At $27,000, Will This Supercharged S52-Swapped 1991 BMW 318i Blow Your Mind?

BMW fans hold the ’80s E30 in extremely high regard. Today’s Nice Price or No Dice 318i has been upgraded with a supercharged S52 straight six, replacing its puny four. Let’s see if that warrants a supercharged price tag.

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I had to sit out the voting on yesterday’s Ford-powered 1975 Jensen Healey because I have a ’74 Jensen project car sitting in my garage, a factor that might sway my opinion on such matters. Fortunately, few of you had such qualms, so we were able to get on with the voting. The result? The Healey’s $7,900 asking price couldn’t sway enough of you to be enraptured by the car’s charms, causing it to fall in a 67 percent No Dice loss.

Since yesterday’s candidate was a car that had seen its four-cylinder engine pulled in preference for a six, let’s roll those identical dice with this 1991 BMW 318i. It has had its 1.8-liter four banished to the cornfield in preference for a 3152cc S52 straight six. That venerated mill has also been given an RMS supercharger by Vortech, meaning its factory-rated 240 horses have a herd of additional friends to play with.

Per the pictures in the ad, the S52 install, while appearing tighter than a holiday haggis, seems professionally done. The car has 189,000 miles on it, but the seller claims the engine has only done 80K pre-move. The car’s standard five-speed Getrag backs up the S52. A lot of additional work has gone into the car, including refreshing various bearings and bushings, gaskets, and seals. No word is given on whether the car still rocks its original 318is LSD differential, but if it does, the S52 might be a bit more than it can handle over the long term.

One other fairly noticeable bit of work done on the car is the paint. According to the seller, the recent respray is the factory hue. Also, the seller assures us that the bits of trim seemingly AWOL in the pictures are present but need installing. The ESM wheels shown in several pictures are NOT included in the sale; the buyer will have to make do with the factory BBSs.

More make-do can be found in the cabin. The car has cloth-trimmed upholstery, and while most of it seems to be in decent shape, the center squab on the driver’s perch looks like it has gone ten rounds with Gaseous Clay. The seller says the fabric necessary to fix the seat will be included in the sale.

Other issues in the cabin include some cracks in the dash, an out-of-place silver-faced Kenwood stereo, and a carbon fiber steering wheel that’s a bit garish. It also should be noted that while the climate controls still have an A/C button, the car no longer has the goods to make pushing that worthwhile.

Other updates and things to consider: the car has an updated Z3 steering rack, a “Track” exhaust, and some additional kibbles and bits that will come along for the ride in the sale. The title is noted to be clean, but I’m all kinds of curious how, with all the mods, this Bimmer can get by the smog police. It’s offered in California and wears California plates, but the tag shown on the plate is three years out of date. Unless the buyer is out-of-state, the car’s smog status will need to be made clear to any prospective new owner.

Another thing to consider is the car’s $27,000 asking price. That’s a whole lotta’ schnitzel, and we now need to weigh that substantial asking against the car’s pros and cons.

What’s your take on this supercharged and S52-ized E30 at that asking? Does $27,000 feel fair, given the amount of work that’s gone into the car and the E30 market in general? Or does that make this Bimmer a bummer?

You decide!

San Francisco Bay Area, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Don R. for the hookup!

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