I got a 1990 535i parts car in front of my house!

[silversleeper]

which means i can scavenge it for all the parts i want. anything worth swapping out? or should my dad just keep it and instead of buying something else, do a cool swap? keep in mind, we are trying to keep costs low (so i think swaps are out of the question) and maintain reliability.

[Jon325i]

1. If you want to keep costs low, completely rule out doing a swap.

2. Does this car run at all? Can it at least start? Can it be driven?

Depending on the extent of the work that this car may need (hard to say since you didn't give much detail), it may or may not be worth keeping. In other words.....it depends. If it looks like more work that its worth, unload it as a whole. There isn't nearly as large of an enthusiast base for the E34s....a shame too since I personally think its a good looking BMW.

Parting it out could be another option, but you will want to have a place where you can keep it stored and slowly dismantle it as you find buyers for the parts that are worth selling. Your neighbors may not be very keen on having a partial car sitting out in plain view for all to see.

Jon

[DEV0 E30]

Your neighbors may not be very keen on having a partial car sitting out in plain view for all to see.

Or nazi home-owners associations.

[silversleeper]

well... it was just a thought. but its my dads ex whip now. its a 1990 535i with about 232000. auto tranny is shot. but engine is good, with a slight valve tick (could be a rocker arm).

but i was thinking more along the lines of a 5 lug conversion and what not.
how hard is that swap?
is it recommended for the average backyard mechanic?
any special tools needed for swap?
etc.

maybe the AFM (or MAF, whatever it has) and injectors can be swapped?

i dont really know what else there is. i just wanted to get some ideas before we ended up selling it as a whole parts car or something.

btw, i have no HOA, i live in the countryside, u kno, those houses with the long ass driveway. the house sits on a private secluded lot, so no neighbors to worry about. i play my music as loud as i want.

[Skafrog]

A 5 lug swap wont work with 5 series suspension.
You can take the AFM, injectors.
What you should do is put a manual tranny in it, and enjoy its new lease on life.
Automatic transmissions kill the e34.

[silversleeper]

A 5 lug swap wont work with 5 series suspension.
You can take the AFM, injectors.
What you should do is put a manual tranny in it, and enjoy its new lease on life.
Automatic transmissions kill the e34.

my dad took it to AAMCO, to see what they can figure out. But off the top of your head, what is the average cost for a manual trans swap? i think that sourcing a tranny would be difficult, but maybe the 535 shares the same trans as some other makes of cars. i dont know enough about it.

[nando]

if the 1990 535 uses the M30 engine, maybe you could get a tranny out of an E28. no idea if that works or not, but worth looking into.