I've been setting a little money aside to do something to my 1989 240 GL to make it a little faster. The car is basically stock, as my parents drove it for 10 years before giving it to me and I haven't done really anything to it since then.

I've been looking online to see how much an engine swap would be, and it seems to be a bit more than $550 plus whatever else I can get over the next few weeks. The labor is what's killing me, though, because I know virtually nothing about cars and my dad hasn't done much with them in the past 40 years. Whatever is done will almost certainly be in the shop, not by myself.

Does anyone have any ideas? I'd like to surprise my friends with a speedy little brick, and I would hope that I can get something done. Again, the budget is roughly $550, but the work will probably be done by someone else.