2 weeks after buying my first E21 (red '80 320i for $400), i bought another one! (black '83 320is for $500)

so i'm trying to decide what to do - neither car is great, so i kinda wanna make 1 good car out of the 2, but still keep the second one running and resell it as a complete running car (don't wanna deal with parting out, i know i can make more money that way but i don't have a place where i can part it out).

the main question is which body do i use - one of them is great in almost everything except the engine, and the other one has a great engine, but a VERY crappy suspension:

CAR #1 ('80 320i):
- karnealrot, paint very faded, big scrape on front right and a small one on rear right. No rust except at the dents and where the battery tray used to be in the engine compartment.
- 258k miles
- great engine, recently rebuilt by previous owner
- battery relocated to the trunk
- cooling system looks relatively new
- shifting is not very smooth, but decent
- shifter is VERY loose
- suspension is terrible, car leans a lot, not stable, self-steers under braking
- interior is crappy (seats & carpet)... dashboard is good.
- broken taillights (held in with scotch tape)
- rear left brake doesn't lock wheel when i slam the brakes
- 13x6" BBS rims with yellow mesh, 1 of them is discolored

CAR #2 ('83 320is):
- has been sitting (in a garage) for 3 years
- black, paint is still glossy, has a few dents on rear right and a couple other minor ones here and there. No rust, except a little around the big dent and some around the battery tray.
- 210k miles
- suspension is EXCELLENT and UPGRADED: bilstein sports, H&R springs, control arms and a lot of other bushings replaced (incl rear subframe)
- black interior is EXCELLENT! original cloth Recaros have been re-upholstered a few years ago, carpet is great too
- has all the -is features: LSD, air dam, recaros, 3-spoke steering wheel, etc.
- engine has problems: rough idle, blue smoke out of exhaust, seller said valve seals/guides are bad, ignition has problems; most vacuum hoses and a lot of other components (warmers, injectors, hoses, distributor) have been replaced or rebuilt
- big rattle from the exhaust
- tranny shifts great, shifter is a little loose, but decent; sometimes grinds when going into 4th gear
- door locks and handles don't really work (esp. driver's one)
- seller said some of the rubber seals on the doors/windows leak when it rains (but there's no rot or anything - the car was kept in a garage)
- brake pedal is very soft, takes a lot of pressure to stop the car
- have maintenance records since 1995 (same owner), they show a lot of bushings and other maintenance items replaced; seems like they've taken great care of the car
- 13x5.5 BBS rims, all-silver, with newer tires (but 1 of them had gotten flat and sat like that for years... seems to hold air now); i don't see any "flat spots" on the tires from sitting.

So! Is it easier to replace the engine (or at least the head) in car #2 and fix the other little problems with it, or is it easier to swap the whole suspension, diff, interior, and other minor things out of car #2 into car #1? Or just try to fix up the engine in #2 without getting a new engine or head - like any normal person would do - get the head machined, a valve job done, etc... but that's expensive.

I should also mention that I don't have a garage, so anything as involved as an engine swap is semi-out of the question... although i guess it's possible that a friend would let me use a garage for, say, a week.

i would keep car 2 and do the swap at the mates place, its already got the good bits and no rust with glossy paint. then when the engine is out you could give it a clean(if it needs it) before it goes in.

btw, i was also considering an M20B25 swap into the black car, but when I read about what's involved, I gave up on the idea... it would be a cool project, but it's pretty much impossible to do without a garage. and even with a garage, it would take way too much time and effort.

sounds like the blackcar is just in need of engine bits , i would cut my losses and take the engine fron 1 and transfer it into 2 that way you end up with a good body and engine good seats and good suspension then with the other car get what you can of it and send it to the wreckers with no garage it makes it difficult keeping them both anyway

I would swap engines. The second car sounds like it is pretty solid and the suspension/drivetrain is much better.

Thanks for the replies. Yeah, I'm leaning towards keeping the black car only. And it might just be more prudent to buy a separate used engine and put it in the black car instead of turning the red car from a running car to an engineless shell that nobody will want to buy.