Nick E Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 Putting the feelers out there for a sorted E39 530i manual saloon. Should be as rust free as possible on the sills and jacking points, with service history and ready to use as a daily. I realise the usual suspects may need to be upgraded. Budgeting around £5k.. not ready to buy yet. Hopefully in a few months. Cheers, Nick 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan-uk Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 Question for those clever than me - whats involved in a manual swap - like Nick a manual 530i is very appealing though for me would be a late sport touring - if the car was a keeper wondering how much work is involved in a transmission swap if the car was otherwise perfect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4aceman Posted October 7, 2023 Share Posted October 7, 2023 23 hours ago, duncan-uk said: Question for those clever than me - whats involved in a manual swap - like Nick a manual 530i is very appealing though for me would be a late sport touring - if the car was a keeper wondering how much work is involved in a transmission swap if the car was otherwise perfect? Very similar drivetrain to the E46, where an auto -> manual swap is ubiquitous. Gearbox, driveshaft, diff (optional but ratios are different), shifter linkages. Clutch pedal assembly. Not much wiring required and coding is pretty simple also. Just need to bypass the neutral safety switch. My issue with manual swapping a clean e39 auto is insurance can be more difficult to get. Not too much of a problem for you guys, but for a young person in London it's difficult as it is... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick E Posted October 8, 2023 Author Share Posted October 8, 2023 This guy seemed pretty on the ball... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick E Posted October 8, 2023 Author Share Posted October 8, 2023 Oh, and I will consider an auto now.. having had one for 3 years and using sports mode all the time, I quite like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisCooper Posted October 8, 2023 Share Posted October 8, 2023 Hi, As per above, there's plenty of guys out there with the knowledge and experience to do a manual swap to a 530i I've been saying for years now as to why no one has converted a champagne 2 (or 1 !) as yet! The chances of an auto gearbox failure is quite high, I went through 2 rebuilds and now have more peace of mind as converted to 5 speed manual. Cheers, Dennis! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick E Posted October 8, 2023 Author Share Posted October 8, 2023 2 hours ago, DennisCooper said: Hi, As per above, there's plenty of guys out there with the knowledge and experience to do a manual swap to a 530i I've been saying for years now as to why no one has converted a champagne 2 (or 1 !) as yet! The chances of an auto gearbox failure is quite high, I went through 2 rebuilds and now have more peace of mind as converted to 5 speed manual. Cheers, Dennis! What did you pay for that if you don't mind me asking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisCooper Posted October 8, 2023 Share Posted October 8, 2023 6 hours ago, Nick E said: What did you pay for that if you don't mind me asking? Hi Nick, I bought my Touring just after it was retired from Police Duty at 150K miles and a month or two after it's 3rd birthday in early 2006. At 172K miles and early 2007 i think it was, the gearbox failed and I had it rebuilt and cost was around £1550 or therabouts. another 100K miles and a decade later it failed again and had it rebuilt at around £1600 or so. Over the course of 2017, i got stranded due to loss of drive etc 8/9 times so made a claim on my credit card. The place that did both rebuilds tried every excuse under the sun to say it wasn't their fault, even going as far as to say as I had amplifiers installed, the wiring must be interfering with the car and causing gearbox to stop, they wouldn't give me a full refund either ! Went through process of making the claim and I got to the stage of having to have an independant inspection done - spoke to other gearbox places and they wanted half a days labour and charges so peruaps £450-550 or so that I'd have to pay. Up came a low mile 80K manual gearbox kit so I bit the bullet and had that done - kit from was 'Jimmy' who used to be on this forum as a Trader like myself and I sent the car up to him in Middlesorough where he made the change for me - total cost with labour around £1500 or so. So now it feels like a new car within my old car ! - I love it ! put in the E60 short shifter modification and the AC Schnitzer digital display gearknob https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/rr183/DennisCooper/E39 Touring/.highres/IMG_20191122_212652_zpsouml5uol.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick E Posted October 9, 2023 Author Share Posted October 9, 2023 11 hours ago, DennisCooper said: Hi Nick, I bought my Touring just after it was retired from Police Duty at 150K miles and a month or two after it's 3rd birthday in early 2006. At 172K miles and early 2007 i think it was, the gearbox failed and I had it rebuilt and cost was around £1550 or therabouts. another 100K miles and a decade later it failed again and had it rebuilt at around £1600 or so. Over the course of 2017, i got stranded due to loss of drive etc 8/9 times so made a claim on my credit card. The place that did both rebuilds tried every excuse under the sun to say it wasn't their fault, even going as far as to say as I had amplifiers installed, the wiring must be interfering with the car and causing gearbox to stop, they wouldn't give me a full refund either ! Went through process of making the claim and I got to the stage of having to have an independant inspection done - spoke to other gearbox places and they wanted half a days labour and charges so peruaps £450-550 or so that I'd have to pay. Up came a low mile 80K manual gearbox kit so I bit the bullet and had that done - kit from was 'Jimmy' who used to be on this forum as a Trader like myself and I sent the car up to him in Middlesorough where he made the change for me - total cost with labour around £1500 or so. So now it feels like a new car within my old car ! - I love it ! put in the E60 short shifter modification and the AC Schnitzer digital display gearknob https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/rr183/DennisCooper/E39 Touring/.highres/IMG_20191122_212652_zpsouml5uol.jpg Good to know.. thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MAZI Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 I wonder if a late E46 6 speeder would fit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AdamB Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 I’m selling my 540i touring… see for sale section 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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