russde
russde GRM+ Memberand None
9/13/09 2:16 p.m.

Gonna pick up my new project tomorrow, or rather I'm gonna have AAA tow it to my house. $700, exterior is good shape (think it's Oxford green) the roof will need to be resprayed as the clear is peeling. The interior is gonna need some help, front door panels are falling apart, headliner is sagging, carpet is shrunk in some places and filthy all over, shift surround is cracked. Motor runs (barely) but was overheated. The current owner says it needs a headgasket but I'm betting in the head being cracked. Transmission is an unknown factor at this point, it is an auto-tragic and will engage in both D and R but due to the overheating I did not drive it. May have a line on a local S50 engine (for the non-BMW phile, this is the motor from the '95 M3), and this would be a simple swap. Well, as far as any motor swap can be. Should be a fun parts/grocery getter. I'll post pictures on Tuesday since by the time it arrives on Monday evening it will be too dark to take photos. Cheers! Russ

belteshazzar
belteshazzar SuperDork
9/13/09 2:18 p.m.

sounds like it needs more m30

nderwater
nderwater Reader
9/13/09 10:42 p.m.

An E34 M532it would be freaking awesome. Good luck with the swap!

stuart in mn
stuart in mn SuperDork
9/14/09 8:37 a.m.

A friend of mine swapped an M30/5 speed into a 525it and it worked out pretty good, but I've also seen several S50 swaps that were very nice - I don't know if he still has it but Ray Korman had an e34 525i with an M3 engine for a daily driver, it was deceptively quick.

russde
russde GRM+ Memberand New Reader
9/15/09 6:54 a.m.

Considered the M30, but 208hp/225tq vs 240/236 for the S50 is a factor, also, the simple plug and play nature of the swap is appealing. I'm going to leave the auto in it for now, possibly do a 5-speed swap in the future...not really sure, school drop-off/pick-up duties in morning/afternoon traffic are more pleasant with an auto. Plus, I've already got a manual BMW to drive. Russ

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