The other day we got an email from our buddy Ernie Manasala at NOS Energy Drink. Seeing how it's BMW month, Ernie wanted to share a couple photos of some BMW's built by his older brother Mike at E-Shift Performance in New Jersey. As you'll note from the opening shot, these aren't quite your typical "Euro" Bimmers…
First is the stunning E39 M5 (a real one?!) that looks pretty normal on the outside…
…but under the hood is a Toyota 2JZGTE with a single turbo conversion. Shhh… I think you can hear the purists groaning.
If that wasn't enough, they've also built a matching E36 two door.
Like the E39, it also has a big turbine 2JZ under the hood. Both of the engine bays look immaculate!
Thanks to Ernie for sending us the photos, and thanks to Mike at E-Shift for keeping things interesting with his BMW's.
-Mike Garrett
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
WHY, especially the real M5....it already had 400 bulletproof hp...............369 ft lbs of torque...not really a purist, just wondering WHY? lol.........
New Jersey! Nice to see some Northeast coverage on here. As a fellow Jersey Bimmerhead, I say keep 'em coming!
Immaculate, the cars look incredible. Euro style + JDM power = beauty and brawn at it's finest.
I am motivated! Hahaha
Immaculate, the cars look incredible. Euro style + JDM power = beauty and brawn at it's finest.
I am motivated! Hahaha
That's wrong , how can you put a Supra engine in a BMW?!
Groaning purests = beautiful music.
dam.... thats bad-ass. love the detail they go though also. love the vs-xx looks-like with the black and white cap on it. nice touch wonder hows the back end looks? with pipes or no tip shown like the euro sysle.
THOROUGHLY digging this one, especially the yellow fogs and cleanliness of the builds. they look almost OEM!
question isn't how, its WHY?...............@Vlady lol
That's so STUPID! Why would you take out the M5's already plenty powerful motor?!?! What's wrong with them? That is one of the best European cars of the 90s. Other great 90s Euros are the Mercedes 500E/E500, BMW E36 M3, Porsche 911, etc. Would you take the marvelously engineered engines out and swap in some Jap crap motor? You're disgracing the manufacturer by dropping these dumb ricer engines in them. It's an INSULT!!!
VERY nice
love the grey one
now i wanna see Euro power + JDM style
Someone, anyone please enlighten a noob (me)! Are there any advantages in this conversion whatsoever?
The owner of a wheel company in Texas swapped a Supra engine into a '69 (?) Camaro years ago and then there's that D1 e92 in Japan.
Is there something to this conversion other than being different?
So many people hate on cars with interesting swaps like this, especially motors from a different "DM" going into a different car - ie. mixing EDM / JDM. But it's what real hot-rodders did back in the early days. There was no 'purists' it was just shoehorn into the engine bay whatever was available, whatever fit, and whatever made the car do what you wanted. AC Cobra? Jaguars? Rat rodders? Anything ringing a bell here?
I definitely see the point of doing this from both views - 1. ) it's interesting, its a challenge, and its fairly (though not entirely) unique. 2.) it's the best of both worlds. to call a 2JZ a 'dumb ricer engine' is just plain ignorant and shows how out of touch you are with the realities of modern motors. I"m sure you'll start spouting off how many years you have been studying or building up american or euro motors, but you blew your wad by spewing such tripe and now you just look dumb. BMW makes and has made some great motors, but the motors that came in both of these cars aren't anything near as special as a 2JZ. Those M5's ran pig rich and build up insane carbon deposits over short time, and while I know quite a few fast turbo'd E36's they're never going to make the same level of stable power as a properly sorted 2JZ (if that's your goal).
No need to sh*t on things you'll never understand, just say 'It ain't for me' and move on. Otherwise you just proved you don't know jack.
LOL @ jap crap motor...........yea i gotta agree with Hotrodsforever, Supra engine is nice but it will never be in the same league with a 32valve V8 from BMW....pure sacrilege
@ Roger Bent, The answer to the question "why ? " is "Because they can..."
Clean looking cars
@ Roger Bent, The answer to the question "why ? " is "Because they can..."
Clean looking cars
Hotrodsforever... Dumb Ricer Engines??? Jap crap??? Try saying that to a Supra owner!!! Or to a supra owner who drives it around daily at 800+ hp!!! You're just hating because you know you'll get spanked!!! You should keep your racist, ricer ass out of this!!! Its the shit talkers like yourself that act like idiots and and are in it for all the wrong reasons!!!
You're goddamn right the purists are groaning. I know that this website is mostly dominated by fans of drifting and the JDM scene, and that you want to appeal to their tastes by featuring euro cars with JDM power plants, but this is just wicked retarded. I'm somewhat used to the tasteless act of throwing a SJZ or other JDM power plant into the run of the mill E36 3 series, but putting a Supra engine into a M5? The E39 M5 V8 is an engine that cottage sports car makers in the UK and Europe use to put in their sports cars and super cars like Ascari and even BMW's own Z8 sports car. It's like someone taking the engine out of a McLaren F1 and replacing it with the V12 out of a Toyota Century because they're used to tuning JDM engines. I understand that these guys thought they were doing something clever, but if you're going to bastardize a German car, at least upgrade the engine instead of downgrade. Use a 530 or 528 instead of an M5.
I can only guess that these two wonders will be feature cars in the next Fast and the Furious movie.
THe M5 engine does have its issues, like VANOS failure and drinking way too much oil....and i have no problem with the swap, i just want to know why, and you said the right thing @ Chris Hoare (a properly sorted out) 2JZ having stable power..........but i have to respectfully disagree with you about turbocharged E36's a properly done one can give you 500-700 reliable hp all day
@chris hoare
+1
The M5 makes me cringe a bit, just like when someone swaps out an E30 M3. Partly because there are cheaper, more plentiful models that could have been used instead, but also because their engines are gems on their own. Hopefully the S62 found a new home as it is my favorite V8 out there. Also, perhaps I'm over-exaggerating, but to me JZ/RB swaps and Chevy small blocks swaps are now just.. well, meh. Impressive execution and tons of fun I'm sure, but it'd be more of a challenge to find models which have NOT had one of these engines swapped in. Maybe there will be more original powerplants used in future swaps. M156 powered E31 anyone?
The S62 to is a nice engine but comparing it to the 2JZ is just stupid. The 2JZ is porbably one of the best engine's ever made!
Very interesting but both BMW stock engines are well capable of put down amazing numbers. . M5 already has about 400hp.Come on now it's BMW month. Those cars must be beast none the less.
rims on eth E36 dont cut it
Kudos for the engineering work here, I am guessing the Bimmer's were former accident cars or something to make this worthwhile, same goes for the Toyota engines. Who knows, right?
More importantly, what are the performance numbers.
And Chris Hoare is right on the money with his statement!
The point isn't about "This engine is better than that engine" or "Purist is better than unique and creative" it's about having an open mind and not proving your ignorance to the world by sh*ting on a motor like the 2JZ. I'm no Supra fanboy, never owned a Toyota, but I have seen first hand time and time again what those motors are capable of. You'd have to be living under a rock to think the 2JZ is a "Crap Jap" motor.
@Roger Bent, the E36 can def make some serious power with a turbo or two or a supercharger, but I don't know of many runing stable around 1200hp, which is what countless 2JZ's are doing around the world, and have been doing just shy of a decade with nothing but regular maintenance!
It's not about it being better or worse than the motors that were in there, its about recognizing the talent and creativity required to pull it off, and thank heavens for these type of tuners who take a break from the endless SR20/RB25/26/blah blah blah swaps and do something more challenging.
Anyways, I'd be more inclined to complain about them putting such beautifully engineered motors into cars with crap electronics, boring German design, and mediocre driving dynamics by modern standards.
(I kid I kid, but you see the point?)
Why? because the 2JZ is one of the best engines ever made... the Bimmer V8 is grat too, but 2JZ and RB26 are in other level.
Really nice cars, being a Bimmer fan, I know a few guys with turboed BMW Engines and they just can't compare to Japanese ones. One guy is just finishing an E36 M3 With an SR20DET So I'm really interested in how this bad boy will drive.
But the best conversion so far I've seen and would say is better then the original is putting in the 2,0 supercharged Mercedes-Benz from an CLK, this car was insane, curently ther owner pulled the engine and is fitting it with an aditional turbo...
i'm am a Groaning purests. AMEN
Thumbs up to Chris Hoare.
This is an modern world. We need to be open minded and think out of the box. Fighting over this online is pointless. hahaha It's not about what engine is better than what, but it's more about how things are made possible by some crazy mechanics. =]
I dig it, if only because it makes people whine.
great bmw's, nothing is imposible like you see here!
@Hotrodsforever
Are you implying a 2JZ-GTE is a "Jap crap" engine? You have to be an idiot. I would hate to meet someone as dumb as you in real life.
@Chris Hoare
BIG thumbs up to you for having a brain! Thank you for providing some meaningful insight to people who otherwise wouldn't understand.
Dope Dope Dope....so many people have no knowledge and are so closed minded but the 2J BMW's are great
IMO a M5 is cooler than an jz swapped 530i (what it has become), but i got a soft spot for swaps, plus the car looks great
WORD represntin JERSEY!!!!!!! im not a big fan of bmw's but i seen some nice and clean beamers in my city in new jersey a shop called "azevedo motorsports"... but i never seen thos around my town? big props to thos owners!!!!
Beyond anything else I love the quality of the builds. The fit and finish is awesome. I would love to see some video of them running and whatnot. I just don't get why people hate on different interpretations as long as the quality is there. These aren't riced out with wings, neon and sagging bumpers, to the contrary they are very tastefully done. Keep up the good work!
Well executed by the looks, I'm a fan of crazy swaps and no fanboy of either marque, but to me personally going from a V8 to a straight 6 is a backwards step. Just each to their own, if the owners are chuffed that's what counts. If they wanted a turbo though, why not add a couple of them to the V8!
E-Shift FTW!!!
I drove behind these two cars and mikes supra on the way home from d1.
holycrap was it sick.
Both cool are sweet cars but I'd have to agree with the people asking why? I suppose if you had some 2JZ's lying around with some R154's or V160's then it'd make sense to use them. Bulletproof and easy I suppose. I've always thought a 2JZ A31 would be the best learners drift car ever.
why not?? this is cool and something you dont see every day... i like it
VIDS ARE A MUST AND WOULD LIKE TO GET MORE INFO ON THE CARS!
say whtever u wanna say, JDM motors are the best, sorry for my english, spanish.. but is an insult but not for BMW its for Supra
jaja
Love that everyone is getting so wound up...
No one has brought up the fact that the original M5 motor might have died, and it was probably cheaper to bolt in a JZ?
Or maybe it was brought with no motor?
PO PO, this is certainly weird. 2JZ-GTE is definitely great great engine, but to swap it for BMW heritage is too much for me.
No way I am gonna accept that!
O.
! put if this way all chassis out there can't resist the 2jz powerplant. =P
for some of you might think that this might seems like slapping the bmw engineer across the face for giving the M serious a gorgeous gift or even vice versa..it's all about creativity and showing ones idea.
i think this swap is pretty deviant from others. bravo bravo!
so much hostility ! anybody find out if it was even a m5 to begin with ? uniqueness and creativity are what makes building cars interesting for me .and to each his own ,do whatever you wanna do with your money ,you cant knock the build quality .
Firstly, fit and finish plus execution is brilliant. Nice to see something different too.
The S50B32 that we got in Europe is a massive cut above the USDM M3 motor. ITB's, sharper profile cams and the like...but yes, it does require a lot of work to push over 600bhp out of the BMW motors.
As for 2JZ being superior, I'm no so sure. VS Motor built a 3.8L M3/E34 M5 hybrid motor with a big PT turbo that was pushing a regular 1300-odd BHP, and it wasn't just some dyno queen (like many big-power cars)- same with DA Motorsport, who built a 1100bhp E36 M3 for daily use in Turkey. Yes, the 'yota motor is more tunable, but any motor can be built to big power if you've got the £ / $ / .
You have to remember, though, that engines aren't just about power, they're about responsiveness, weight, ect. The E39 M5 motor will push 900bhp when supercharged, with ooodles of torque, great responsiveness and a surprisingly low weight.
Remember, also, that the S50B32 and S50B30 have been the basis for some of the most successful track-day specials, GT racers and the like. Outside of J-GT racing (or for that matter the drag strip) the 2JZ isn't that successful an engine.
I don't hate the Supra transplants, the same way I don't hate LS1 transplanted Jap cars (or for that matter M3s) but it's about different kinds of performance. You want a big lazy drift monster? In goes an LS1. Want a screaming turbo powerhouse? Drop in something Jap. Want to keep the high-revving, responsive raceyness of the original motor? S65/S62/S50 goes in with some serious work, possibly boosted.
Different strokes for different folks.
The guys who built these machines are probably reading this and thinking, "who can we piss of next" lol. Its a very creative build though not my cup of tea. I hart my S54 and would probable be pissed to come home with the 2jz inside my m3, i do love the 2jz engine and can get a slap happy amount of horses easily, but its just not my kinda build, its unique(thought starting to see this build popping up from place to place). Some people live for the build, not everyone lives for the heritage. Builders get curious and tend to try unorthodox things. All I can say is get used to it, the weird builds will just keep getting weirder as we go on.
so wheres the supra with the m5 v8 ?...hehehe=P
Toyota 2JZGTE -good
BMW M5 - good
BMW M5 with 2JZGTE - BAD: because it's like mixing garlic with chocolate - both good ingredients but when combined you just gotta run for cover
Why? Because you can, because you're different! Brucie's automotive lifestyle baby!
I would like to see an euro car (not a bmw, but something small like a fiat 500) with a wankel (not joking). It would be a nice experience of engineering!
Or the same bmw with an american v8.
I was a fanatic of purism, but being on speedhunters have opened my mind.
(sorry for my english >.<)
@KaoKao:
plenty of VW Beetles with 13b/12a swaps out there.
The 2JZ-GTE is a fine motor, just as the RB26DETT is a fine engine. They do have their problems, though. So for you guys to make fun of the VANOS failure and a thirst for oil, it's just stupid. At anything over 550 horsepower for an RB26, oil pump failure will most likely occur. The RB26 is an oversquare engine, meaning that its bore is greater than its stroke. Oversquare engines burn more oil, too. I like the Syline as much as the next guy, but don't be a hypocrit and accuse the Bimmer engine of burning oil. The 2JZ had a valve seal problem. Every motor has its strengths and weaknesses.
Pure sacrelige! Heretics!!! just jokes
I love the E36 M3 and E39 M5 as they are prime examples of BMW M-Sport NA tuning. But the E36 "coupe" pictured is a sedan (you can see the rear door handles and windows) And if that was a genuine M5, It's a shame the silky smooth 400hp V8 was sacrificed to make way for a brutal 2JZ (I hope it found a nice new home?) I can see the appeal of a monster turbo 3.0lt Toyota 6 easily good for 600+hp, but for me a twin turbo V8 trumps that - Alpina B10 anyone?
Ernie is the man!!!
This is what makes speedhunters great!!! @Hotrodsforever, i wasn't saying that e62 has an inherent Vanos failure problem, was just pointing out one of the few complaints about the engine, all engines have their faults, I should know i've driven Rotaries all my life lol........
I understand the groans, but both bimmers are AWESOME!
You wont hear groans or anything else as soon as you start up that bootyful 2JZ
I'm groaning cause that engine should be in my Soarer! Hahah
Sh1t me you haters are out in force. Sweet cars, would give my left one for the M5
Guys, no need for the groaning.
Here's the deal.
BMW's (like others) make not only fine cars, but also fine canvases to do other things.
After a while of doing things and that, there comes a time to do something else.
As a hobbyist with "old school"preference, this carries the same mindset equivalent to me taking a '73 Super Beetle and dropping in a 911 engine with twin KKK turbos done tastefully. Engine swaps from different makes isn't a new thing; and (to me), German cars are no exception!
And for the record BlueBrat, neither one of these vehicles are salvaged nor accident cars.
Both were always well maintained cars that eventually went up the next level.
I personally know the owners and can vouch for both.
I still remember when the E36 was bought new from the dealer.
2 thumbs up from me!
These projects were carefully planned and well done!
I hope to see more, especially some of the "old school".
you can't just jump in the ring with Ali and think you can box? if you wanna talk shit then see if you can even pull a better build then this one!
should put rb26dett...much better
eg6_B20B, RB26DETT would be great project, but for long term 2JZ is more readily available from a resource standpoint....no waiting from Japan.
why would you put soemthing so beutiful into such a hunk of crap, atleast they are trying to upgrade the bimmer
I think what E-shift is doing is great. These two BMWs are creations of genius. Why did they do it? Because they can! I only hope that the original BMW engines were not wasted in this experiment.
BOMBACLAWT