E30 Zone

Ok so recently me and my dad had a horrible accident taking his E36 M3 on a run out for the first time this year.. the car was a true Sunday car, a red convertible that never saw the rain. It had only done 90k and it was mint. Unfortunately we got cut up on exiting the motorway and forced towards the yellow black start of the central reservation, we avoided that but it sent the car into a spin. We span across two lanes hit the curb and flipped the car...
we are both alright a miracle considering the roof was down.

The car only did a 180' and stopped upside down.

Its a 1994 S50 that ran great. me and my dad had put time and effort into it over the years and now some twats bad driving has taken it away from us.

I currently drive an 1989 E30 325i its completely original apart from Ronal LS wheels and up rated break pads and B8 and H&R suspension.
Ive got a 3.91 LSD waiting to go in it.
Basically i've been very selective over what i do to the because in my opinion you can go silly and loose the essence to what you loved in the first place so ive never wanted to Boost the engine, strip the interior, put an M52 in it or a 1JZ....

But im now at the point where i know the insurance are going to right the E36 off and i have a soft spot in my heart for the engine and what was something me and my dad bonded over...

So you all know whats coming now...
is it worth it?
do i buy the car back off the insurance and use it as a doner car?
What parts of the drive train wound i keep?
and if i had the car donor car how much (i understand its hard to put exact figures down) is it going to cost to get the swap done?

also i understand the s50 is mean to be heavier than the M20 how badly will that effect handling and is there anything i could do to off set that.

Thanks for any response.

Regards
Callum

A very sad story (sorry to hear) that could turn into kind of a good story? Sounds good to me!

Only other car i've aimed to someday own is my dads E36 so theres a lot of sentimental value in it. I just dont want to ruin E30. I know some people will be thinking is he stupid look at the power gains.. but im talking about the weight up front and stuff..

Sorry to hear of your misfortune.

No brainer to buy back the salvage if you have the means to store and strip the car.

The s50 is a great swap if done well. The s50 is an ///M engine, special and it feels it when one is running right, the bonus being you know the history. And one of the few that could add value to your car, which is a rare and difficult thing to do.

Don't worry about the weight, it is a little heavier yes, and you can feel it. But is does not upset the car enough to warrant any further concern.

There are as many ways to do the swap as people have opinions. You'll need from the donor;

Engine and gearbox[is it 5speed manual] inc wiring
Propshaft
ECU, EWS box, and key, along with sone of the under dash wiring. If you want EWS to work.
Radiator

Bits you will need extra;

Sump, and oil pickup. I believe pump will be correct.
Manifold altering
Exhaust
Brake upgrade.
Engine mounts
Electric fan

This is a very basic list, you'll need more. And you'll need to consider refreshing the engine with new gaskets etc while its out.

Buying the car back seems like something you have to do.......

Main thing in "refreshing" any s5x are small end bearings.

Leave it alone. Its gotten to a point where there no 325i's left.