Hey all, I’m about mid-way through installing the front suspension from an E46 into my ‘71 E3.
Why? I’ve wanted rack and pinion steering for a while and my steering box has developed a lot of play. I’ve spent a lot of time researching rack and pinion conversion options, but always ran into challenges that seemed hard to overcome. The e3 steering arms are very long, which requires a large amount of steering “throw” to maintain a decent turning circle. It is also “rear steer” which is less common for steering racks.
The car has a M62 V8 from an E39 installed and I think steering and suspension improvements would make it more engaging and confidence inspiring to drive. I also want to add air conditioning and the passenger side motor mount is in the way of where the compressor needs to fit. I also just like doing projects like this.
So, why E46 stuff. Using all the parts from the donor car will help ensure it all works together. It additionally has a relatively simple front suspension design, just a big lower control arm at each side. There is still a large aftermarket parts supply for the E46. I had actually test fitted E30 parts when I was working on the V8 swap about 10 years ago. The strut angle, or kingpin inclination is much steeper on the 3 series vs. the Bavaria (or the 5 and 7 series) The E30 parts won’t work because the strut towers would need to be far into the engine compartment for proper alignment.
The dimensions are closer on the E46 since it’s a larger car than the E30. The biggest challenge is still the strut position and angle. The E46 strut center points are about 1.5 inches inboard of the stock E3 positions. The E46 strut towers are also angled towards the center of the car, where the E3 is almost flat.
Modifying the E3 strut towers is by far the most labor intensive part of the project.
While I’ve already done a reasonable amount of the work, I’ll make some separate posts for more of a chronological style description of the project.
Why? I’ve wanted rack and pinion steering for a while and my steering box has developed a lot of play. I’ve spent a lot of time researching rack and pinion conversion options, but always ran into challenges that seemed hard to overcome. The e3 steering arms are very long, which requires a large amount of steering “throw” to maintain a decent turning circle. It is also “rear steer” which is less common for steering racks.
The car has a M62 V8 from an E39 installed and I think steering and suspension improvements would make it more engaging and confidence inspiring to drive. I also want to add air conditioning and the passenger side motor mount is in the way of where the compressor needs to fit. I also just like doing projects like this.
So, why E46 stuff. Using all the parts from the donor car will help ensure it all works together. It additionally has a relatively simple front suspension design, just a big lower control arm at each side. There is still a large aftermarket parts supply for the E46. I had actually test fitted E30 parts when I was working on the V8 swap about 10 years ago. The strut angle, or kingpin inclination is much steeper on the 3 series vs. the Bavaria (or the 5 and 7 series) The E30 parts won’t work because the strut towers would need to be far into the engine compartment for proper alignment.
The dimensions are closer on the E46 since it’s a larger car than the E30. The biggest challenge is still the strut position and angle. The E46 strut center points are about 1.5 inches inboard of the stock E3 positions. The E46 strut towers are also angled towards the center of the car, where the E3 is almost flat.
Modifying the E3 strut towers is by far the most labor intensive part of the project.
While I’ve already done a reasonable amount of the work, I’ll make some separate posts for more of a chronological style description of the project.
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