Let us not be upset by the title. I, like many of you folks, enjoy the M54 smooth power delivery and quirks very much. So I used to wrench on my cars a whole lot and mod them and the like, but I recently got serious and got a civilised and unmodable (sort of) 7 series that calmly takes me from point A to B quietly and smoothly. I've actually owned two E46s in my day (both convertible, both 2.5s). I'm being bitten by the sports car bug and I am really in the market for a nice second car that will really only be used for enthusiastic drives and occasional autocross and track days here and there. So my budget is around $15,000 (CAD) and my top three cars are e46 m3's, honda s2000s, and the e9x m3. As many of you know, it's hard to find a decent example of those cars at this price point and this would leave basically no money in the budget left over for mods. I've always loved the E46 chassis and I personally think that it is one of the most attractive BMWs out there, let alone 3-series.
SO... This got me thinking. I have a fairly comprehensive set of tools needed to service cars for just about anything and I'm fairly mechanically inclined (though not a professional by any means). When it comes to the cost of an LS swap it definitely makes sense: a run down E46 sedan or coupe (transmission doesn't matter, as I'd be putting in a T56 manual anyway).
There are plenty of cheap E46's in decent-good shape that have engine problems which are perfect for me (and even some that don't) for around $1000. The cost of a good T56 is around $2000 and depending on which LS I end up going for (some research needs to be done here) $2000-$4000 for a good used one with its own ECU. So that leaves me around $10,000 in the budget for the other parts the swap project would need as well as some good coilovers, brakes, and other goodies.
When it comes to factory electronics working, I'm not that picky. I can do without A/C and gauges if the cost of keeping it is prohibitively high, so it's really just a nice-to-have.
So what do you think? Is this project something that's way over my head, or is this really the solution for the budget-conscious and mechanically inclined enthusiast?
P.S. - Don't recommend that I purchase an S65 or any other BMW engine for this build, I'm not interested in that.
SO... This got me thinking. I have a fairly comprehensive set of tools needed to service cars for just about anything and I'm fairly mechanically inclined (though not a professional by any means). When it comes to the cost of an LS swap it definitely makes sense: a run down E46 sedan or coupe (transmission doesn't matter, as I'd be putting in a T56 manual anyway).
There are plenty of cheap E46's in decent-good shape that have engine problems which are perfect for me (and even some that don't) for around $1000. The cost of a good T56 is around $2000 and depending on which LS I end up going for (some research needs to be done here) $2000-$4000 for a good used one with its own ECU. So that leaves me around $10,000 in the budget for the other parts the swap project would need as well as some good coilovers, brakes, and other goodies.
When it comes to factory electronics working, I'm not that picky. I can do without A/C and gauges if the cost of keeping it is prohibitively high, so it's really just a nice-to-have.
So what do you think? Is this project something that's way over my head, or is this really the solution for the budget-conscious and mechanically inclined enthusiast?
P.S. - Don't recommend that I purchase an S65 or any other BMW engine for this build, I'm not interested in that.
