$2700
1988 BMW 325IS
M50 motor from a 1992 BMW 525Ti wagon.
Flywheel from stock M20 motor.
Clutch assembly replaced during motor swap
Stock transmission used (Does not grind. Shifts well)
Stock E30 radiator used in swap
Maintained clutch fan (boo to E-Fans).
Replaced Guibo bushing, and Center driveshaft support bearing.
Replaced a multitude of gaskets\seals when I did the swap.
Reman. PS pump installed year and a half ago. Rack is a bit sticky now.
US Ellipsoids (uber bright)
Replaced heater valve last fall.
Bilstein shocks were installed up front and rear
rears acted up, so I replaced them until I get mine repaired by Bilstein
Vogtland springs were installed
E30 M3 top mounts were used to increase camber a bit up front.
New control arm bushings (M3 offset)
New control arms
New Tie rods
Custom made rear top hats.
Car has trailer hitch and wired up for trailer lights as well. I used to haul a 4x8' utility trailer with a motorcycle on it to events. 500 miles tops of trailering.
Replaced pads\rotors sometime last year
I used axxis ultimate ceramics.
Fronts were squeaking a bit, so I replaced them with some semi-metallics.
The pads didn't look bad, so I figured it was due to the fact that I wasn't putting enough heat into them to keep them in their usable heat range.
Wheels (2 sets in total)
not on Car:
15"x8" 0 Offset wedsport knockoffs.
Dunlop DZ101 Tires 205/50/17 on all 4 corners
Hubcentric rings, and appropriate lugs.
Needs new tires for these wheels (3 OK, 1 bad)
Snows (On Car):
15" Stock Basketweaves
hankook Snow tires with 2 winters on them.
All sets of wheels\tires come with the car.
Has an Alpine headunit. Matches the BMW Orange. Has aux hookup connected (not Ipod just standard jack.)
Ireland Engineering Fender Flares
I molded them to fit around the body\contours and all that. There are some imperfections, but they do what they're supposed to. They fit the 8" wheels with 0 offset like a dream! 1 word. HotSauce.
The not so good:
The car as said isn't perfect.
It has around 190k on the body. Luckily the car came from California before I got it, and so it has only been in the Chicagoland area for the past 2 years. The trunk got a bit dinged up from me being an idiot. I put a Djembe that was slightly too tall with the spare tire in the trunk, causing some "pop" marks. You can see in the additional photos.
The motor has a slight oil leak. I rarely have to address it, but it's there and I felt I needed to mention it.
As stated before, the fender flares aren't in the greatest shape, but do their job.
The body has some dings and dents, as to be expected on a car from 1988, and with the miles it has.
The exhaust is a bit rhaspy. I have been meaning to get to an exhaust shop to have them redo it, but I just haven't had the time to get it all done. Reminds me of my brothers old E21 though. Sounds rather nice (could be why I haven't gotten it "fixed")
The ugly.....
The seats. If these seats were replaced.....I don't know what I'd do. I know they're bad. We've been trying to figure out for quite some time how they got so bad. Honestly, we have no idea. They're bad. I've considered getting covers, but figured with me selling the car, I'd rather leave that up to a future owner to decide. (I was going to push myself for some e34 seats..)
This past winter I managed to get a crack in the oil pan. I haven't had time to replace it and have done a temporary fix. The fix has been working well for the time being, but the oil pan does still have a hairline crack.
As stated above the steering rack is a bit sticky. If I find one to replace it with, I will, if not, then I guess I'll sort something else out.
Overall the car is quite sound. I've taken it for long trips, with no reservations. I get 25-26mpg cruising around town, and up to 30mpg on the expressway. Who woulda thought? I am amazed myself. I've only run 93octane in it since (and even before) the swap. I can get close to 400 miles on one fill up. Usually around 350-375 though with a 14 gallon fillup.
Link to More Pictures
Andrew
Cell: redacted
email: redacted
1988 BMW 325IS
M50 motor from a 1992 BMW 525Ti wagon.
Flywheel from stock M20 motor.
Clutch assembly replaced during motor swap
Stock transmission used (Does not grind. Shifts well)
Stock E30 radiator used in swap
Maintained clutch fan (boo to E-Fans).
Replaced Guibo bushing, and Center driveshaft support bearing.
Replaced a multitude of gaskets\seals when I did the swap.
Reman. PS pump installed year and a half ago. Rack is a bit sticky now.
US Ellipsoids (uber bright)
Replaced heater valve last fall.
Bilstein shocks were installed up front and rear
rears acted up, so I replaced them until I get mine repaired by Bilstein
Vogtland springs were installed
E30 M3 top mounts were used to increase camber a bit up front.
New control arm bushings (M3 offset)
New control arms
New Tie rods
Custom made rear top hats.
Car has trailer hitch and wired up for trailer lights as well. I used to haul a 4x8' utility trailer with a motorcycle on it to events. 500 miles tops of trailering.
Replaced pads\rotors sometime last year
I used axxis ultimate ceramics.
Fronts were squeaking a bit, so I replaced them with some semi-metallics.
The pads didn't look bad, so I figured it was due to the fact that I wasn't putting enough heat into them to keep them in their usable heat range.
Wheels (2 sets in total)
not on Car:
15"x8" 0 Offset wedsport knockoffs.
Dunlop DZ101 Tires 205/50/17 on all 4 corners
Hubcentric rings, and appropriate lugs.
Needs new tires for these wheels (3 OK, 1 bad)
Snows (On Car):
15" Stock Basketweaves
hankook Snow tires with 2 winters on them.
All sets of wheels\tires come with the car.
Has an Alpine headunit. Matches the BMW Orange. Has aux hookup connected (not Ipod just standard jack.)
Ireland Engineering Fender Flares
I molded them to fit around the body\contours and all that. There are some imperfections, but they do what they're supposed to. They fit the 8" wheels with 0 offset like a dream! 1 word. HotSauce.
The not so good:
The car as said isn't perfect.
It has around 190k on the body. Luckily the car came from California before I got it, and so it has only been in the Chicagoland area for the past 2 years. The trunk got a bit dinged up from me being an idiot. I put a Djembe that was slightly too tall with the spare tire in the trunk, causing some "pop" marks. You can see in the additional photos.
The motor has a slight oil leak. I rarely have to address it, but it's there and I felt I needed to mention it.
As stated before, the fender flares aren't in the greatest shape, but do their job.
The body has some dings and dents, as to be expected on a car from 1988, and with the miles it has.
The exhaust is a bit rhaspy. I have been meaning to get to an exhaust shop to have them redo it, but I just haven't had the time to get it all done. Reminds me of my brothers old E21 though. Sounds rather nice (could be why I haven't gotten it "fixed")
The ugly.....
The seats. If these seats were replaced.....I don't know what I'd do. I know they're bad. We've been trying to figure out for quite some time how they got so bad. Honestly, we have no idea. They're bad. I've considered getting covers, but figured with me selling the car, I'd rather leave that up to a future owner to decide. (I was going to push myself for some e34 seats..)
This past winter I managed to get a crack in the oil pan. I haven't had time to replace it and have done a temporary fix. The fix has been working well for the time being, but the oil pan does still have a hairline crack.
As stated above the steering rack is a bit sticky. If I find one to replace it with, I will, if not, then I guess I'll sort something else out.
Overall the car is quite sound. I've taken it for long trips, with no reservations. I get 25-26mpg cruising around town, and up to 30mpg on the expressway. Who woulda thought? I am amazed myself. I've only run 93octane in it since (and even before) the swap. I can get close to 400 miles on one fill up. Usually around 350-375 though with a 14 gallon fillup.
Link to More Pictures
Andrew
Cell: redacted
email: redacted
My LS1 swap thread:
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