Timing chain broke, i thought this wasn't suppose to happen

[rabidroco]

I was driving to the gym the other day and without any warning the engine cut out on me. Rolled into a parking lot and tried to start it, but it sounded like the engine was stuck. Today I popped off the valve cover;



The chain is down there somewhere and there's pieces of the guide all around.

My questions;

1. Is this an interference engine? (I assume so since it won't turn over)
2. What am I looking at to get it going again? I'm sure I'll need a chain and HG kit, but is there anything else essential to replace while it's out? Think the head or pistons will need work? Should I ditch the car and count it a loss?

Thanks guys

[BlueBMW]

I believe it is an interference motor.  You'll probably have to replace some valves although I hear they're pretty cheap.   Fix it up and keep it!  It'll be a good time to refresh everything.  The pistons and bottom end should be ok.

All this talk about chains jumping and breaking etc is making me want to pull my vc again just to check....

[Warsteiner]

You need to pull the head and see what happened. I had 9 bent valves when this happened to me:-(  It can be fixed.

[tjts1]

Time for a new (used) long block. How sharp were your gear teeth?