BMW E30 Wagon With An M3 E36 Engine Transplant Sold For Nearly $21K

The E30 wagon, or Touring in BMW-speak, has developed somewhat of a cult following. Like many cults, it started with a hair-brained idea that turned out to be genius — take a wrecked 323i sedan, move the C pillar back, fabricate the rest, and create a homebrewed estate.

What would become the prototype was created by BMW engineer Max Reisböck in 1984 with the noble intention of taking his family on vacation. The bosses caught wind of the project and liked it so much that they green-lit the design with very few changes, with the official E30 touring entering production in 1987.

The most lusted-after Touring variant is the 325iX. However, being an E30, there’s no shortage of swap possibilities out there. Like this 1989 320i Touring with an S52 6-cylinder engine swap that was up for sale on Cars & Bids.

Read: Cleaning And Detailing A BMW E30 318i With Dry Ice Makes It Look As Good As New

This 3-Series Touring features an inline-six engine that has been donated from an E36 M3 with 110,000 miles on the clock and carries with it the ZF gearbox too. Other tasty additions under the hood include an aluminum radiator with an electric fan, a Dinan carbon fiber intake tube, a custom exhaust and a limited-slip diff.

Things we’re not entirely sold on include the E36 “Vader” seats, which, although being some of the best-looking chairs to be found in an E36, look out of place in the much narrower and comparatively dated cabin of the E30. Other elements, such as the bog-standard four-spoke steering wheel (a nice M-Tech I or II would look great), and manual steering rack from a 316i don’t quite tickle our fancy, but they’re by no means deal-breakers.

Being a UK-imported car, there’s the obligatory rust. But thankfully it’s been titled in the US, eliminating one hoop to jump through – and it convinced someone to spend $20,750 for it.