89 325is

[91Saleen#15]

I just noticed the speedometer on my 89 325is shows a red line of 4500. Another one that I have seen shows 6500. The door tag says the car was manufactured in october of 88. How can I determine that the engine is really a B25?

Richard

[TwoJ's]

are the intake manifolds different? i'm sure you can look at some casting number, but i just don't know.

[Matt86es]

If the tach says 4500, and is correct, then you have a M20B27...eta.

Sorry

Check the diff for the ratio. It should be stamped on a tag.

[peterz]

just try revving it past 4500.. :p
do a vin lookup

[motorprestige]

Rev it bitch. If it doesnt go any higher than 5 than you suck for buying that car without making sure.

[AndrewBird]

Check the VIN and see if it even is an "i". It might be a rebadged eta. Either that or someone swapped in an engine out of an eta.

[Brew]

Uh, if its an '89 it can't be an eta. Check the door jamb sticker.

[91Saleen#15]

Uh, if its an '89 it can't be an eta. Check the door jamb sticker.

The door jam sticker says 10/88. But then it is a car that I picked up at an insurance salvage auction. A lot can happen to a car in 17 years, and the auction doesn't really offer me a good way to check it out completely until after I buy it. I can't, for example, get the complete vin until after I buy it. On the other hand, I only paid 250 bucks for it so I'm not out that much if it turns out to be misrepresented.

I think its likely that the previous owner replaced the instrument cluster for some reason. More likely that than the possibility that the door sticker is wrong. The sticker is on the pillar ... not the door itself.

Anyway, I won't be able to rev it up until I put the front end back together. I had it running shortly after I picked it up, but I didn't know enough about e30s then to think to check the difference.

[Ryan Stewart]

That late its an 89, it should be a 325i and on the valve cover would have BMW instead of a roundel.

[DaveInLA]

Compare the eta and "i" valve covers. They look different, and as far as I'm concerned, they're not interchangeable. The only difference I can think of off the top of my head is that the "i" cover has the letters "B M W" on it, while the eta cover has a BMW roundel on it.

[track6]

I'm curious about your user name. With a '91 Saleen, does the 325 become a daily driver?

[91Saleen#15]

I'm curious about your user name. With a '91 Saleen, does the 325 become a daily driver?

I'm tied in with a car dealership. My daily driver is whatever I put my dealer plate in. Today I was down at the bimmerfest in Santa Barbara and I'm driving an E38 740iL. Incidentally, I saw quite a whole row of E30s there including a couple with "r3vlimited.com" stickers on them. I asked the guys what their login names were. One said his login was "il Duce" and the other said he was "Mister325".... 'don't know if I got the spelllings right.

[bmwmike]

push the car, if it accelerates at a half decent pace, its an i, if its slower than balls, its an eta

[Matt86es]

I'm tied in with a car dealership. My daily driver is whatever I put my dealer plate in. Today I was down at the bimmerfest in Santa Barbara and I'm driving an E38 740iL. Incidentally, I saw quite a whole row of E30s there including a couple with "r3vlimited.com" stickers on them. I asked the guys what their login names were. One said his login was "il Duce" and the other said he was "Mister325".... 'don't know if I got the spelllings right.

MR 325 runs this site.

[Jand3rson]

MR 325 runs this site.

ummm, along with James and myself.