E39 M5 Power: 1995 BMW 540i E34 S52 Swap

The trick of doing a good engine swap is simple...just follow these two rules: (1) pick a sweet vehicle with plenty of street cred, but maybe down a few ponies on power & (2) juice it up with something that keeps alive the spirit of the original automobile, but turns the dial up to 11. (3...wait...3?) Bonus points if the swap involves complex alpha-numerics that nobody except real fanboys understand -- yo dawg, is that a Z15N? No quite, its a Z15N-GT...dude, straight GDM man. Hawt. I think that shoving an S62 V8 from a later M5 into a E34 5-series meets both of those rules. Find this 1995 BMW 540i E34 S52 Swap offered for $12000 in Fresno, CA via craigslist. Tip from Sean.

Budget M5: 1992 BMW 525i S52 Swap

Modifying cars is a tricky business.  A similar comparison would be a chef adding just the right amount of seasoning to your dinner- too much or too little does nothing good for the food.  DT often pokes fun at dinners where the chef has had a heavy hand with the seasoning.  Today's E34 5 series strikes just the right balance and looks to be delicious meal.  The late model M3 S52 in the engine bay makes makes 50+ horsepower more than stock 525i engine and the M5 spec alcantara euro interior is off the charts cool.  Find this 1992 BMW 525i for sale in Darien, CT for $7,500 via craigslist.

E36 M3 Swap: 1989 BMW 325i E30

If you are confused when BMdubheads get into their nomenclature, you are not alone.  And you don't need to know the difference between an E36 and an E37 to understand the appeal of a rear-drive manual-transmission sport sedan from Germany. Find this 1989 BMW 325i E30 offered for $12,500 in San Diego, CA via craigslist.

Auction Watch: 1991 BMW 318is S52 Swap

Check out this 1991 BMW 318is with S52 Swap bidding here on eBay for $5,900 reserve-not-met with $10,500 buy-it-now with auction ending Friday at 3:40PM PST.

S52 Powered: 1990 BMW 325i

The E30 generation BMW 3-series offers one of the better cost to fun ratios for a compact sport sedan -- but modern cars are so bloody fast that you'll find your classic 5-speed 80s sedan getting schooled at the stop lights by an EV Spark. Obviously the answer is to hot rod it...or buy the other guy's hard work for pennies on the dollar.  Find this 1990 BMW 325i offered for $9000 in Flagstaff, AZ via craigslist.

24 Valves, 5 speeds, 4 doors: 1991 BMW 318i w/ S52 Swap

What's better than your average BMW E30? A 4-door E30 with moar power, of course. Although this car is sporting two more cylinders than it left the factory with, just like yesterday's V8-swapped 325e, I'd reckon that it's the smarter solution. It started life as a lowly 318i 4-cylinder and has now inherited two more slugs from an E36 offspring - a 3.2L M3 to be more precise. . Find this S52-swapped E30 4-door for sale in New York's Hudson Valley for $8,200 via craigslist.

5k: Agility, À la Carte: S52-powered BMW Z3

Starting in 1998, BMW's M Roadster took the Z3's sporting aesthetics and added commensurate performance thanks to the E36 M3's S52 inline-6. Pitted against the Mercedes-Benz SLK32 AMG, the Roadster was louder, rougher, slower, and, at about $46,000, almost $10,000 cheaper. Prices today are stuck in the $8k-$12k range for Roadsters and a soul-crushingly expensive $22k+ for Coupes/Clownshoes. But if you can put up with the base Z3's styling and just-okay handling, that 240-horsepower, sweet-revving six can be had if you know where to look. Find this S52-powered 1997 BMW Z3 in New Orleans, LA for $4,700 via craigslist.