was out, getting the engine and transmission out was easy as they are bolted on to the chassis majorly with only 4 bolts.





318i engine out;



Having the car on jack stands is recommended here to ease access.



In the meanwhile we had already removed the bigger engine from the donor car and kept it ready waiting outside.

Engine Coming out of the Donor Car;



Donor Car without the Engine;



Day 2​ @ D.A.D. Workshop: 328i Engine going in;​

Both the Engines side by side;



On Day 2 the manual transmission of the 318i was bolted on to the new engine and was ready to go into my car.



Before that obviously the engine mounts had to be replaced with the 328 ones.

We required some more parts off the donor car like we had to use the cooling system of that car into mine (as 318i cooling system would not be compatible) & other parts like the sway bars too, all this was quite easily possible as the Donor car was just next to us.

Getting the engine in was fairly easy now and a proper bolt to bolt fitment.



We also needed the engine immobiliser & the key of the donor car as obviously the 318i's key wouldn't work.

Day 3​ @ D.A.D Workshop: ECU, Wiring & Custom Exhaust; ​

Once the engine was in the bay we had to use the ECU & the engine wiring harness from the donor car to make all this work in my car.



This took only a few hours & the same day itself we were able to fire up the engine for the 1st time.

After which a quick service was conducted to set the cycle.



The only thing remaining which was tackled later in the day​ (night to be precise)​ was the Exhaust. I wanted a pretty racy sound something like the DTM racecars & with the help of referring to some designs of such existing race setups we were able to make such a exhaust setup which mad​e the car sound really aggressive (Sounds in the video) ​



^ Need to order new muffler tips though.

Driving Impressions of the Car post the Swap; ​

I have driven about 500 kms already now & almost use it daily to take it to the gym & so far this build seems just like a factory fit. There are no engine check lights, the ABS is working fine & so is the traction control system.
The gearbox and engine have syncced very well to deliver the power perfectly. And speaking of power the previous engine (318i) was generating aprox 117 HP from its 1.9L engine where as this new 328i (2.8 6 cyl) unit is now generating almost 200 HP which in percentage is about a 75% increase.
Also mind you this car previously only weighed about 1250 kgs, even if we add about 100kgs for the larger engine still we should be about 1350kgs. Still we are about 150 kgs lighter than a comparable modern day BMW say the F30 320d.
This 328i engine is a strong one and pulls cleanly all the way to its 6500 rpm redline and the real beauty is how smooth and progressive it is in its power delivery. Another characteristic is the Variable valve timing which does kick in. Well for people who aren't aware, for example what Honda term its as VTEC or what Toyota term as the VVT-i, BMW had termed this as VANOS. The VANOS does kick in around 4000rpm but isnt brutal like a turbo but has it delivers that extra kick in its own sweet way.

Well to throw in some numbers i did some 0-100 runs & i could manage a sub 7.5 seconds to the 100 time. Which is pretty respectable & im sure this will improve as soon as i change the clutch which is slipping now with this extra power to handle.

​​Overall i believe​ its not a mere heart transplant​ what we did​, but a soul transplant​​ as this engine with a manual box is just​ phenomenal fun & has transformed the car's personality. But still a lot of more work pending, though this was one of the major steps in this project but still is only the beginning.

​Special thanks to my friend & BHPian Mod Akshay1234 who helped me with the technicalities during the swap :thumbs up

Great going. How are you handling the RTO formalities with regard to the engine change

On a related point, does one face issues in procuring insurance after such fundamental changes?

Thanks, I am trying to work it out, till then i dont have an answer to your question.

Insurance is 3rd party & is very much valid now (though the value of the car is nil now after so many years) so will get renewed next year like nothing has happened.

If possible please get this checked with the insurance company. AFAIK, any such change to the car (such as yours) will null and void the insurance and in case of any eventuality, Insurance company will refuse to foot the bill to the 3rd Party

In the meanwhile got the Headliner Fixed from Orchis Powai.

The material selected was a Alcantara style micro suede fabric;



^ The material was sourced by my wife :)

With the headliner got the pillar trims wrapped in the same material as well;



Closer look;



Got the grab handles & the sun visors painted black;





Fitting starts;



Final Results;





The Orchis team was extremely professional with this work, also the owner was very accommodative of whatever suggestions were given to him & also flexible (specially allowing me to give the material as i did not want the conventional headliner fabric - though he had a few options) So a thumbs up to their job :thumbs up

I was charged approx 10,500/- for this entire job.

Then;



Now;



This is the 1st step towards achieving all black interiors.

Thinking to upgrade the stock clutch as its slipping & cant handle so much of extra power.

Evaluating Stage 2 Upgrade (or 3) options.