BMW E39 5-series with V8 GM LSx engine swap
We’ve probably said it a thousand times, but hell, one more time won’t hurt anybody, right? The BMW E39 5 Series is the best looking 5 Series ever made, and we just can’t be persuaded otherwise. It has the typical proportions a Bimmer should have, and it will look great 20 years from now even though it is already over 15 years old.
However, no matter how much we love it, we can’t be blind to its faults, and we’re not referring to anything visual here, but to things that go a lot deeper. This car is heavy, and it was heavy from the get-go, back then the aim of the industry being more towards comfort and good looks rather than saving fuel.
Things are different these days, but back then the 5 Series didn’t care about how many times you had to fill her up. That added weight means that, if you want to go decently fast in it, you’ll need a big engine. The 540i was the pick of the bunch if you didn’t have M5 money, and then problems would show up.
BMW E39 5-series with V8 GM LSx engine swap (1)
BMW E39 5-series with V8 GM LSx engine swap (2)
BMW E39 5-series with V8 GM LSx engine swap (3)
BMW E39 5-series with V8 GM LSx engine swap (4)
BMW E39 5-series with V8 GM LSx engine swap (5)
BMW E39 5-series with V8 GM LSx engine swap (6)
BMW E39 5-series with V8 GM LSx engine swap (7)
BMW E39 5-series with V8 GM LSx engine swap (8)
BMW E39 5-series with V8 GM LSx engine swap (9)
BMW E39 5-series with V8 GM LSx engine swap (10)
BMW E39 5-series with V8 GM LSx engine swap (11)
BMW E39 5-series with V8 GM LSx engine swap (12)
BMW E39 5-series with V8 GM LSx engine swap (13)
BMW E39 5-series with V8 GM LSx engine swap (14)
BMW E39 5-series with V8 GM LSx engine swap (15)
The M62 engine is not the most reliable V8 you ever dealt with, and this is something thousands of owners complained about over the years. Sure, most people will keep maintaining it but some have decided enough is enough.
That’s how this BMW 560i was put together. Yes, we know there’s no such thing, but since this E39 has a 6-liter V8 under the hood, and its owner called it a 560i, who are we to judge?
The car was built by a man in his own garage, and the build thread is extensive. It has a GM LSx engine with a T56 6-speed gearbox and other various changes done to it. The quad tailpipes at the back look amazing and the whole car is just breathtaking.
What’s even more interesting is that the price tag for this thing is just $18,500, which some say is too much, but others claim it’s too little. The price does sound right when you realize that the whole thing was done by one man in his garage and that saves a lot of money that would otherwise have been spent on man-hours.
There are a couple of issues with it, though. First of all, the AC doesn’t work, and that may seem like nothing to some. After all, that’s what the windows are for, right? But then you learn that the “tune” (ECU Map) hasn’t been sorted yet, and considering how tech-savvy the man building it seems, it doesn’t look like an easy fix. That’s something you might want to keep in mind before buying it.