bmw 316 project

[nigelnozil]

hi guys

I just purchased my first car a 1988 bmw 316 carb coupe and am looking for ways to upgrade it. my aim was to restore it to its original condition ( paint/ interior ) with upgrades where needed ( suspension / brakes )
until i took my car to the mechanic I have realized a lot of work needs to be done especially with the engine and body rust ( wheel arches ...) with that being said I am now going for the sleeper build engine swap option and a future weekend toy that I could take to track days.

What’s your guys thoughts on swapping a 316 Engine for something more powerful.

What’s the cheapest or stress free option?

Should I sell the car and buy a more powerful model and build up in it ?

I’m looking to spend around 7000€ to finish the project

Any opinions from previous engine swap owners would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Nigel

please find the photos linked below
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...QtVE5vSmo5SndB

[gnmzl]

I would go for it and remove the hideous peeling black thing, return to lachsilber which is a beatiful e30 color option. Swap-wise you can go for m42b18 if you want to keep it 4 cilynder as easy to execute, or go for any m5x swap. They are all well enough documented to be doable without much stress. Since you are in Europe, a m52b28 is a great engine in an e30. Lightweight and good enough on power. For the record, you can track the car with any engine, as long as it is reliable. I used to track a m10 powered car until recently - it was plenty of fun especially in the corners. Slow, but very fun.

Good luck!

[nigelnozil]

Thanks for the response
once I had received the car I washed it with the power jet and il the paint started to peel of easily however it made a huge mess so I might have to put a paint stripper / thinner and peel it off with a spatula. Bringing it back to its original grey is definitely on the list

as for the engine swaps I’ll look into the prices and talk with the mechanic to see what we can do . I have found a m54b25 for 300€ with 195000 km ( engine only ) from an e39 and a m42 for 500€ with 140000km from a 318is (engine, transmission and calculator) might have to look into rebuilding the engines and how to install what do you guys think I should go for looking for some power to enjoy on the weekends nothing too crazy for the moment.