South African e30's differences to UK models?

[dobbie82]

I have seen a few south african imports for sale, though 2 of them had chrome arches and i wouldnt touch chrome arches with a barge pole!

Were they made in South Africa then?

Its the aircon that temps me most But were the bodies galvanised or do they rust just as much as the UK models?

[Conan]

I think there was a 333i or somthing built over there. Wouldnt mind one of them!

[eamo]

I have seen a few south african imports for sale, though 2 of them had chrome arches and i wouldnt touch with a barge pole!

Were they made in South Africa then?

Its the aircon that temps me most But were the bodies galvanised or do they rust just as much as the UK models?

i would be the opposite - if you can find one grab it - no rust issues due to the climate!!

[dobbie82]

I have seen a few south african imports for sale, though 2 of them had chrome arches and i wouldnt touch with a barge pole!

Were they made in South Africa then?

Its the aircon that temps me most But were the bodies galvanised or do they rust just as much as the UK models?

i would be the opposite - if you can find one grab it - no rust issues due to the climate!!

Sorry post edited now, i meant i wouldnt touch one with chrome arches as you dont know whats underneath.

DOes anyone know where they were built then and why they are better than the UK ones?

[f13ldy]

From my knowledge of E36s.

The M3 had slightly different pistons and compression ration which made marginally less power. To cope with the lower grade of fuels...

Some cars had the cooling system upgraded and the extra rust proofing because of the corrosive coastal areas.

As I say tho this related specifically to E36s so possible similar to the E30s.

Also they normally have oodles of options and are cheaper than UK cars.

[boomer]

They're not better than the UK ones - just specced up differently I think.

Rust is rust - On my 320 (built '89, imported '91) all 4 doors have rusts, sills & F/R arches are showing spotting and the sunroof panel has a spot.

Mine has beefed up suspension - a curious combination of mtech arbs, very stiff springing and 45mm front struts. And it had a sumpguard fitted.

The radiatior is bigger than UK spec as well and the air filter box takes an M3 sized filter panel (the filter box has a rubber valve on the bottom of it for letting out sand and dust).

They may have aircon fitted which is good....if it works, and a pain in the ass if it doesn't work (the old lady who sold me mine said she'd never had the aircon on since importing it - didn't need it in this country )

Mine also has cruise control fitted which is a very good thing if you do mucho miles on M-ways

Other than that the interior may be different - mine has comfort learther seats with vinyl door cards

And the speedo will read in kmh rather than mph

And it have a check computer that has a seatbelt warning sign

I know they were built in SA but I don't know where.

HTH

[ian325is]

The E30's were all built at a plant near Pretoria. Local content rules require something like 50% by value to be locally produced so these are much more than CKD's like alot of other plants around the world. Most of the models are identical to the UK cars but are usually highly specced. We don't have salt on our roads but rust is an issue for cars sourced from the coast. The bodies were not galvanised and rust proofing was probably on a par with UK versions. Inland though, you can even find Alfasuds without rust!

We also had some fantastic limited production runs of some very special cars, usually homologation specials produced with standard production racing in mind. Our 745i's were equiped with the 24 valve 3.5 straight out of the M1 and we also had the 333i with a 3.3 litre from the 733. Probably the most succesful was our 2.7 325is. They started off with all the Alpina goodies and developed it from there. Special Alpina cams, pistons and heads, 324td crank, six branch exhaust and wide diameter free flow silencers, K&N panel filter in a modified airbox, 535 air flow meter, aluminium panels and full M3 suspension! Straight from the factory!

Hope this helps

Ian

[mrLEE30]

if you want a highly specced car then go for the Aussie imports.. they were made in Japan and are almost all full spec - ac, leccy bits, sport seats, etc etc and most are very low milage due to jap MOT system, vely strickt! and i have yet to see one over here with almost any real rust, except the shitters that have been bashed about and crashed.

my 325 sport bought with 86,000km (1987 model) and my cab bought with 80,000 1992 model but mine were LHD, the aussies got the RHD versions! both had no rust, even my diff was not rusty!!!

mrlee

[drifty325i]

You think the Ausy ones are good you should see the Kiwi ones

[jon_pure_british]

They're not better than the UK ones - just specced up differently I think.

Rust is rust - On my 320 (built '89, imported '91) all 4 doors have rusts, sills & F/R arches are showing spotting and the sunroof panel has a spot.

Mine has beefed up suspension - a curious combination of mtech arbs, very stiff springing and 45mm front struts. And it had a sumpguard fitted.

The radiatior is bigger than UK spec as well and the air filter box takes an M3 sized filter panel (the filter box has a rubber valve on the bottom of it for letting out sand and dust).

They may have aircon fitted which is good....if it works, and a pain in the ass if it doesn't work (the old lady who sold me mine said she'd never had the aircon on since importing it - didn't need it in this country )

Mine also has cruise control fitted which is a very good thing if you do mucho miles on M-ways

Other than that the interior may be different - mine has comfort learther seats with vinyl door cards

And the speedo will read in kmh rather than mph

And it have a check computer that has a seatbelt warning sign

I know they were built in SA but I don't know where.

HTH

slightly offtopic

where can i get a sump guard from? im assuming that it came fromthe higher spec models?

[mrLEE30]

You think the Ausy ones are good you should see the Kiwi ones

i had noticed your in the past !!! but think you need to close your bonnet fully or adjust the catch!!!

[mrLEE30]

jon... part no. 51 71 1 971 001 - front aggregate protective plate... but note they are different for pre and post face lift around 150notes IIRC

mrlee

[drifty325i]

You think the Ausy ones are good you should see the Kiwi ones

i had noticed your in the past !!! but think you need to close your bonnet fully or adjust the catch!!!

My turbo is sooooo massive it wont close lol, na we just had the bonnet off
getting ready for paint

[mark_i]

Fascinating thread this one as I lived in SA from 84 to 92. Before I got married, 5 of us shared a house in Pretoria and two of the guys actually worked at the BMW plant

www.bmwplant.co.za/

Every six months they would get a new car as part of the deal and was fascinating to see the evolution of the e30.
One of the dudes was a buyer for the BMW accesories and he got me a brilliant briefcase made from the same quality leather as the upholstery. The other guy sourced BMW parts that were made locally such as alloy wheels and exhausts.
The engines and body panels were imported and the build quality was excellent. Can't recall the VIN for an SA built version. strangely the post 88 facelift never received the smiley headlamps.
Chrome wheel arches were not standard

My first e30 was a 320i, i've still got the receipt and paid R50000 in 1989 from Auto Bavaria in Rosebank, Johannesburg. Also got the SA 3-series brochure from 1989.

[CiLK_WuRM]

My SA spec car came with M3 suspension and brakes, a 2.7 and some nice aluminium alloy panels. Result

[jmc330i]

My SA spec car came with M3 suspension and brakes, a 2.7 and some nice aluminium alloy panels. Result

Thats the SA 325iS - its what the UK 325i Sport should of been

[koos]

I think they were built in Roslyn. 325iS was a machine, never seen a 333i. 325iS had the option of Air-con or P/S, not both. Sump guards were really strong for what they were, 4mm steel I think!!!

[mrLEE30]

333i was not really that quick to my understanding, a good 2.7 would be faster, i think the numbers sound good but an old 7 series engine in there produced short of 200hp and 250ish Nm (IIRC). It was however treated to Alpina goodies such as interior, rims, suspension and a tech 1 kit and was designed by a young Bernd Pischetsrieder (say that name when youve had a skin full )

mrlee

[Andyboy]

Aussie cars would have been German built - although E36's were built in Malaysia. All SA E30's including the 316 had the big 325i type diff. As a rule the rustproofing wasn't very good. Pacerpete and I went to see a 24v 745i that was absolutely rusted out and needed a reshell which for a 1986 E23 was pretty exceptional. SA cars don't have the black plastic panel between the rear lights either.

[e21Jason]

Hi

Any good leads for sourceing an SA 325IS, web sites ets in SA.

Jason

[ian325is]

Just a quick correction. It was the 333i that was available with either power steering OR air con, due to space constraints. The 325iS was equiped with both. Will try and get some figures for outputs and performance. The 333i was pretty quick but also a bit of a beast. 325iS was definately the better car in terms of handling though, and quicker over a lap.

[ian325is]

Good 325iS's are very hard to come by. Only a few hundred were produced and they are highly sought after. Unfortunately, a lot of them have also been used and abused. There is currently one for sale near me which I am considering. Price is around 5500 pounds though. How much would shipping to the UK and duties etc cost?

[Gwynleym10]

Seat belts are different , can't plug a SA belt into a German catch or visa versus.

Sump guards are loud when they hit speed bumps, and on a lowered car that is all the time!

My old SA 316 had some rust

I think all have rear ARB's (well coat hanger...)

Many have longrange fuel tanks, I used to be able to get over 400 miles to a tank! Then take 1/2hour to fill it up!

[dannosail]

SA cars were well specced, I have 325i Saloon, came wit the same as Boomers but with Long Range fuel tank fitted as standard as well, on a good run I can get best part of 400miles out of it!

I'm not sure if the sound proofing is as good though, my Touring seems a lot quieter?

[ravennexus]

looking at this reminds me to get the AC in my 87 325i recharged for next summer.

[mark_i]

Seat belts are different , can't plug a SA belt into a German catch or visa versus

you can probably credit that one on a Mr Foster, buyer at the Rosslyn plant in the late eighties... you should have seen some of the gear he got given as "thanks for the business Foz"

[CiLK_WuRM]

My 325iS has both P/S and A/C.

Its got the rear plate filler too.

[RPower]

My 325iS has both P/S and A/C.

Its got the rear plate filler too.

Interesting...
Do you have more info about 325is SA Spec? (Max Power,Torque,drivetrain,wheels,brakes,0-62,max speed,etc)

I´ve read that there were EVO versions for the 325is SA Spec. A EVO I with around 195hp and a EVO II with 210hp...

Is that true?

EDIT: Can anyone help?

[ian325is]

That sounds about right. I.ve got the specs and road tests somewhere. Will have a look and see what I can find.

[RPower]

That sounds about right. I.ve got the specs and road tests somewhere. Will have a look and see what I can find.

Thanks a lot