Engine swap on a 86 325es?

[heyhyrule]

I've been looking at an 86 325es on marketplace, looks to be in pretty good condition body wise. According to the seller everything works minus the engine, which is blown. I've been reading on whether to swap it or rebuild it, what do you think? I have seen a lot of people say to swap in a M50, but I don't know where to buy one, any ideas?

[323i E30]

I'd say that'll depend on your budget, patience and knowledge.
Not sure about the M20 prices at the moment, but I'd guess that by far the easiest and probably cheapest option would be to put another M20B27 back in there.
If you're going for an M50 swap you could also consider putting an M52 engine in there. Same process, but more hp. It'll be quite a project though. For a bit of an overview, click here.
Let's see if someone else will chime in about where to find a proper engine, as I'm not exactly local to you.

[msservices]

Do you know what is “blown” on the motor? That is a pretty vague term that is thrown around a lot in the automotive world. Usually when an m20 is “blown” it’s because the timing belt broke, and bent up a valve or two. Usually the bottom end is still salvageable. Or blown could mean that the PO managed to pull off a money shift and over revved it and sent rods through the side of the block. Also blown could mean ran out of oil, which is not good, either.

[heyhyrule]

Do you know what is “blown” on the motor? That is a pretty vague term that is thrown around a lot in the automotive world. Usually when an m20 is “blown” it’s because the timing belt broke, and bent up a valve or two. Usually the bottom end is still salvageable. Or blown could mean that the PO managed to pull off a money shift and over revved it and sent rods through the side of the block. Also blown could mean ran out of oil, which is not good, either.

Not sure. Im looking at it in a few hours, and if the bottom is rust free and the interior is fine then I'm buying it. Im going to pull the motor and look at it, if its anything thats gonna get spendy, I'll just replace it with an M50 like I was planning to.