E30 BMW 3 Series tuning – or sacrilege?

It sounds a little weird but some tasteful tuning of an E30 BMW 3 Series has actually left me a little bit less than impressed.

Nothing disturbing has been done to the exterior look of the car, or the interior for that matter, yet I’m getting completely mixed feelings about this car.

E30 BMW 3 Series with engine swap

Only one thing is responsible for this, and it’s not the new set of alloys that aren’t the first option to go to for a classic bimmer.

This car comes to us from the United States of America, namely from Columbus, Georgia, which is a bit of a hint as to what’s going on.

The original car was a 1987 BMW 325e sedan, which means it was powered by a creamy 2.7 liter straight six cylinder, naturally aspirated engine.

E30 BMW 3 Series with engine swap

While old, it’s still an interesting powerplant. Except in this case, it was thrown out and replaced by a considerably larger engine.

It is actually a 302 cubic inch Ford engine. That’s a nearly twice as large 5.0 liter V8 unit which was sourced from a 1997 Mercury Mounaineer.

That shouldn’t be the first choice. Or the second. Or the third one, so why go for it? Simply put? Because of the budget.

E30 BMW 3 Series with engine swap

When you fit an old car, with an engine that’s not quite so old yet still has 110.000 miles on it, it is obvious that you weren’t going to afford much more.

You can do the work, get a salvaged engine and have reliable wheels for a few years still to come. It also means it produces 260-280 rear-wheel horsepower and more than 300lb-ft of torque.