Hi All,

A few months ago I picked up an '07 530xiTa to replace my E90 335i6. The 335i was having lots of issues, and I really didn't trust it anymore. I am in college now, and I am in CT during the school year and can't fix my car here, so I catch up/get ahead on maintenance when I'm back in Maine during breaks. The 335i was too needy for this schedule, so the wagon (my 6th BMW) has been a nice replacement in terms of reliability.

However, while I love the comfort of the wagon and the body style (have always loved wagons), I am definitely missing the power/handling of the 335i (for some strange reason!). Also, I never realized how much I hate automatics.

I've thought about selling the wagon when the weather warms up and getting a 6MT E92, but I love the shape of the wagon. After thinking about this a lot (read: too much), an ambitious thought popped into my head: what if I were to buy a wrecked E60 550i6 and swap over the subframes, suspension, brakes, and drivetrain? It would certainly be a huge project and I've never done one that big, but I figure the cars are quite similar so it probably would be a good place to start (maybe easier than my dream of swapping an S54 into my E39 530i5).

Mechanically, I don't see why everything shouldn't fit. The electrical side of things would obviously be more complicated, and I'd need to do a bunch of research before diving in. Mostly I'd be concerned about the instrument cluster, air suspension, etc, as being different from a sedan and potentially causing problems.

I'd buy an N54 E61, but I don't want automatic and I don't want another needy N54. If it wasn't my main car, I'd have the N54 (although probably would get an E36 M3 or Porsche Boxster instead). Also, I think right around 350hp would be ideal, as my 335i was tuned and probably was a bit too powerful for my skill level (I've done some performance driving ed, but would like to do more). If I did the V8 swap, I'd be able to replace all the gaskets in an N62 while the engine was out, as well as preventatively fix the coolant pipes and potentially even valve stem seals. My E61 isn't the cleanest car for the swap (some scratches, paint chips, etc), but I go to school in New Haven and I wouldn't want to park a clean car here anyway.

Interested to hear peoples' reactions–if it sounds absolutely ridiculous, I'd like to know. Not going for huge power here, but more for handling, RWD, manual, and character. Would be a very cool rig, although costs could be prohibitive. I'd plan on doing it this June, and could drive my E39 when the wagon is under the knife.

Thanks for the feedback!

(also, if I V8 swapped it, my grandmother couldn't call it my "old lady car" anymore


Sadly my style 162s would no longer fit with the RWD subframes.

 

Possible? Absolutely! Even BMW thought of the swap you're thinking about:

 

Thats exactly the goal! Was sort of expecting to be destroyed for asking this sort of question, but very glad to hear it may not be as complicated as I thought.

 

Is it doable, sure. Its VERY extensive.

Youll be swapping a 6cyl car to a v8, changing transmissions(even if you keep it auto) and going from awd to rwd (v8's never came awd).

You'll have to source a 545/550 V8 E61 wiring harness and computers, and grab the whole drivetrain/suspension from the V8 car and them some specific parts for the V8 E61(springs/rear brakes) etc

 

Thanks for the info. I'd buy a donor 550i for all the parts, so I'd be able to get the suspension, subframes, etc., from it. I'll be going on RealOEM and looking at all the parts numbers and comparing to see what parts are wagon-specific. Great to know that the rear brakes are wagon-specific and can't be swapped from the sedan. Will the DME also need to come from a wagon? I don't see why it would, but I'm also new to this platform.

My main concerns are around the DME, CAS, and DSC systems. Obviously I'd use a donor DME, but I know this means I'll have to reprogram the CAS to use the keys from the donor car? I assume the DSC module will need to be replaced with a 550iT one as well. Are there any modules I can use from my 530xiT? I'd assume most of the body control/lighting/airbag, etc, modules can remain unchanged. I'll be making a map of all the modules that need to be swapped, and the ones to be reprogrammed. Wish I could find more info on this swap... the most applicable stuff I've seen is from N54 swaps into E91s, and at least I can get some info on how the modules interact from those. I'd definitely be going with a manual transmission--wouldn't bother with the project otherwise.

Time to make some spreadsheets and see if this is worthwhile! Thanks!!

 

N54 into E90 is much easier as you are switching a straight 6 to a straight 6. going from a 6 to a V8 does take more but its doable.

Most of the modules will can be reused except for the engine specific ones as long as you keep within pre-lci to pre-lci and lci to lci.

a V8 donor car will help but you will need to get an E60 body harness or splice as the internal harnesses are different and there's a few parts(air rear suspension, power hatch, pano roof) that are wagon specific. Brakes are wagon specific but sedan will work (I have 550 sedan brakes all around on my E61)

Work but it has been done: https://www.carscoops.com/2019/04/th...-speed-manual/

 

I've seen that AW E61... beautiful car.

Glad to hear the V8 brakes can work on the wagon, although it sounds like that will be the least of my worries.

Time to compile a parts list–thanks for the help!

 

I love to read about this type of endeavor, much more than I would take on but what an accomplishment. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

Not so fast... Don't grandma's drive Crown Vics and Town Cars? She might be all too-familiar with V8s.

 

Thanks, will do! I'm not 100% sure I'll be able to do it this summer–I've made a spreadsheet with all the parts I will need, which ones will be 550iT specific (luckily not too many, and mostly seem to be suspension-specific). However, it's certainly a bit long, so I may have to re-evaluate on the financial side as summer gets closer. I'd certainly want to do it without cutting any corners (ie. lots of preventative maintenance), so I may have to delay it slightly until I have all the resources I'll need.

Haha, mine wouldn't be caught dead in one. She's a pretty atypical grandmother: once got her hair wound up in the motor of a weed whacker and refused to cut her hair--made my grandfather take the whole thing apart. Was also very proud of her '04 Saab 9-5 Aero Wagon with a 5-speed... used to pin the turbo gauge all the time.

My mom also has a 2007 E61 (luckily a different color from mine), so I'm pretty sure that's where my grandmother got the "old lady car" idea