intake manifold questions for a M

[hitmachine101]

hey guys -- 97 M3

ill be ripping off the intake manifold this winter to get to the wiring harness because my o2 sim fried the wire running all the way up, thought i fixed it but the car just started running like crap again so guess ive got to replace it now,,

two questions,,,

can i port out the manifold for this car -- just was looking at the M50 swap and im not up for creating brackets and spacers and slicing tubing....

i realize its plastic and id have to be careful but what do you guys think? worth my time to open it up a little bit seeing as its apart anyways

and the second is can i replace the starter on a 97 M3 without having to drop the tranny,,, its right there so i might as well have it rebuilt so i dont have to do this again

thanks guys

[hitmachine101]

what do you think guys?

[Jeron]

I believe you can replace the starter but a rebuilt starter stands to be more problematic than a working one.

The M50 manifold swap is the only feasible way to upgrade. The swap is not difficult although I have not done it personally.