I'm going to be pulling the engine and tranny out of my wrecked '85 soon and I've been reading the Chilton's guide section and it doesn't seem all that hard. Maybe since you're buying it and don't rely on it yet you could pull the engine and trans and replace some hard-to-get-to seals and maybe the starter. You could have one of the few cars here that doesn't mark its territory.
That's what I'm shooting for. The bimmer more than makes up for any oil drips I'll save. That thing leaks like a sieve(sp?).