?? which 96 E36 ??

[NZ POM 0]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but i have a 1996 E36 328 i, unknown to me, that was the year there was some changes?? Can anyone help me to determine wether i have a pre or post 09/96, are there any obviuos things to look for, or can i find this out by the chassis number if so, how? as i want to order some goodies but was asked which one it was.

Thanks

[Mark 178]

The main things that changed on the facelift cars were the nose panel, kidney grilles (rounded fins and slightly more trapezoidal look to them) and sidemarkers.

If your car was built after 9/96 you have the facelift model.

I think you can check the build date by lifting up your rear seat squab, your build sheet will be stapled to the underside. Whip that out and it should tell you. It will also give you a bunch of numbers which coincide with different options it came with from the factory. I've attached the list for reference.

E36optioncodes.pdf

[Yuen 16]

Yours is a pre-facelift. You can tell from the kidney grills and sidemarkers. Other little things on the facelift were the rubber straps in the boot to hold stuff down and footwell lighting. Steering wheel may also be different. When you want to order parts, just enter the last 7 characters of your VIN into www.realoem.com, it will give you the appropriate part numbers.

[NZ POM 0]

Thanks guys, for the quick response, thats just the sort of info i was after now i know what i'm looking for, i can order the right parts.

[NZ POM 0]

Thanks again guys, i took your advice and lifted the rear seat and lo and behold there it was stapled to the underside

you were right it's pre face lift 23/03/96 and it came off the assembly line 07.16 am. Great info

[Yuen 16]

Isn't it nice to know when your car was born? And you know its weight, too!

[NZ POM 0]

Isn't it nice to know when your car was born? And you know its weight, too!

lol cant see that on the ticket

[Yuen 16]

A google says that it was 3120 lbs

[Mark 178]

Can you tell if the ACS kit was fitted from the factory?.... not sure if those options are on the list or not.

[NZ POM 0]

Can you tell if the ACS kit was fitted from the factory?.... not sure if those options are on the list or not.

No mention of ACS on the list only M & Alpina, i dont think ACS stuff was added on the line i think it went to the ACS workshop at Aachen which was also a BMW dealership which meant they could take a car out of their stock and give it the ACS treatment which was Type 1, Type2 or 3 or a mixture I.E type 1&3. Sorry dribbling on here. the answer to your question is no.

[Mark 178]

Hmmm.... I know the genuine German cars headed off the assembly line to AC Schnitzer, but I think your car is Japanese (will say "JPN" in the centre of the speedo). This means the car was put together in Japan using a "complete knockdown kit" sent over from Germany. Perhaps the ACS spec cars were sent over with the kit too? I'm not sure, would be interesting to find out.

[NZ POM 0]

Hmmm.... I know the genuine German cars headed off the assembly line to AC Schnitzer, but I think your car is Japanese (will say "JPN" in the centre of the speedo). This means the car was put together in Japan using a "complete knockdown kit" sent over from Germany. Perhaps the ACS spec cars were sent over with the kit too? I'm not sure, would be interesting to find out.

The sheet has the code 807 which means it was for export to Japan, wether it was a exported with a kit from the factory/ACS or was fitted with add ons which were purchased in Japan is a mystery. If the later is the case then somebody went to a lot of trouble/expense maybe the dealer in JPN did it?