What kind of shape is the rest of the system in? I just had to replace my intermediate resonator. I stuck with the stock eberspracher stuff. My muffler is an e32 740i unit. It welds up just fine and has bigger tips. I fabbed up a muffler on my e28 and it was very boomy. I perfer the quiet of the factory stuff. What kind of budget are you looking at?
I just turned 250k on my 1990 535i - how original is your car still?