1990 BMW 325i E30 Sedan with E39 M5 S62 4.9L V8 engine swap in Alpine White 2

This 1990 BMW 325i sedan was previously powered by an M50 conversion and was acquired by me in 2014. A subsequent project included a repaint, new interior upholstery, and the fitment of a 4.9L S62 V8 engine and a six-speed manual transmission from an E39 M5. Additional modifications include a 2.93 limited-slip differential, CAtuned coilovers, polyurethane suspension bushings, stainless steel brake lines, and more as described below. This E30 is now offered in Arizona with assorted spare parts, records from the build, a clean Carfax report, and a clean Oregon title.

The exterior has been refinished in Alpine White II. Additional work included replacing the rear bumper trim, the roundel, the sunroof seal, the front windshield and lockstrips, and the door and window seals. The window trim was replaced or repainted, and Depo “Smiley” projector headlights have been fitted along with Euro-style grilles and front bumper trim. The fog lights are inoperable, and the car recently underwent a full professional detail, which included a clay bar treatment, three-step buffing, and paint sealant.

16″ ESM 002R wheels wear Falken Azenis tires measuring 215/45. CAtuned coilovers with spring rates of 8kg in front and 10kg in the rear have been fitted, along with 12.5mm spacers from ECS Tuning and a rear spring pad set from Condor Speed Shop. The braking system features Hawk HPS brake pads, Garagistic stainless steel brake lines, and a Chase Bays brake booster eliminator and line relocation kit (manual brakes).

The interior seating surfaces have been reupholstered in tan vinyl. Other additions include a black headliner from CAtuned, a dash kit from Flock It!, a replacement E30 center console, a six-speed ZHP shift knob, and cloth shifter and emergency brake boots from 2M Shift Boots. The carpets were removed, cleaned, dyed black, and reinstalled with extra sound deadening. Surface rust found on the driver-side floor board was removed and the area was treated with Eastwood Rust Encapsulator. The rest of the car was found to be completely rust free.

A Renown Monaco leather steering wheel with a MOMO steering wheel hub adapter has been fitted, while the gauge cluster has been refurbished by Bavarian Restoration. Part of the adhesion for the tachometer is lifting as shown in the picture, but Bavarian Restoration will honor their lifetime warranty with the new buyer and replace the gauge faces for free, if the buyer so chooses. The air conditioning has been converted to R134a (working A/C), and a JVC CD player replaces the factory head unit and powers four Polk Audio DB 522 speakers. The six-digit odometer shows just over 181k miles, about 7k of which have been added by me.

The 4.9-liter S62 V8 and six-speed manual transmission were sourced from a 2000 BMW M5. The donor car showed 92k miles and had received a VANOS service a few months prior to a rear-end accident. The rod bearings, rod bolts, and timing chain and guides were replaced in 2017 by Northwest Autohaus in Medford, OR, prior to the engine’s installation, and a more recent service at Babbitt Motorwerks in Tempe, AZ, included replacing all of the old fuel filter lines. Garagistic components include S62 motor mounts, a six-speed swap driveshaft, transmission extension brackets, exhaust manifolds, and an E30 V8 RPM module. The engine bay has been refinished in black textured paint.

The clutch master cylinder was replaced, and a clutch line and a feed adapter from Chase Bays were fitted. A 2.93 limited-slip differential was sourced from another E30, and the driveshaft flex disc and transmission crossmember were replaced. A custom-fabricated 2.5” exhaust leads from the headers into a single 3” exit, and the car currently does not have catalytic converters or a muffler. I preferred the sound made from a straight-pipe setup, but a muffler could easily be added by the buyer. Please check your local emissions laws, and this vehicle will not pass any sort of emissions with its current exhaust setup.

The December 2019 Carfax report lists registration history in Washington State and Oregon with no accidents or other damage shown. Adriving video can be viewed below.

Blemishes on the car include a spot repair on the rear passenger door which didn't have perfectly matching paint, a small chip in the paint of the hood and the lower front valance, and a crack in the dash on the driver's side.

I compiled the following build sheet for the car, which consisted of over $19k in new and used parts, and doesn't include the paint supplies or the countless man hours to complete this build.

E30 Build Sheet

Donorvehicle: Wrecked 2000 E39 M5 (the vehicle was rear-ended so no possible engine damage)

S62 engine and 6 speed transmission with 92k miles. I purchased the engine in November of 2016.The original owner had the Vanos serviced in July of 2013 and the accident occurred in November of 2013. The Vanos work was done by Eastside Bavarian in Washington.

After purchasing the engine, I had it serviced at Northwest Autohaus in Medford, OR, in March of 2017. When the engine was stripped down, everything looked to be in amazing shape. The following work was performed:

S62 Timing chain kit from FCP Euro
BMW S62 rod bearings
BMW S62 connecting rod bolts
Elring crankcase gasket set
NGK spark plugs

Fabrication/Paint/Customwork:

• E30 A/C compressor lines cut and mated with S62 compressor lines (converted to R134a, working AC)
• Transmission tunnel hammered to fit S62 engine and transmission
• Frame rails (in front of strut towers) trimmed and boxed in to fit A/C compressor and alternator
• Front shock tower reinforcement gussets welded into place
• Dashboard was flocked
• Bodywork and respray in Alpine White 2(no jambs); engine bay painted with black textured paint
• Oil filter canister adapted to fit in front of driver side wheel well
• Made radiator core support removable using a bolt-on system
• Chrome window trim was painted black
• Rotting and cracked window and door weatherstripping/seals replaced with OEM rubber
• Fabricated custom bracket to move booster delete kit over approximately 4”
• Fabricated a custom 2.5” from headers to single 3” exit exhaust system (no cats or resonators, will not pass emissions)
• Original gray carpet removed, cleaned,and dyed black
• Sound deadening material added to the floor when the carpet was removed for cleaning

Partslist:

Engine/drivetrain:

• Garagistic S62 motor mounts
• Garagistic 6 speed swap driveshaft
• Garagistic 80A poly transmission bushings
• Garagistic 6 speed transmission extension brackets
• Garagistic 80A poly motor mounts
• BMW E60 shift lever
• BMW shifter arm
• BMW selector rod
• BMW transmission cross member
• BMW driveshaft flex disc
• BMW E30 2.93 differential (used)
• BMW S62 starter
• BMW E39 M5 MAF sensors (used)

Electronics/wiring:

• Garagistic V8 RPM tach splitter
• Ergen Motorsports S62 swap ECU and plug-and-play wiring loom
• Chase Bays engine ground kit

Fuel/exhaust:

• Walbro GSS340 Fuel Pump
• Walbro 400-812 Fuel Pump Installation Kit
• Gates 27093 Fuel Line Hose
• Garagistic E30 S62 swap exhaust manifolds
• BMW E39 M5 O2 sensors (used)
• Titanium exhaust wrap (for headers)
• Exhaust V-band clamps and 2.5”-3”exhaust tubing

Cooling:

• Spal 16” pusher fan
• Spal 16” low profile puller fan
• Fan mounting kit
• CXracing E36 aluminum radiator
• Speedway Motors silicon radiator hose and adapters

Body:

• Garagistic front sub-frame reinforcement kit
• Garagistic front control arm ball joint reinforcement kit
• Garagistic sub-frame spacers
• Garagistic front sway-bar reinforcements
• Garagistic X-brace
• BMW shock tower reinforcement gussets
• BMW Bremmen Parts E30 front bumper
• BMW E30 front lower valance

Suspension/steering/brakes/wheels:

• ESM Wheels 002R 16x9” Alloy Wheels4x100mm ET15
• Falken Azenis RT-615K 215/45-16 tires
• CAtuned coilovers; 8KG front & 10KG rear spring rate
• ECS Tuning 12.5mm 4x100 spacers
• Chase Bays brake booster eliminator (manual brakes)
• Chase Bays brake line relocation kit
• Chase Bays clutch feed adapter
• Chase Bays power steering adapter fittings
• Chase Bays baffled power steering reservoir
• Chase Bays clutch line
• Hawk HPS front and rear brake pad kit
• BMW clutch master cylinder
• Condor Speed Shop rear spring pad set
• Garagistic E30 complete stainless-steel brake line kit
• Garagistic poly diff bushing 80A

Interior:

• CAtuned black headliner kit
• Flock-it! Kit for dash
• Bavarian Restoration refreshed and custom overlay gauge cluster
• BMW E30 center console
• 2Mshiftboots motorsport cloth shifter and e-brake boot set
• Renown monaco leather steering wheel
• MOMO steering wheel hub adapter
• BMW ZHP 6 speed shift knob
• 4x Polk Audio DB 522 speakers
• Sport seats and rear bench seat wrapped in new vinyl

Exterior:

• Depo ellipsoid smiley projector headlights
• New front windshield
• BMW wiring and plugs to adapt ellipsoid headlights
• BMW truck emblem
• BMW door and window weatherstrip/seals
• BMW sunroof seal
• BMW front windshield lockstrip
• BMW euro grilles
• BMW euro front bumper trim set
• BMW rear bumper trim
• BMW black kidney grille
• BMW chrome window trim

Misc.parts:

• BMW radiator support brackets and mounts
• BMW aux fan switch
• BMW A/C condenser
• BMW A/C expansion valve
• BMW A/C high side pressure switch
• BMW Bosch fuel filter
• BMW Shifter Bearing (Top Ring) – Rein
• BMW Shifter Carrier Pin (E34 E39)
• BMW Shift Rod Circlip
• BMW Selector Rod Washer
• BMW Manual Trans Shift Lever Bushing
• BMW shifter dust cover
• BMW E46 accelerator pedal module (used)
• BMW Oil Temperature Switch
• BMW Adapter Plate Accelerator Pedal Module

Partsincluded with sale but not installed:

• Garagistic rear trailing arm reinforcement kit
• Garagistic trailing arm mounting point reinforcement gussets
• Garagistic rear subframe diff reinforcement kit
• Garagistic rear sway bar reinforcement kit
• Garagistic rear subframe 80A polybushings
• Garagistic rear trailing arm 80A polybushings
• Garagistic secondary diff mount with 80A bushing
• Garagistic rear strut tower brace
• Red46BMW E30 DOHC 24v Skid Plate

YouTubevideos of the car

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzMCcMcFGlY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uo-btlJQp8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhziVbz5430

The build can also be viewed on my Instagram account: roguebmw

Please feel free to ask me any questions in regards to the car or the build. I also have many more photos available.