Rear end question for the pros

[CamaroM60]

Hey Buddies,

I juz joined da forum. Apart from there beeing so much potential in theez carz, my step-dad has juz left to goto Asia for 12 months to setup a new company. He's left me wid da keyz to the carz n garage, so I'm gonna use em. He's got a 540i and a 645i. First thing I'm gonna do is clean up my diff, but here's a pic before I get polishing. Do ya reckon it will handle more powa than the current 350 Chev? I waz thinkin it'd go reeel good if I swap the drivetrain from my pop's 540i (itz a 6 speed and I just drove it down to the shops for Mom, that damn thing pulled 90mph in 2nd gear before I got to the intersection. He's really looked after it and mebbe made some mods, its done only 24,000miles so iz liek a great ride, nothing like any car I've been in be4.

This is a good 20mph faster than my Camaro, so it got me 2 thinkin'; perhaps stick the BMW engin in the Camaro and see if itz any good as I can take it to the track and do a whole lot betta than I have wid da Chev.

Will it be hard to do? I got the Chev put in by the shop down the road but I reckon that swapping the 540 engine and transmission will be easy. My only worrie iz dat the Diff won't take the powa! Here'z a pic so u can see, its stock but da mechanic I know sed he had da gears titanium coated so it should be a bit stronger inside, but maybe not as I want to do a lot of driftin', especially at the McDonald's drive-thru near me, it goes off on Sat night!



Full on I reckon it'll be 20% more powa, so therefore maybe I shouldn't botha polishin' and just get on wid the engine swap, if da diff blows (I'm running 24" rims so da torque is fully maximizzzzzed u know) yea bros its big Nm and could need to get a new diff mebbe I juz go hard on this one and be ready to buy a new one? Haz anyone used a Camaro Diff in a BMW before?

[SnakeyesTx]

HAHAHAHA, are you for real?

[CamaroM60]

HAHAHAHA, are you for real?

Yea I juz don't want to swap everything over, u know- I want to be able to get it all back in2 dad's car be4 he gets back. If he findz out I bin messin wid his car, he'll get a bit pissed at me, he doesn't let Mom drive da carz, sed I was only to take em to the shops for Mom. But I am sure itz OK to use da garage, so this should be ok. He's got lotz of toolz and alwayz said I cud use em anytime.... Cam

[Russell]

Try standard english please. BTW, it is not good to mess with your dad's cars without permission. Things will go wrong.

[CamaroM60]

Try standard english please.

WTF r u talking bout bro...

[CamaroM60]

WTF r u talking bout bro...

iz dare anyone on dis forum from there (Englain)? Iz this not right wot I write?

[SnakeyesTx]

Well... honestly then, about the rear axle, if you really wanted to do that, you're basically asking "Can one put a solid axle in a car that has an indipendant rear?" The answer is yes, and no. Yes it can be done if you want to throw a ton of money, tools, parts and time at it (literally). You'd have to redesign the rear of the car to accept a completely new type of suspension, braketry, brake line system, driveshaft, the works basically. Its not worth it. If you're not happy with the rear gears, get new ones. If you're afraid of the torque output on the rear cv axles, get Indy-grade ones (they're about 1000 bucks a piece).

As for the motor, it would be like painting a house with fire. Up front you're looking at custom everything as well. Motor mounts, transmission mounts, adapters, wiring harness (painless wiring 12-circuit), Fuel delivery system, custom dash gauges, linkages, radiators, probably different steering and suspension since the rack would get in the way of an SBC pan.

Did I mention welding, grinding, wiring and the hundreds of cuts and bruises along the way?

IT ain't worth it, and to top it off, it would take about a year to design, fab, and install it anyway. If you want a fast bimmer to do a transplant on, your best option would be to buy a roller at a yard, then start from scratch. It'll take about 20-30k, about 3 or 4 years to get it "just the way you want it" if you're going to do it right and take it seriously. I'm not 100% sure of your mechanical aptitude, but these things aren't legos, and its not simply a matter of "pull this, attach this."

You can find rollers (basically a rolling body without engine and trans) sometimes on e-bay, www.collectorcartraderonline.com, and craigslist. Again, about the rear, its designed well, and solid-axle would prop the ass-end of the car WAY to high making it look pretty retarded.

[Kobe Diesel]

I think this is all a gag.

[Fetch]

I think this is all a gag.

nah, it's pretty common to swap out the drivetrain from your dad's car into yours while he's on vacation, and then polish your differential afterwards

[angrypancake]

it's the Aussies again, they've been drinking.