New (soon to be) owner/Engine swap question

[interstellar]

So a few years ago I fell in love with the e30 chassis and have been stalking and reading this forum every day for over a year now, despite this being my first post. Ive been saving money for a car since high school and the time is coming for me to finally buy one and I'm so excited. I understand most people on here love and know how to work on these cars on their own, and I respect the hell out of it, but that's just not something I am into and I do not have the space/tools for it either (outside of oil changes and minor fixes) so it'd be going to the shop for most maintenance problems. I have NO intension of autocross as this will ONLY be a Daily Driver that I use and I don't want to worry about it as much as possible. and while its probably smarter to buy a newer more reliable car I refuse to do so, and for obvious e30 reasons :)

That being said, my question is: If I can afford to buy any e30 (not m3), including engine swapped ones like the s50/52/54, which one would be the best option strictly looking at reliability?

Do newer/more horsepower engines always mean less reliability in terms of bmw engines? I know that m20s are bulletproof if you take care of them, but they are old. Sure, it'd be nice to go faster than a m20 but will an engine swap make the car less reliable 100% of the time? If it does, then I guess I would just have to just find a well kept stock e30, even if it would definitely be cool to have a newer engine powering it. I have heard s52 are very reliable but people also say if you can afford an s54, then buy that instead (which I can). However I have also heard s54 maintenance costs are heartbreaking...But if the answer is to just stick with an m20 engine, Id like to know what the most reliable swap would be after the m20..just so I have a decision to make. Im not the most well versed on cars in general, so advice would be much appreciated.

I guess at the end of the day, I am looking for the ultimate strictly daily driver build haha. Responses would be appreciated thanks guys!!

[fomcwimprttuner88]

The single most important thing to consider in buying any swapped car is quality of install. Some things to consider: 1. How many miles are on the motor? Any of the M or S are reliable but levels of routine maintenance will make a swapped engine car more or less desirable. How many miles have been put on the car since the swap? 2. What maintenance was done to the engine prior to the swap? 3. How does the wiring harness look? If everything looks neat, tidy and OEM then chances are the owner took great care and had attention to detail. I’ve purchased two swapped cars and the attention to detail under the hood meant the same level made its way to every other system on the car in my experience. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[AWDBOB]

Quality of swap, and also, quality of the shop you’re using and their familiarity with E30 engine swaps is of huge importance. In Indy there are *maybe* 1-2 shops you could trust to diagnose/repair a swapped car when the inevitable repair is required outside of a standard service.

If you’re looking for all out reliability, a more simple engine swap would be ideal (or none), but only to an extent, because the newer motors also have better diagnostics available for troubleshooting. So there are several things to consider.

If it were me, I would find an OEM+ 325i/S that has had some engine work done and avoid an engine swap car, but that is out of preference. A well set up M20 feels right at home in an E30.

[mtech325]

I agree with buying a nicely sorted m20 car. As long as you keep up on maintenance they're pretty stout. Since the m20 is the engine that the factory intended to be in the car, any repairs or replacements are going to be fairly straightforward for a shop. While not as quick as a swap car, my m20 e30 is still a lot of fun.

On the other hand, my daily driver is an s52 swapped e30. My experience with the m/s5x family of engines is that they're quite reliable (knock on wood!). As mentioned though, it's going to depend on the quality of the install. The 24v valve engines are quite easy to work on for the DIY crowd, but it's still a modified car that's probably best to take to a specialist if having a shop work on it. That being said, the e34/e36 24v engines do have benefits such as more power, a serpentine belt setup, no valve adjustments, easy water pump replacement, and better fuel economy. The downsides I've run into is that a lot of swap cars tend to have the a/c removed or non-functional, radiator clearance is tight with a puller fan, the exhaust system is generally custom, etc. Not a big deal for a hot rod type of car, but things to take into consideration for a daily driver.

[e30austin]

i daily drove an s50 powered e30, for the better part of a decade. it got me in a shit ton of trouble, but by and large, it was a relatively reliable daily driver. it only ever had to be put on a tow truck once, during that time period (completely my fault, not the car's).

that being said, if i were to do it over again, i would absolutely buy an M20 powered car and appreciate it for what it is. there's something so right about a well sorted, lightly modified, M20 powered E30.

engine swaps are overrated. i won't go out of my way to do them for clients anymore. as fun as they can be, it ruins the car, in a lot of ways.

[roguetoaster]

Realistically, if you can't/won't wrench you won't learn how to take care of an old car like an E30. That means that no matter what configuration you get one in you probably won't be able to troubleshoot the normal day to day issues that can pop up simply due to aging components and imperfect maintenance. That can easily lead to an E30 becoming unreliable, and spending way too much time in a shop to be a sensible daily.

IMO, if you aren't in to that lifestyle, and you can't afford to either buy a perfect car or throw everything at a new purchase on day one you should either not own an E30 at all, or at minimun only use it as occasional transportation.

[cheffy30]

you need to know intimately every single detail of your e30. it's not a toy for a noob. it's a constant and expensive project if not taken care of properly. like already stated above buy a 325i with an m20 engine. OEM is the way to go especially if you aren't a wrencher. make sure the car has good service records and no rust. have the car inspected before you buy. start accumulating tools and parts. good luck. sent from hell using Tapatalk

[2mAn]

Best bet is to find a shop you trust and let the know you’re looking. Hopefully you can pick up an already well maintained car and continue maintaining it

[MrBurgundy]

m20

trust me

[e30austin]

i wholeheartedly advise a thorough PPI - as nitpicky as possible, particularly, if you won't be the one doing the repairs yourself. these are very user friendly cars, but i understand the hesitance to work on it yourself, especially if it'll be your only car.

the best thing you can do, as mentioned above, talk to local, BMW specific (emphasis on BMW specific, particularly with folks who know the old stuff) repair shops in your area and pick the one who will serve your needs the best - regardless of cost. i have a client who frequently says "good - fast - cheap - pick one". he's very right.

once you end up with the vehicle of your choice, i would have the shop do a very serious baseline and get it caught up on any and all services it would need to be considered "acceptable" for daily driver duties (see "Inspection I" and "Inspection II"). yes, it will cost a lot more up front (but much less in the long run, as the old adage goes), but you are at least getting the car to a point where both you and the shop are comfortable putting it out on the road for daily driving.

my $.02, do what you like :)

best,
A

[interstellar]

Thank you all for your input so far! General consensus seems to be: look for a very well kept e30 with a m20. I can definitely get behind that as I think the m20 is a great fit and will be extremely reliable if I continue to take care of it. All I will ever need in my daily driver!

Will be going to some recommended BMW shops down here in my area (Miami,FL) along with hopefully catching a few meets to get some more insight before I start seriously looking to purchase.
Thanks again.

[cheffy30]

make a national search and be ready to go get it and drive it back. I wouldn't hesitate for a minute to drive mine coast to coast and back today. btw, it only has 301k on the clock. let us know what you find... sent from hell using Tapatalk

[MrBurgundy]

Thank you all for your input so far! General consensus seems to be: look for a very well kept e30 with a m20. I can definitely get behind that as I think the m20 is a great fit and will be extremely reliable if I continue to take care of it. All I will ever need in my daily driver!

Will be going to some recommended BMW shops down here in my area (Miami,FL) along with hopefully catching a few meets to get some more insight before I start seriously looking to purchase.
Thanks again.

Good call,

Coming from shop mech/owner I would not want to touch a car that was swapped by someone in their garage that was just purchased by a new owner.