e-30 5 speed trans

steve in reno

steve in reno

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I was reading the cs registry and noticed that there is an article on using a, e-30 5 speed in a coupe. There are lots of these for sale, and price is cheaper.
Is there anyone out there in coupeland that has knowledge of, or used this trans/bell in a coupe.
Article said it was a straight bolt up of bell to m30 motor. Using stock e-30 shift tower? Or need to use 528I? Trans and bell are one unit from pic's I have seen.
So many questions, so little money.
Now that weather is nicer, it's time to enjoy the fruits of my winters labor, and drive my coupe.
steve
 
Steve, this is a technical question, you may want to post this on the general discussion forum.

Be careful, not all E30 transmissions are the same, the one you are looking for that will fit our coupes is a 265 which was only in the M3 and has a separate bellhousing where the other E30 have it integral with the transmission. The shifting mechanism however is different from the other models using the 265 as it uses a newer style aluminum support instead of the sheet metal one that the other models use. The picture below shows what the new support looks like, although this is not from an E30:

pic47.jpg


The 265 would need a bracket for that support to work:
M30transreartop.jpg


As you can see from the first picture the rear of the support is supported by a metal cylinder with a rubber bushing molded inside it which snaps into a bracket in the driveshaft tunnel. I have been in the process of gathering the parts which would make for better shifting as well as providing for the use of a short shifter such as the UUC which I hear a lot of good about. The only difficulty that I have yet to solve is the length of the support - there are quite a few available depending on the car model and one may need to be shortened to fit a coupe.

I can post more information in case you or anyone else is interested in this setup.

Mark
 
The ONLY E30 trans that will work is the 88-91 M3. NONE of the others will work. The E30 6 cylinder engines have a different bellhousing bolt pattern.

The M3 trans is a Getrag 265, similar to that used in the 80-81 6 cylinder cars, except the M3 trans needs to have the speedometer cable drive and gear installed.
 
e-30 5 spped trans

Thanks Mark and Bill

Which shifter is to be used?
" throw out bearing?
" supports?
" clutch cylinder, or does it need to be changed like the other getrag 265?

I am using cyberdyne gauges in my coupe presently, and will replace clock with a digital speedo and tach when I do the dash wood this next winter. So no need to change over to mechanical.

The article in the "registry" did state that the trans needed was from a 88-91 M3, but it gave no other clues as to additional parts needed.

All help and info is appreciated!

steve in reno
 
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