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Thread: Badging with swaps?

  1. #1
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    Badging with swaps?

    Any concensus on what to badge your car as with a swap?

    For example if you swap the m60b40 in a 530i would it be frowned upon to badge it as a 540i?

    Also what about this rediculous scenario... swap an m50 into an m5 can it still be badged as an m5 anymore? Lol

    Or putting the s38 into 525i , m5 badge ok?

    I know it's all preference but what do you think?

    I was thinking just debadge.

  2. #2
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    No badge works best in that case. Either keep what it came with, or go without.

    No badge is pretty much standard for Europe
    Black on Black 740i - 10/92 build date, 225,000 miles.
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  3. #3
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    badging a 4.0 swapped 530 as 540 seems fine by me, it IS a five series with 4 liters. "Overbadging", claiming more than you have, is certainly déclassé as are V12 badges on 5.0 7 & 8ers.
    Seems to me a lot of Euros de-badge attempting to disguise a "lesser" model.
    ///M badges on non ///M cars is a poseur move for sure, S engine or not. Those uppitty ///M boys get all worked up over that .
    Last edited by ross1; 05-22-2018 at 05:26 PM.

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  4. #4
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    I think a 540 badge on a 530 with b40 is okay, as long as it's not manual trans. That is unless you grab the 6spd too.

  5. #5
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    What about this scenario? (not a swap, tho) I have a 525 still in its original paint , and I recently got ahold of a 535 trunk, same color and in decent shape; either debadging or replacing the "535" with the "525" will be noticeable without repainting, but I kinda feel like a douchebro by keeping the 535 badge...

    What would you do?
    Last edited by The Chauffeur; 05-22-2018 at 06:58 PM.

  6. #6
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    Trunk swaps still a swap!

    Yea debadge or debadge I would say. Or drop in the 3.5l 6 to match the badge!

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Red Shirt KRT View Post
    Or drop in the 3.5l 6 to match the badge!
    I wish!!!

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    Put whatever you want on it. Only purists will frown and come on, it's a 25 + year old 5 series sedan. No one really cares.

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    Quote Originally Posted by zubbie View Post
    Put whatever you want on it. Only purists will frown and come on, it's a 25 + year old 5 series sedan. No one really cares.
    Yeah, no one is going to care unless you go to car club shows. No one will care about a 535 badge on a 525 (so why go to the trouble of removing it and risk damaging paint?)meh got a new trunk lid, it stays as is until respray.

    No one IRL will care that a car was a 530 but had a m60 swap. No one else is going to think "needs a new badge now or else", so why go to the trouble of fitting a badge? If you do anyway, guess what? no-one should care.
    Last edited by fo3; 05-23-2018 at 02:52 PM.

  10. #10
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    I'm putting a 518d badge on my S62 swapped 540

  11. #11
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    im probably going to badge mine a 530, m50b30 is 3L after all

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    Quote Originally Posted by Hofmeister View Post
    im probably going to badge mine a 530, m50b30 is 3L after all
    That's my plan if I ever make mine into a stroker , but I'd get the early style 530 badge, just to tell it apart from the v8's...

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by ross1 View Post
    "Overbadging", claiming more than you have, is certainly déclassé
    You mean BMW's entire lineup since 2010 or so? Ooh snap...

    as are V12 badges on 5.0 7 & 8ers.
    Why? No false advertising there. W140 does it too.

    Seems to me a lot of Euros de-badge attempting to disguise a "lesser" model.
    I've seen it go the other way too. One case was an Audi owner I met in Norway who didn't want to advertise the W12 under the hood. IIRC they even swapped the wheels from a 3.2 or somesuch to further disguise it (an A8, or even S8). It's keeping with the essence of the Q-car theme.

    ///M badges on non ///M cars is a poseur move for sure, S engine or not. Those uppitty ///M boys get all worked up over that .
    I think if someone goes through the trouble of, say, installing an S62, 6-speed, and equivalent footwork into an E38, they deserve an M7 badge.

    Quote Originally Posted by zubbie View Post
    Put whatever you want on it. Only purists will frown and come on, it's a 25 + year old 5 series sedan. No one really cares.
    This, at the end of the day.
    Last edited by moroza; 05-26-2018 at 04:39 PM.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by moroza View Post
    You mean BMW's entire lineup since 2010 or so? Ooh snap...
    Haven't paid a bit of attention to anything BMW has made since the turn of the century so, okay.

    Why? No false advertising there. W140 does it too.
    Agreed no false advertising, just too much. The model number of both cars already denotes the engine. The V-12 badges are shouting to those who don't get it anyway.



    I've seen it go the other way too. One case was an Audi owner I met in Norway who didn't want to advertise the W12 under the hood. IIRC they even swapped the wheels from a 3.2 or somesuch to further disguise it (an A8, or even S8). It's keeping with the essence of the Q-car theme.
    Agreed



    I think if someone goes through the trouble of, say, installing an S62, 6-speed, and equivalent footwork into an E38, they deserve an M7 badge.
    Tell that to the ///M boys



    This, at the end of the day.
    Yes, do as you please with your own car. OP solicited opinions
    Last edited by ross1; 05-30-2018 at 04:15 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by moroza View Post

    I've seen it go the other way too. One case was an Audi owner I met in Norway who didn't want to advertise the W12 under the hood. IIRC they even swapped the wheels from a 3.2 or somesuch to further disguise it (an A8, or even S8). It's keeping with the essence of the Q-car theme.





    .
    Love sleepers myself.
    Back in 1980 or so I built one for the wife. A then new-ish(4k miles) '78 Camaro Z-28. The Z28 was a joke, emissions had strangled all the cars in those years and muscle was dead.
    So, an LS7 clone (open chambered heads on an LS6 454), TCI turbo 400 and 4.56 12 bolt rear went in. 12.60 all day long through the 4 mufflers. It was pretty quiet but the cam(had to instruct Mrs Ross how to brake with little power assist) gave it away sometimes.
    Got a little liquor in Mrs. Ross one day and she admitted to racing "any dirtbag that tried".
    Good times
    Last edited by ross1; 05-30-2018 at 04:36 PM.

    If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

  16. #16
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    Interesting. Sleepers are usually designed to make all but the most knowledgeable think nothing of it, but the '78 Camaro is in the odd position of looking loud and fast (because it's still a Camaro) while actually being strangled. You built a sleeper to fool the more-knowledgeable, not less-.

    I read a period review once where a W123 (300E) outran a '84 (?) Camaro 350 despite half the displacement, at least as much weight, and twice the door and seat count. It drove home the point of Malaise Era.

    Based on the looks I got from some, ah, "contestants", despite the wheels and general appearance of Sleipnir (my previous 544iT), it too passed for a sleeper. On my last top speed run with it, I happened to zoom past one of the few 996/997s in Montana. Unfortunately I never saw, can only imagine, the look the driver gave me.
    Last edited by moroza; 05-31-2018 at 02:17 AM.

  17. #17
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    [QUOTE=moroza;30033836]

    I read a period review once where a W123 (300E) outran a '84 (?) Camaro 350 despite half the displacement, at least as much weight, and twice the door and seat count. It drove home the point of Malaise Era.

    QUOTE]
    A very interesting choice of contestants. I've had both, several W123s and a 3rd gen "IROC" Camaro, my recollection is it was 305, no 350s then. I stand to be corrected.. The Camaro was certainly a wheezer but the Benz was a turd too, especially the 2.6 version I once owned.
    I'm thinking it might be close but the Chevy would prevail in stop light drags, perhaps the German would eventually outrun it as I don't think the Camaro had enough guts to pull past it's tall gearing.
    A 2.6 190 would kill them both handily
    Last edited by ross1; 05-31-2018 at 11:59 AM.

    If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

  18. #18
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    Think ///M badge is justified if it's got a proper S engine in there, but not to call it an M5. I mean new Bimmers slap M badges on everything, including 320i's.

  19. #19
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    [QUOTE=ross1;30034099]
    Quote Originally Posted by moroza View Post

    I read a period review once where a W123 (300E) outran a '84 (?) Camaro 350 despite half the displacement, at least as much weight, and twice the door and seat count. It drove home the point of Malaise Era.

    QUOTE]
    A very interesting choice of contestants. I've had both, several W123s and a 3rd gen "IROC" Camaro, my recollection is it was 305, no 350s then. I stand to be corrected.. The Camaro was certainly a wheezer but the Benz was a turd too, especially the 2.6 version I once owned.
    I'm thinking it might be close but the Chevy would prevail in stop light drags, perhaps the German would eventually outrun it as I don't think the Camaro had enough guts to pull past it's tall gearing.
    A 2.6 190 would kill them both handily
    I don't remember the details, just that the Camaro was ~170hp and the Benz just over 200.

  20. #20
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    U can badge it what u want.

    Even if you swap the expensive to service s38b38 out of your m5 and install a much more efficient naturally aspirated Toyota Diesel engine it’s still cool to badge it an m5.
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  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by GazM3 View Post
    U can badge it what u want.

    Even if you swap the expensive to service s38b38 out of your m5 and install a much more efficient naturally aspirated Toyota Diesel engine it’s still cool to badge it an m5.
    Want to sell me a 3L?

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