Hello all! I have hit that time I my life when my first child is due in a couple of months and it is time to sell the toys and projects of my younger days. It breaks my heart to sell this as I have put so much blood, sweat, and tears into it. For your consideration is my 1987 BMW 320i that has been converted to a 335i. I bout the car in 2011 while I was stationed in Germany and have been working on it ever since. This is a true German market car as 320i’s were never sold in the U.S. I have the original German registration and import paper work. As this car is more than 25 years old there are no import restrictions and there is no need for emissions inspections.
This car started life with the M20B20 engine but after a few months I performed an engine transplant. The donor car was a Euro spec 1985 BMW 635CSi. The Euro M30B34 3.5 L straight six in it now is rated at a factory 218 hp with the rare 10:1 compression ratio pistons in it. The car makes a little more than that, closer to 235 hp but the dyno sheet I have from Germany got lost in the move. The engine was refreshed with new rings, gaskets, etc. and a rebuilt cylinder head all done in Germany.
While there I also had a custom equal length header and true-dual 2.25” exhaust made for it, this thing sounds amazing! I used E30.de engine mounts for the swap as well as an E28 535i radiator ( admittedly the radiator has seen better days but is still perfectly fine). I used the M20 wiring harness and lengthened a few wires to make it work. The ECU is out of a 1991 German 535i with a Conneus chip from Germany. It runs just fine on Motronic 1.3.The car also uses the larger M30 oil cooler mounted in the front fascia. Due to the size of the engine and in my opinion better steering feel I removed the power steering system. This provided much better feedback but makes very slow speed maneuvering in parking lots slightly more difficult.
The transmission shifts just fine, but the gear change is sloppy and the shift linkages could use a rebuild with new bushings. This is a two piece transmission, meaning it has the split bell housing. The clutch was replaced about 15k miles ago with a stock unit.
The car is currently running an 80 degree thermostat and a SPAL pusher fan with a manual control switch routed to the cabin. Even in the heat of summer in traffic I have not overheated this car once, the highest it usually gets is just below the ½ mark on the gauge cluster. The car has fresh front brakes with rebuilt calipers, Axxis pads, new OE hoses and I flushed the brake fluid and replaced it with ATE Super Blue. As it started life as a 320i it still have rear drum brakes but all that is needed for the conversion is the disc brake control arms. I have new rear pads and hoses for the rear discs in case you decide to go that route.
The car is sitting on staggered BBS RS030s, 15x7 front and 15x8 in the rear. The rims are in decent shape though a refresh was on my short list of things to do this summer. It currently uses a medium case 3.25 LSD differential which does a good job of putting all that stump-pulling torque down. Suspension is taken care of with front and rear AC Schnitzer-style strut tower braces and German market H&R Sport springs using Koni Yellow dampers.
As this is a real German car the gauges are all in liters, KMH, and German. The sunroof is still functional and does not leak. I had the windows tinted about 3 months ago at the legal limit. Speaking of windows, they are all roll ups and power windows aren’t all that common in Germany in older cars. I found a set of grey plaid Uberkaro seats while in Germany and installed them in the car; I have not seen another E30 with these rare beauties! She wears an M-Tech 2 steering wheel and has an Alpina shift knob. Of course she has the Euro “smiley” headlights and front grilles. The front bumper I a Zender piece as well as the rear spoiler, though the rear spoiler has seen better days. She is Delphin in color and I also have a set of M-tech 2 style side skirts sitting in the garage. There is one crack in the dash, otherwise everything is in good shape. I have VDO oil temp, pressure, and battery gauges installed in the center console. The car also has the rare emergency gas tank mounted in the center of the spare tire in the trunk. There is no tool kit.
The chassis has around 170k miles and the engine has approximately 13,000 miles since the refresh. She is ready to drive!
ASKING $8,500.00 OBO
As you can tell this car has been my baby for a few years. Unfortunately now that there is a real baby coming it’s time to let her go. I would be happy to answer any question you may have as I am sure I have left a lot out. If interested, please call or text 404-550-4439. Please don’t call me asking me if I will take half of my asking price, I am flexible but I am not giving this thing away.
This car started life with the M20B20 engine but after a few months I performed an engine transplant. The donor car was a Euro spec 1985 BMW 635CSi. The Euro M30B34 3.5 L straight six in it now is rated at a factory 218 hp with the rare 10:1 compression ratio pistons in it. The car makes a little more than that, closer to 235 hp but the dyno sheet I have from Germany got lost in the move. The engine was refreshed with new rings, gaskets, etc. and a rebuilt cylinder head all done in Germany.
While there I also had a custom equal length header and true-dual 2.25” exhaust made for it, this thing sounds amazing! I used E30.de engine mounts for the swap as well as an E28 535i radiator ( admittedly the radiator has seen better days but is still perfectly fine). I used the M20 wiring harness and lengthened a few wires to make it work. The ECU is out of a 1991 German 535i with a Conneus chip from Germany. It runs just fine on Motronic 1.3.The car also uses the larger M30 oil cooler mounted in the front fascia. Due to the size of the engine and in my opinion better steering feel I removed the power steering system. This provided much better feedback but makes very slow speed maneuvering in parking lots slightly more difficult.
The transmission shifts just fine, but the gear change is sloppy and the shift linkages could use a rebuild with new bushings. This is a two piece transmission, meaning it has the split bell housing. The clutch was replaced about 15k miles ago with a stock unit.
The car is currently running an 80 degree thermostat and a SPAL pusher fan with a manual control switch routed to the cabin. Even in the heat of summer in traffic I have not overheated this car once, the highest it usually gets is just below the ½ mark on the gauge cluster. The car has fresh front brakes with rebuilt calipers, Axxis pads, new OE hoses and I flushed the brake fluid and replaced it with ATE Super Blue. As it started life as a 320i it still have rear drum brakes but all that is needed for the conversion is the disc brake control arms. I have new rear pads and hoses for the rear discs in case you decide to go that route.
The car is sitting on staggered BBS RS030s, 15x7 front and 15x8 in the rear. The rims are in decent shape though a refresh was on my short list of things to do this summer. It currently uses a medium case 3.25 LSD differential which does a good job of putting all that stump-pulling torque down. Suspension is taken care of with front and rear AC Schnitzer-style strut tower braces and German market H&R Sport springs using Koni Yellow dampers.
As this is a real German car the gauges are all in liters, KMH, and German. The sunroof is still functional and does not leak. I had the windows tinted about 3 months ago at the legal limit. Speaking of windows, they are all roll ups and power windows aren’t all that common in Germany in older cars. I found a set of grey plaid Uberkaro seats while in Germany and installed them in the car; I have not seen another E30 with these rare beauties! She wears an M-Tech 2 steering wheel and has an Alpina shift knob. Of course she has the Euro “smiley” headlights and front grilles. The front bumper I a Zender piece as well as the rear spoiler, though the rear spoiler has seen better days. She is Delphin in color and I also have a set of M-tech 2 style side skirts sitting in the garage. There is one crack in the dash, otherwise everything is in good shape. I have VDO oil temp, pressure, and battery gauges installed in the center console. The car also has the rare emergency gas tank mounted in the center of the spare tire in the trunk. There is no tool kit.
The chassis has around 170k miles and the engine has approximately 13,000 miles since the refresh. She is ready to drive!
ASKING $8,500.00 OBO
As you can tell this car has been my baby for a few years. Unfortunately now that there is a real baby coming it’s time to let her go. I would be happy to answer any question you may have as I am sure I have left a lot out. If interested, please call or text 404-550-4439. Please don’t call me asking me if I will take half of my asking price, I am flexible but I am not giving this thing away.
Attached Files
just noticed...Atlanta Georgia
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