rxsumo

I suspect that the fact that your car doesn't appear "correct" on a VIN check is more likely to be the lack of information sharing between BMW SA and BMW AG on the actual specifications on the car. My South African E12 M535i in no different. To BMW AG, the car is known as an E28 model type 4702, 535i of South African origin. The SA assembled cars run unique chassis numbering systems on locally made chassis plates. When you run the chassis number through the VIN system you get no hits, however when you run the SA engine number, you get a hit. The only item on the car that is E28 is the interior, yet once you start looking for parts all the part numbers come up as E28 ones, I suspect that is why most BMW parts guys run when they know the car is of South African origin, as chances are, the parts they order could be wrong. The difference between my car and a German assembled car are minimal. If you compare cars for the RHD market, there were 400 cars built in '80 and '81 in Germany for the British market only, in the South African market it would seem there are few thousand cars built between '80 and late '84. The British car was an E12 528 with the following options added: 3500 short stroke engine 5 speed C/R dogleg gearbox (overdrive 5 speed was an option) LSD with oil cooler Motorsport modified suspension with Bilstein shocks and bigger anti roll bars Front and rear spoilers 14 x 6.5 BBS rims (optional 7.0 rim) Recaro front seats Motorsport leather steering Wheel (same as M1 wheel) There were a few other non performance options like sunroof and headlight wipers as well. The South African car was the same (from '82 - '84) except: 5 speed overdrive gearbox standard TRX tyres on Metric rims no front and rear spoilers, the SA cars ran driving/fog lights that wouldnt work with the front spoiler. E28 Dash, console and interior trim Sump guard A number of "experts" have told me why my car isn't a Motorsport, because it doesn't have this or it doesnt have that, and in all cases they have been wrong (gearbox and bodykit excluded). Information on the net regarding M-Tech cars typically dont have the correct specs for the cars, probably because the Europeans and Americans who set up the sites don't really have the access to the information regarding the cars much like the parent company. After all these cars were probably never intended to leave their "home" market.

Here's one at a reasonable price....yeah right! Opening bid $5500, no wof, no reg, no key, no bumper Fugly

While the English cars seem pretty random on what you got if you brought an E34 M535i, iS or iSE, I suspect that the NZ cars were pretty much spec'd with the manual transmission, climate air, bodykit, sports seats, M-Tech suspension and the "big" TRX metric wheel setup, trinket options like the ski-bag, heated seats, rear blinds etc seemed to be the only options that the clients order specifically for the car. After all you were spending around $150K on a manual sports sedan, why would you not order it with the big wheels and the sports suspension, sort of like buying a HSV Clubsport, and deleting the HSV suspension and replacing it with a standard Commodore V6 suspension setup....just seems dumb to me.

I assume you are talking about the NZ 535 manual E34. The model designation iS was only used as marketing term in NZ to sell the HD12, as a model it doesnt exist. Here is a part of an email sent to me regarding my old HD12 from BMW NZ "Your car was original purchased through the "tourist delivery" scheme by Mr G Smith of Palmerston North on 05/04/1990. The model designation of "S" was a NZ marketing term only, as the car was assembled as an ordinary 535i, with various added options including M-Technic suspension, seats, and sports kit. There are no factory modifications to the engine. "

I'm guessing that the reason the South African's built the specials like the 333, the V8 Vauxhall Firenza, and the V8 Capri's and Sierra's was generally to comply with their local race regulations, so if that doesnt get a car classed as Motorsport , I'm not too sure what would.

I'm guessing he was talking about the South African 333, a E30 with the 3.3 733 engine. Custom build for the SA market

Being South African, it probably isnt regarded as a "geniune" Motorsport because it wasnt built in Germany. However it probably was sold as a Motorsport car in the country of origin, as it would seem most of the biggest capacity models of the range were.

I would suggest that any E34 with the exception of the M5, will always return a VIN of a plain model designation. The M535i was a "badge engineered" model for the British market, attempting "ride the wave of success" of the E28 M535i. The iS sold here was only ever a marketing term for the 5 speed manuals, the model never existed.

Being an English SE, I think meant it got Leather Seats, Air Con and some other trinket stuff, and the NZ Spec cars were better than that. However you would need to have the chassis number checked by BMW or get a copy of the build tag from under the rear seat to work out which options were fitted to the car. Most of the way that the cars were sold in the UK, was that the car was fairly spartan of options and you optioned the cars up. Thats one of the reasons that the English cross the channel to buy their cars in Europe....they are cheaper and fair better specified I'd want to know why the car was parked up for close on 2 years, either the previous owner didnt bother about Reg and WOF, or its had some mechanical/structural problem that the last owner didntt want to/couldn't afford to fix. I'd be wanting to know how bad the Head damage was, if the car has been sitting for 2 years with a blown Head Gasket, and the water sitting in the bores, there might be some more trouble just around the corner. The car might not be a SE, it might be an English M535i, as per its Badging. A car being imported generally can be registered as anything so long as it looks right, hence the M5 being sold in Christchurch a couple of months back that was actually a 525 or 535. And BTW being English it will have a MPH Speedo not a KMH one, so its mileage is 250K

Nice but $1500 overpriced....

The only E34s fitted with a M30 are the 530 and 535, the 520 and 525 (in the early E34s) were M20 motors (baby 6). The M30 will do stellar km's, I've got a 735 engine in the garage, owned by a not so caring guy from Gisborne with 200K kms on the clock and they is barely any wear on the bottom end or the bores. The only thing the M30 really needs to have is regular oil/filter changes, the oil feed to the camshaft gear is tiny, and if it's allowed to fill up with crap, it will cause the camshaft gear to be starved of oil.

No, I never actually did a fuel economy test, I relied on the OBC, when I queried it with Mike Page, he reckoned it was "about right". Its about the same as my E3 3.0Si did on a trip. As my 535iA seems to reflect the same sort of MPG, except on a trip (where the auto is taller geared). I would think the mileage probably seems right. The only other factors could be the different rear exhaust box on your car or whether your car was equipped with a Catalytic Convertor ECU setup. Based on the rough cold idling my car had, I'm still suspect that it had the Aussie spec build with cats, that BMW NZ just ripped the cats off and hoped it would all work, like my friends E34 M5. With the car running too rich at idle or off throttle the MPG would be screwed. Towing mileage with either the RX7 or the RX3 on the trailer (about 1.5 tonnes "on the hook") was typically 14 MPG, which was the same as my XF Falcon Ute towing the E3 (about 0.5 heavier). Incidently the XH XR8 Ute does around 18 MPG towing E12s

If you are looking at E34's recommend buying NZ New, in the top range of cars 535 or 540 they generally are better spec'd, and shouldnt have the rust issues that the British cars have, or as much of potential electrical issues that some of the Singapore/Hong Kong cars have. Depending on what how far you drive as a daily driver, and the type of driving conditions you might want to rethink about the manual. After owning a manual for 5 or so years, for the relatively short 11km each way run that we do in rush hour traffic, I'll take an auto thanks! The manual gearchange is magic once you are out on the open road, but in traffic the clutch is fcuken heavy, and the gearchange "clunky", and the driveline shunts quite badly. I've seen lots of claims about fuel economy, but our manual's overall MPG typically was around 16.5 (figures taken from the OBC), on a trip would NEVER average over 20 MPG, in fact the only time I've seen the car record over 20MPG was a run between Christchurch and Dunedin sitting on 100kmh going down to pickup the 3.0S. In my experience with M30 engines this seems to be the case whether the engine is 3.0 or 3.5 litre. My current 535 auto, is thirster around town....down around 15 MPG, but will quite happily average between 22-25 MPG on a trip. Of late we have brought an E34 540i, and thats the path I would go down. The V8 is smoother and quieter than the six, and as its got more torque, the engine seems to be more economical than the 6. Horsepower wise the V8 is around 285bhp, as opposed to the 211bhp in the 6. If shopping around for a E34, they have a few common issues to watch out for, none really major, just require $$$ to fix. Plasma Display on Dash, capacitors die meaning you wont have a mileage display, service display, and OBC transfer display. Around $400 to fix according to Page European. Shimmy at 100-110 Kmh: Control Arm Bushes/Ball joints are worn out OR front wheels are not centred (E34s are really fussy about front wheels) Heater blowing hot air all the time, heater control valve solenoids dying. The heater valve "defaults" to open once power is removed. Random alerts on the warning display, try reseating the control module. Under the black cover on the LHS of the engine bay.

Now on Trade-Me http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=123606529 Reserve is quite a bit lower than buynow

We have just brought a 540i, so its time to move the 535i on. 1988 535iA, NZ New 250K, Dark Metallic Grey Normal NZ Options, Black Leather Seats (electric), Factory Premium Sound, BMW Security (deadlocks and alarm), LSD. BMW Genuine Towbar Just serviced by Page European, WOF exp 2/08 Rego 5/08. Since buying the car, we have replaced the front rotors and all the brake pads (all Genuine Parts), the front suspension link bushes with "nolathane bushes" (stops the front end shimmy) and the rear pitman arms. We have also replaced the transmission mode selector switch.. The body is not too bad with a couple of noticeable dings in the LF guard, and on the RR door, the is a chunk missing out of the lower section of the back bumper (but its so low you dont see it). There are the normal "K-mart" rash type dents and stone chips etc. The interior has held up quite well, and there are no rips or tears in the leather. The LF leather insert is seperating from the door panel, its not that noticable, but some ADOS and time could sort that. There is a paint burn/stain on the storage area on the top of the dash. Known issues: Plasma section of the dash works intermittently (usually after 30 minutes or so of driving)(known E32/E34 issue with dashboard capacitors can be repaired) Air Conditioning needs regassing Boot Gas Struts need regassing/replacing Memory function on seats doesnt work (all other electric functions are ok) Drivers seat lumber support doesnt work Heatlight washers dont work I'm looking for around $2500 ono for the car. If you are interested PM me.

No he doesnt anymore!, and apart from the doors the car wasnt overly rusty The SA E12 535, is actually known as a E28 model type 4709. The only E28 stuff on the car is the interior. The engine is the "early" 3.5, suspension and brakes are E12. This ones a nice looking car

Update Scored a genuine Motorsport steering wheel in a E12 I brought, so the wooden Momo is gone Same as the M1 steering wheel

Pikkie finally added

I brought a set of BBS RS's a while back, but we have discovered that one of the rear ones has developed a crack on the inner rim section. So what I'm after is a single rear BBS RS for a 5/7 series. If you have a partial set will consider buying the set. Will also look at buying a damaged rim to get a good inner. PM if you can assist

I've got a rear skirt for a E28 that I what to get rid of. It's a plastic one, in good condition, designed for cars still running a rear bumper, but has no manufacturers marks on it. We are in Wellington, and you'll have to pick the skirt up, or arrange your own shipping. PM me if you are interested.

Number two daily driver, 8 cylinders of Mr Ford's finest Sunday driver

For "normal" panelbeating (rather than restoration work), try Spot-On in Home Street, just down from Page European. Colin has done work on my MX5, my 535 and our Falcon Ute. There panelbeating is top work, and their paintwork is pretty good. Only problem is that they are soooo busy you might have to wait to get the car in....but definitely worth contacting them.

Sorry if I'm about to burst your NA tuning aspirations...but..... Before buying a chip, get a copy of the dyno sheets for the chip for a euro spec car with no other modfications. I think you will find that while they may gain some HP in the mid range the overall gain in HP is FA....probably in the range of 5-6 HP, and the gain you want to see in the mid range is probably torque and not necessarily HP. A lot of chips only dump more gas in, and raise the redline, effectively shortening engine life. So you want to do a lot of research, with a chip that you can get fitted and supported in NZ, with a written warranty that you will actually get the gains claimed. The 18 HP gain is a really big ask from just a chip. To give you some idea on realistic HP gains, from one of my old Total BMW mags, they ran an article on a race E12 M535i. With a blueprinted engine, knife-edged crank, a Schrick 300 degree cam, extractors and a gas flowed head, running adjustable pressure L-Jet, the engine ran approx 238 BHP....which is a gain of 20BHP on stock. The Schrick sports cam will cost around $NZ800, the valve springs will cost you another $600, extractors will cost you at least $1000, as they will need to be custom built or imported from the UK (or another RHD market), and I would suggest that the actual gains from the tubular exhaust may be minimal because of the restrictions created by the steering box...by the time you get the rest of the exhaust done, and maybe some head work done, you would end up spending lots. Suggest if you want to gain HP per KG, sell the E34 and buy an E28 M535i, the other alternative is to put the dosh you would spend doing up the M30 in th bank, and start looking for an E34 M5 or a 540.

A lawyer friend of ours checked out this a few years back. Her partner at the time was interested in finding out what plates were legal on the front of his MX5. While the law is very clear about the need to have authorised plates fitted, the problem in the statutes (or it was at the time), is that the statutes refer to The Gazette for a description of the plates. To that date (anyway) there has never been an entry in The Gazette that actually describes the plates. The outcome from that little mission was the so long as the plates match front and rear, there really wasnt much that could be done about it. Problem is that nobody has actually "tested" the case, as its only a $200 fine, and hardly worth the thousands of dollars spent defending it in court.