Looking at an S50 swapped E30

[LennysEleven]

I have found an 86 325ES with a 95 S50. The car has 170k and the engine/trans about 90k. It needs some work(driveshaft, brakes, wheels and tires, body) but it is a fair price. Should I be leary of a 90k mile S50? Are these engines as reliable as other BMW engines? I guess the work was done by Schneller a few years back, anyone have experience with their work? What driveshaft is recommended for this swap? Are S50 parts much more expensive than say M20 parts? What about the M3 suspension and brake components? What is the difference in engine weights between the E30 and E36 M3? Would it throw off the handling? What rear end does the 86 ES come with? Anything else I should watch out for? Also, is it much harder to work on the S50 in the E30 compared the stock engine? That is one of the great things about the E30, the S50 looks cramped in there.

thanks
Nick

[LennysEleven]

Also, what should I expect to pay for a driveshaft?

[808BMW]

Well as far as your driveshaft question, the question is: what transmission is in the car?

[Ryan Stewart]

I personally think its easier. The belt system alone is worth its weight in gold. However, everything costs more to replace and there is more of it.

And like he said it depends on what tranny. M20 tranny M20 driveshaft. If you used the S50 tranny you need a larger guibo so the M3 driveshaft.

[Bimmerfanatik]

Re: Looking at an S50 swapped E30

I can vouch for Schneller's work- I used to work for them for a bit :)

Mike, shop owner, is very detail oriented, and they have done many swaps, including the Jekyll/Hyde e34 M5 swap into an e30. Needless to say, they know what they're doing. If the swap was done by them, you've got yourself a nice project start with most of the work done for you - buy it!