BMW into Westfield does not go?

[Mikeylad]

A short question i think is probably answerable with a quick, curt, 'no'.

I am shortly going to be building a Widebody Westfield SEi. My question is this: Can i use the engine and drivetrain (and/or anything else needed) from a 1990 E30 BMW 318is? The engine has an M-tweaked 16v head and pulls (relatively) like a train.

Or is it better that i use the horrid 1.8 pinto engine from the shitty old sierra waiting on my drive for its judgment day?

Has anyone heard of a BMW-engined westie, or am i just making it up?

Ta muchly,
Mike

[sparks]

Don't know about a westie, but these people

www.marlinracing.co.uk/bmw_donor_newsflash.htm

do one of these



with E30 running gear.

HTH

Sparks

[Graham.J]

IIRC (I may be wrong though) the BMW g'boxes are too big and will either set the engine in an odd place or won't fit at all.

However, get your tape measure out and see if it'll fit, don't worry about engine mounts they can be moved to follow suit.

Good luck

[Mikeylad]

thanks sparks,

My Brilliant Red beemer has gone pink and is not quite the head-turner it once was. Therefore, i want to ditch the pink and keep the good bits. That marlin looks like a decent prospect - how do they rate on quality and ease-of-build? I am something of a novice, but have access to plenty of equipment and expertise through the family business - what would i be letting myself in for?

Regards,
Mike

[sparks]

Don't know much about them, but I believe they were pioneers of the single donor build (using the good ol' Sierra).

Read the website, as there is bound to be an owners club.

Spark