That 5.3 swap E39 Wagon that has been around

This is the best thread ever. I still miss my 6.0 E39 once in a while. Love the creativity of the cast mounts, and the 8.8 is the way to go. M5 diff is way too pricey. 

I don't have anything helpful to offer, but man oh man do I just love that you're casting the engine mounts. Cooler than cool, ice cold.

Keep up the good work!

I finished up the diff mounts today. It is hanging in there right now with an up pinion angle of about 3 degrees. I think the engine is going to end up tail shaft down about 1.5 degrees but it might go a degree either way. I have to see how I can deal with an electrical connector on the side of the transmission that is pointing right at the wall of the tunnel.

I'm getting more comfortable with the spool gun but I'm not ready to do any dental welding. I was worried about blowing holes in the sub-frame when welding the front diff mounts on. It is a pretty stout piece so no new accidental drains. I have a little bit of welding around the front on top when I drop the sub-frame at some point.

The next thing out back is cutting up axles to make an example for Dutchman Axles to make custom shafts. That is on the schedule for tomorrow.

The engine mounts have gone a different direction. I started out trying to make something that would look at home holding an engine nacelle on a Federation starship. I got the set started and wasn't happy with how they looked half way through. I also spent some time flipping them around trying to see how I could cast them. I decided to start over.

This thing should have enough power to reach warp 8 so I didn't think my original design was the way to go. The new design is a solid arm that fans out from the BMW mount to the engine. I started with the arch I had for the passenger side and made them both the same.

I pulled them off the car today to start the finish shaping. I took some quick measurements and they are within 1/16" on the important holes matching. I gave myself a lot of material to work with. I just need to remove everything that isn't a BMW LS mount.

I have about 40lbs of aluminum ingots on the shelf but I had an idea today that fits the situation better. I have the truck water pump that I pulled off the engine when I went to Corvette accessory spacing. I also have the hacked up BMW front sub-frame that came with the car. I'm going to melt them together to create a blend that I hope will keep the car from rejecting the transplant.

Axle day.

I grabbed a BMW axle and put it in the bandsaw to see what I was dealing with. Cuts like butter.

I grab an Explorer axle and try the same thing. It shrugs off the 20tpi blade only giving up a scratch.

I don't know what the Rockwell hardness is but it is up there. I throw it on the floor and grab the torch. Done.

Look at the difference. This also tells me I could have the Explorer axles re-splined if I had another one that wasn't hit with the smoke wrench. Oh well.

I got the two mismatched halves in the car to check clearance and length. Everything looks good. I'm glad I pushed the diff forward. The tripod CV would have been up against the sub-frame.

Finished example ready to be broken down and shipped out to be copied.