'88 528e engine replacement

I'm considering engine replacement due to a broken timing belt which caused valve damage @ ~400k miles on a Super eta (confirmed).

Not wanting to give up any of the performance advantages of the original engine, I'm seeking wise counsel on this forum. (BTW, what are the advantages of this Super eta engine?)

Can anyone tell me if a block and head from an '86 528e is a suitable replacement for the original motor and are the intake manifolds the same?

The plan is to use two engines to make one good one.

Thanks for reading.

lol, you do know that eta means economy...it means your engine has the least-performance of any in the BMW line. Simply stated the car is probably not worth the labor and parts costs.

Thanks for the response.

The shop that presently has the car is asking $1500 for parts and labor.

That option would give me a running car and allow me to not have a monthly car payment; besides I doubt I could get a very reliable vehicle for the same amount of money.

Any suggestions?

part your car out and buy a better condition E28 from the money you get...lol, I've got tons of experience with BMWs, but hey do what you want.

"JPau" IF your '88 528e is in fairly good condition, I service many with milage around yours that are 'mint', I advise you to replace the engine with a used M1.1 M20 unit. To be sure you get the correct one it should come out of another '88 528e OR any '88 or newer E30 [325] model. Do NOT try the early engine swap, the harnesses, manifolds etc.. are different.
I agree with your finacial logic, you've got a known quanity and the 'salvage' value of your car in it's present state is about $500 ? ? ? What are you 'spose to buy with that........a nice Yugo perhaps.

Yeah, but they're asking for 1,500 in parts and labor anyway. You can get superior-model E28s in good condition for 3k.

On ebay right now there's a 535is in superb condition (at least it looks that way) with 137k miles for 2,200 right now.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6008&item=4536345332&rd=1

Meanwhile his car has 400k miles on it...there's a pretty good chance he's going to start experiencing other major problems.