Accident - out of comission for a couple months - considering engine swap?

[Ahheck01]

Rockin' an old M20 with 175k on it, my bro just found the bumper of a new impala. We'll be redoing the cooling system and everything in front of it. Also doing a roller paint job gloss black.

It's also due for a valve job/timing belt change. I'm wondering if there's a way to do an M30 or M50 swap while it sits there on our own for <$1k.

A few things - I wasn't much of a wrencher until I was forced to DIY a rebuild on my OBD1 S52 in my 318ti I had a while back. Aside from that, I don't have a ton of experience. I do have several bimmerforums buddies with varying levels of experience, though.

So, can it be done on the cheap? If so, which swap, and what would be your thoughts and recommendations?

-Evan

[BDSax]

i did my m50 and 5 speed swap for about $2700, but i got all new seals, orings, and sensors. but i think it would be possible if you found a m50 and just put it right in. My m50 was only $200 with harness and DME at the junk yard. i would definitely recommend overhauling the motor though

[FredK]

I'd say the M50 swap can be done for $1000 or less, if you SCOUR the junkyards for the swap/wiring parts, and reuse the Getrag 260, and weld up a trans bracket yourself, and get the engine cheap. However, it's a fairly large undertaking, and with these kinds of things, costs have a way of ballooning out of control very quickly.

[Ahheck01]

would an M30 swap be cheaper/easier?

-Evan

[Julien]

dude, instead of dumping money on a motor the car doesn't need, why don't you properly repaint the front end? That car will look like ASS with a roller job. Get your m20 running spic and span, get a new hood (proffessionally repainted) and keep on walkin'

Julien

[Justin B]

I agree, it would probably be best and definitely easiest to get everything professionally repainted...however a good roller job can turn out pretty nice as well. We just don't know how long the paint stays nice on the cars that are painted like that, it just might not turn out to be quite as durable in the long run.
IMO, fix the car the way it should be fixed, then do an engine swap later. The labor to get a roller job done perfectly just so you can save the money to do an engine swap seems rather (veeerry) steep.

[FredK]

Always leave yourself an exit strategy.

A car that's been in a front end accident with a new welded on core support is going to have less resale value than one that hasn't been in an accident.

If you do a cheap engine swap, do not plan on making a red cent when you go to sell the car. This will be especially true if you roller paint the front end. You're probably better off getting a bunch of Pre Vals and some single stage 2K paint.

[HST]

I think that teh M50 swap is easier / better choice, than a M30 swap. If you look for an M50. It might be better just to rebuild your M20, port the head, put on some nice headers and a exhaust. You can keep that under a grand easy, do the port job yourself. With a swap you just never know what you are gonna run into.