Research on the 333i

[Car-Nut]

Im trying to find out about the 333i

Any magazine articles - which mags it was in etc??

How many in England ?

Do you know anybody with one?

anyone one here got one?

Yes, before someone says I know there rare 150 made etc and only a handful in this country.

Thanks for any help supplied

[Alex]

Ive got the e30 restoration bible and it has a article on the 333i but it says it was only avalible in south africa

[Simon13]

No,
no,
no,
no,
no!

total bmw featured one 5-6 years ago. I had the copy but i've lost it!

[march109]

Well for a start none were made for the UK market they were made for the SA market and thus all 333i's in this country will have been privatly imported, so in order to find out how many there are exactly you will need to do a FOI check with the DVLA, but regardless the DVLA may have not registered them as the same designation because they were all privately imported and no direct UK model is available for comparison so they could have been registered as nearly anything on the logbook.

[march109]

There isn't a regular zone user who has one, but that isn't to sa there isn't one on the zone.

And as they were made for racing in SA I doubt many survived the track to exsist on the road, especially also as parts supply would be limited, contrary to popular belief due to the coastal regions in SA, SA cars rot as much if not more than UK cars, which also hinders their longetevity.

[whipsey]

bet your glad you started the thread now clive

[Speedtouch]

BMW Car magazine, dated May 1997, has an article on them.

It was a South African BMW special and entered production in mid-1985, made in Rosslyn, SA.

Approximately 220 cars were built.

Performance figures are Max speed of 142mph, 0-60mph in 7.3 sec.
Engine max power = 197bhp@6500rpm, torque = 210lbft@4300rpm.
Weight 1256kg

[march109]

BMW South Africa's Motorsport division created the 333i in 1986 by fitting the 3.3 L M30 "big six" of the 733i to a 2-door E30. The resulting 333i was a major success in saloon car racing in that country and is now a collectors item. These cars, built with help from Alpina in Buschloe, Bavaraia ,Germany, featured some interesting compromises like forcing the buyer to choose between air conditioning (vital in South Africa) or power steering. They were only built in small numbers in 1986.

from wikipedia

[march109]

Although the BMW singapore members site states 1 333i was imported to the UK by BMW and only 204 were made.

Problem is no one can give you exact figures. Records wern't kept very well!

[bss325i]

There was one for sale on the bmw car club website back in the summer, i tried to contact the seller many times but to no avail.

[Ant]

I have the very article somewhere..... only 2 in the UK iirc, the one in the article in question being bought in 97 and still unregistered @ the time of writing I think ??

[bss325i]

The one that was for sale was a bluey silver colour, i think called aero silver. The one in TBMW was red iirc?

[nickso]

ive sat in one in cape town. was a resto project though so it wasnt running....sorry this is a pretty pointless post lol

[Ant]

agreed, TBMW car was zinnobar iirc, and minty mint.

//M stripe behind the badge, suits you !

[Car-Nut]

Thanks guys I'd heard about the red one in the uk in Total BMW but there is also another one and I believe there is 10+ left in SA.

A for parts so I've read

"The engine is the same used in the first edition 7series 733i, so if that car was produced there then spares should be ok. Another similar engine to use would be that of the e28 535i. The gearbox is the dogleg (1st down), if i'm correct it was also used in the e12 M535 as well as the M635csi. "

any more info keep it coming if any one has the Total BMW article and can scan it in that would be great. !!!

[Andy335Touring]

Make your own 335 with more power and better weight distribution(early M30 pina's had the engine mounted too far forward) ?

Engine max power = 197bhp@6500rpm, torque = 210lbft@4300rpm

A stock M30b35 is roughly 210bhp and 230lbft, cam and a chip will be 240bhp(ish).

[Yaninnya]

Alpina in Buschloe, Bavaraia ,Germany

Shoud be Buchole, Bavaria, right?
Jan

[march109]

Alpina in Buschloe, Bavaraia ,Germany

Shoud be Buchole, Bavaria, right?
Jan

You are indeed correct, I am guilty of googling and copying the first link that looked right.

[Simon13]

no it's Buchloe

the total bmw car had 250miles on the clock iirc, also had a tech 1 kit on it? 16 inch alpina's 7j all round with bmw centre badges instead of alpina.

Kos used to mention a white turbo charged one in the uk with a sh!te bodykit on it?!

[Ablice]

[Car-Nut]

A bit more info from an owner:-

A few cars did find their way over and an importer in the UK specifically advertised these cars for sale on special order. The first thing you must look for is the VIN. All Trip 3's use a 33370xxx numbering sequence as per BMW SA VIN coding at the time. The first 3 digits are series model (333 doh!) the 70 indicates executive and the last 3 numbers will indicate the build sequence. The body tag is above the drivers side headlight in the engine bay (check for matching engine number while you are at it-remember M30 engine number is above the starter on the bellhousing end - you will require a torch!) This VIN number is also hardstamped into the firewall bulkhead between the windscreen wipers just behind the bonnet weatherstrip. Not perfect - walk away. 1985 models got up to about #96 1986 models somewhere in the early-mid 100's. All others 1987. Look behind the seatbelt tags as a guide If too fuzzy- rear seatbelts keep age well- remove rear benchseat for this.

I keep an ongoing register of about 30 cars so far and climbing (4 years running), lowest VIN sequence 30 and highest 171. BMW SA advertised to build 204 but no factory evidence proves this. I would be very surprised if more than 50-60 remain. Just ask any owner about the car's "handling idiosynchrocies" It should be of original colour, only 4 BTW , 2 solids, 2 metallics- Aero Silver, Diamond Black, Ice White or Henna Red, either A/C or P/S. A/C cars have grille covers in the Metzeler made MTech1 spoiler instead of the P/S car driving lamps. The grillecovers are local design and manufacture and one owner I know managed to get the original manufacturer to knock us up a set each off the original 20 year old tooling! The deviated parts list has an alternate part which is not correct. If the car is original paint or nicely redone the driver's side doorjamb sticker is an Alpina one in green with the 333i text. If an ABS car (option) the 260kph Alpina red needled dash will have a small "ABS" orange sticker over the ABS warning light. Bootbadge of 1 piece design over M-sport colour flash. Interior in cream or black leather. M striping down length of car an option, as well as the sunroof. 16" Alpinas a must and if using BMW emblems in the centre caps this is original, a lot of owners now use the Alpina badge as original is unobtainable new.

[bss325i]

They are not tech1 side skirts.

[Ablice]

Thanks for that info car-nut.

Not MTechnic I side skirts? Ahhh so what. They blend well with the rear dam and front spoiler. By far the hottest looking metal bumper car, stock for stoch well, ///M3 maybe, ugh yeah....

EDIT: lol Brits. We say "flashlight" not "torch" over here to us a torch is a, well, propane or other gas-powered torch that you use to heat things up with...:/ I suppose if you use a propane "torch" to look for the motor code on a 333i you'd be in some trouble.. you'd be wetting your panties trying to clean up the incinerated mess

[333i]

Iv owned 1

[ross_jsy]

[Low_E30]

I took a picture of this one, around the corner from my house, last year.....