Right, the reason I'm pinging you two is I have an idea.
I know a Rover V8 goes into a BMW E30 pretty easily, so that is on the agenda (no, not the turbo one from the Rangie).
So, with me being a lover of cheap engine transplants and torque I'm gonna do it the cheapest, easiest way possible.. as usual.
My E30 is an auto.... which means it uses the ZF4HP22. My Rangie is auto.... which means it uses the ZF4HP22.
I quite like autos, and it'll probably annoy some of the E30 'scene' if I leave it auto, but bolt a 4.0 Rover lump in. I know the Rover lump, it's lighter than the M20 engine and one hell of a lot torquier.
Looking at the 'box in the E30, the front end is identical to the Rangie one, so if I bolt a Range Rover bellhousing to it and use the Rover torque converter it /should/ save me a shed load of grief with the whole job. Provided the V8 doesn't sit too far back or too high in the bay.
Kickdown cable looks pretty much the same, speedo drive is off the diff on the E30 anyway, the 4HP22 has a 300 lb ft limit which a standard 3.9 / 4.0 V8 won't trouble anyhow. The ZF sump, dipstick tube mounting ('box end) and everything other than the output end of the box looks identical on the two.
Thing is, would the Rover torque converter fit the BMW 'box?
Oh, with the Rover lump being as light as it is, it'd quite probably get me 50-50 weight distribution instead of 51-49 or whatever a Touring is, and having seen a Rover engined, 400 bhp E30, the engine seems to sit nice and low and further back in the bay so that's a bonus as well.