New car

[Matty30]

This is from the day I test drove it, before i cleaned it

[Matty30]

there are a couple of websites that can tell you the car build date and original options.

£11k is up there for sure. I suspect yours is worth at least £8-9k

here's bmwvin.com's output:

http://www.bmwvin.com/x/index.php?vin=2267263

your car came with heated door mirrors and lock from the factory - pretty cool
I've seen that option on M3s and IXs, including heated washer nozzles.. but not often elsewhere.

KEEP YOUR CAR BONE STOCK. If you have to mod something to your tastes, just make sure it's reversible and that you keep the original parts.

Thats awesome! love that info. I didnt have a clue that it has heated mirrors, do they heat automatically? or is there a button somewhere?

Whats the URL to get all that info?

I do know that the original owner took it back to BMW and got them to fit an electric roof and bought a hardtop which is still in perfect condition.

Dont worry im keeping it exactly as it is, no mods, its had new wheels on it but I have the originals too.
I work for a company that sells car parts so ive already got a stockpile of parts for it to get it in perfect condition for when it comes out in summer. Got all new belts, spark plugs, distributor cap, rotor arm, headlight and a fuel pressure regulator - its only real issue is that it turns over a bit more than it should before starting, hopefully the regulator sorts it.

[pilotskillse30]

proper!

[bradnic]

Your convertible top fits PERFECTLY in the rear. I've personally never seen one look that good.

Thats awesome! love that info. I didnt have a clue that it has heated mirrors, do they heat automatically? or is there a button somewhere?

They work automatically. You have a heated driver's lock too, but it may not be working. When the lock's iced up, just hold the key turned in one direction and it will activate the heater. Info is in your owner's manual.

Whats the URL to get all that info?

There are a couple of places:

bmwvin.com (requires free registration now)
bmwarchive.org or bmwarchiv.de (used to list options, but not doing it at the moment)

UPDATE: the PDF option is working again.. Here's your car's info: http://www.bmwarchiv.de/vin/2267263.pdf

I do know that the original owner took it back to BMW and got them to fit an electric roof and bought a hardtop which is still in perfect condition.

Holy cr@p. You should get more details on the electric top. It's EXTREMELY rare. Electric tops were not fitted on E30 verts until late in the 91 model year. So you have an electric top 2 1/2 years early. I saw something in realoem that hinted at this being available - maybe an electro-hydraulic top mechanism? It's probably not the same as later models.

EDIT: took a closer look at your interior pic. You have the exact same power top button as the production electric top cars. They must have been available in Europe before they were here in the US. No mention of the power top in your options list which makes sense. If you have the paperwork showing the top install at the dealer that would be HUGE...

Dont worry im keeping it exactly as it is, no mods, its had new wheels on it but I have the originals too.

Cool. Bolts ons are not a problem. There's this whole "OEM+" thing people get into - N2MYE30 in particular, me too.. Get the car the way you want, just don't alter anything in a way that prevents you from taking it back to original form.

One thing I did notice - no A/C in your options list. If you ever want something like that your only real choice there is this super rare retrofit kit that adds vents to the console below the climate controls.

I work for a company that sells car parts so ive already got a stockpile of parts for it to get it in perfect condition for when it comes out in summer. Got all new belts, spark plugs, distributor cap, rotor arm, headlight and a fuel pressure regulator - its only real issue is that it turns over a bit more than it should before starting, hopefully the regulator sorts it.

First order of business: full timing belt, hoses, ignition, coolant flush... sounds like you're already heading there. If the car was stored you should check the wiring.. rodents love wiring.

PLEASE keep the community informed on your progress. MANY MANY PICS PLEASE. Congratulations!!!

[bradnic]

One thing I did notice - no A/C in your options list. If you ever want something like that your only real choice there is this super rare retrofit kit that adds vents to the console below the climate controls.

This is the A/C setup I was referring to. This is from a car in Lebanon. Great thread with lots of pics here

[bradnic]

Good interior info here on e30zone

Since your car was built May '88 you would think the 0304 would show up in that year's upholstery options.. Unfortunately E30zone doesn't have the 1989 color list. 0304 definitely shows up in the 1990 list though:


That 0304 upholstery code is pretty rare. I had thought that the plaid interior didn't come out until 1990, and for M3s... I may be wrong about that - the color chart says "318is/Cabrio/M3"

[bradnic]

That S201A option looks interesting too... German forum has some info here. Looks like it's the sport knob for your auto, a Euro only option afaik.

Google translate:


You also have electronic temperature control - your temp switch has numbers on it right?
That's option 535 on the build sheet. Interesting that you have that but no A/C.. so it's really an Auto Heater Control. (Automatische Heizungsregelung E30). I believe this option is Euro only and very rare - mostly high end / special edition cars like this Macao M3 in Germany.

That M3 has A/C btw, and the same plaid seat centers! It's a silber interior though (0380), not black/anthracite.

More info here on e30tech
The heater control is shown here on realoem, and here

That's one super rare car you have sir! ENJOY.

[bradnic]

How's the hardtop?

Forgot to ask about that - is it black or another color? grey headliner right?

man you scored big with that car. very happy for you.

[Matty30]

Holy cr@p. You should get more details on the electric top. It's EXTREMELY rare. Electric tops were not fitted on E30 verts until late in the 91 model year. So you have an electric top 2 1/2 years early. I saw something in realoem that hinted at this being available - maybe an electro-hydraulic top mechanism? It's probably not the same as later models.

EDIT: took a closer look at your interior pic. You have the exact same power top button as the production electric top cars. They must have been available in Europe before they were here in the US. No mention of the power top in your options list which makes sense. If you have the paperwork showing the top install at the dealer that would be HUGE...



Cool. Bolts ons are not a problem. There's this whole "OEM+" thing people get into - N2MYE30 in particular, me too.. Get the car the way you want, just don't alter anything in a way that prevents you from taking it back to original form.

One thing I did notice - no A/C in your options list. If you ever want something like that your only real choice there is this super rare retrofit kit that adds vents to the console below the climate controls.



First order of business: full timing belt, hoses, ignition, coolant flush... sounds like you're already heading there. If the car was stored you should check the wiring.. rodents love wiring.

PLEASE keep the community informed on your progress. MANY MANY PICS PLEASE. Congratulations!!!

I think the electric top could have been fitted after 91, im not sure but that would explain it. I know a few people at my local BMW dealership through work so ive emailed them today to see if they can look into it and get me the paperwork. They have already sent me a list of every time it has visited a dealer which is pretty cool, gives the date, dealer number, dealer name and mileage.

Im not fussed for aircon, where i live rarely gets warm enough to need it, plus I can just put the top down, that should keep me cool enough.

So which hoses usually need replacing first? and what would you do with the ignition? ive taken it to the dealer for a service already, was a couple of hundred £££ but worth it to keep up the main dealer service history.

Il get plenty more pics in summer, planning a road trip to France or Holland.

[Matty30]

That S201A option looks interesting too... German forum has some info here. Looks like it's the sport knob for your auto, a Euro only option afaik.

Google translate:


You also have electronic temperature control - your temp switch has numbers on it right?
That's option 535 on the build sheet. Interesting that you have that but no A/C.. so it's really an Auto Heater Control. (Automatische Heizungsregelung E30). I believe this option is Euro only and very rare - mostly high end / special edition cars like this Macao M3 in Germany.

That M3 has A/C btw, and the same plaid seat centers! It's a silber interior though (0380), not black/anthracite.

More info here on e30tech
The heater control is shown here on realoem, and here

That's one super rare car you have sir! ENJOY.

So what is different about the sport knob for the auto as oppose to the standard knob? In the german link you found they talk about some different lines/seals too, I wonder what they could be.

yeah the temperature as numbers, kind of makes sense in the UK that it has the heating function but not the cooling aircon, there are only a few days a year here where the temperature gets above 25C, it usually averages at around 10C.

The hardtop is black with creme lining, lining could do with a clean though.

[bradnic]

The switch for the transmission changes the shift points (S vs E), or goes into "single gear mode" which seems kind of silly but there you have it. I think S mode locks out 4th gear too.

more info in the E30 owners manual:


the hardtops came with either creme/beige or grey headliners. If you ever get around to having the top headliner replaced grey would probably match your interior better.

check out the interior on that macao blue M3.. let me know what you think.

[bradnic]

Some more info for you.. that silver plaid interior is called "Uberkaro". You can't get the cloth anymore in that color (just grey/charcoal and tan, but not silver). The fabric can't be replaced, so if you're keeping the car for collector value you may want to park those seats, or at least cover them with sheepskin or something.

some info here

[cbouchez]

very nice! the same tranny that I had in my car. "sport mode" is fun!

[Matty30]

Some more info for you.. that silver plaid interior is called "Uberkaro". You can't get the cloth anymore in that color (just grey/charcoal and tan, but not silver). The fabric can't be replaced, so if you're keeping the car for collector value you may want to park those seats, or at least cover them with sheepskin or something.

some info here

Thats great, ive learnt a lot here. So the Uberkaro is an unusual fabric to have? I wonder how it came to have it when it wasn't in the options list in 1988.

Im not necessarily keeping it as a collectors car, im just only going to use it in summer, not put too many miles on it and keep it in perfect condition. Besides im not keen on seat covers, ive not seen many that look good.

Thanks for the link to the owners manuel though, im going to enjoy reading it. :D

[Matty30]

very nice! the same tranny that I had in my car. "sport mode" is fun!

Thats a great looking tourer you have there!