Quite surprisingly, it has been about a year since I purchased Elmer and introduced him to the Motor City BMW CCA with my original article. Quick review, I bought the above 1995 BMW 525iT on a whim and decided to make it my latest project. I’ve never been one to fully restore a car and try to make it perfect (thereby being paranoid to drive it). I’d rather ‘refresh’ it and enjoy driving it. A suspension and brake refresh are in order with small upgrades along the way. My biggest issue with the car is the drivetrain. While the M50 2.5L I6 may be a great engine in a smaller car, Elmer weighs about 3,800lbs. The engine just doesn’t have enough horsepower and torque for this car. Combine that with a four-speed auto and the driving experience is less than fun.
To increase the fun factor, I came up with a few options:
- M60 4.0L V8 and 6-speed manual from a ’94-95 540i
- M60 4.0L V8 from a ’92-’96 540i/740i/840i and an 8-speed ZF automatic from just about any 2009+ BMW
- N55 3.0L I6 and an 8-speed ZF automatic from a 2009-17 1/2/3/5-Series
- Supercharger or Turbo on the current M50 2.5L I6, transmission TBD
- S52/54 3.2L I6 and 6-speed manual
All of the above have pro’s and con’s. My decision was made pretty quickly as I stumbled across this car for sale:
Option #1 it is! I was surprised to find this 1995 BMW 540i with a six-speed, manual transmission. It’s a fairly rare car and it was running/driving. Don’t worry E34 fans, I’m not tearing apart a perfectly good car to use its engine and transmission. See that rust spot in the lower left corner? This car spent 30 years in Ohio as someone’s daily driver. As a result, the chassis has accumulated a fair amount of rust. That makes it a perfect donor for me!
The drivetrain swap is in progress. I pulled the M50 engine out of Elmer and sold it. I’ve also pulled the M60 engine out of the 540i and begun the disassembly. Hopefully the BMW gods will look down upon me with mercy as I inspect the condition of the engine. Wish me luck as I know these projects can get out of hand.