I picked up a local 89 535i for cheap with a blown torque converter seal. Perfect candiate for another 5-spd conversion. Alpenweiss, 204k miles, engine is tight, body is straight, paint is fair to good & drives nice. I was able to drive it home but it pumps ATF out of it about as fast as I could pour it in, left a trail all the way home & took about 9 quarts to go 6 miles. The trans ran smooth & quiet & shifted well when the level was up. To early to tell if a new seal is all it will need. I'm willing to invest the labor but only a token few dollars to give the automatic another chance. If it takes a dump then all I need is a manual trans, a flywheel, clutch, & driveshaft. I have everything else for another conversion that I've been accumulating on spare Saturdays down at the U-Pull-it.

I knew if I waited long enough, a candidate like this would come along. Looks like we're in for some serious wrenching over Thanksgiving. It will eventually become my son's car so when it's ready to put back on the road, hopefully he'll have a good understanding of how to fix things himself.

Cheers!