But on my web trawl i found pics of it - i'm pretty sure these were not coming up on the old threads - so here ya go. If i get time i'll upload them to my photo hosting service so we have them for reference in case the linky goes walkies in future.
Thanks for posting this.
Interestingly, the chassis number seen on the windscreen and data plate doesn't seem to relate to the SA-built M5 VIN range of 2 001 013 thru 2 001 108.
I seem to remember Stewart Garmey saying that the SA VIN is etched into all the glass on his car.
I have a feeling this one in Japan may not be a genuine M5.
I typed the VIN into the RealOEM.com search field and came up with the following data for that VIN:
Model: 535i
Region: ZA
Production Code: DC78
Production Month: 04/1987
Steeriing: RHD
Transmission: Manual
Description Summary: 04/1987 E28 535i Saloon M30 ZA Right hand drive Manual
So, at best it can be described as a "replica".
Incidentally, there is a similarly cloned car claiming to be an M5, recently advertised for sale here in NZ.
It too was SA-built and came to NZ via....you guessed it - Japan.
The VIN for this car i have similarly traced via RealOEM to an 03/1987 E28 535i Saloon M30 ZA Right hand drive Manual
It would seem that you can buy a fake version of almost anything these days, with classic collectible BMW's no exception.
This also raises the question:
Was BMW SA actually building and selling these cars from new as "M5's", using surplus M5 parts kits from Germany, or have these cars been converted using parts from crashed, genuine M5's?
I believe the latter scenario to be the most likely of the two - can anyone else shed any light on this?
Whatever the answer is - E28 M5 buyers beware of these "replica" cars.
I forgot to try the RealOEM check, good thinking Batman!
Interesting ideas about what these are, although i'd guess that the second answer is no doubt correct i.e. parts swapped from a crashed car, would love to have it confirmed otherwise.
If you type into Realoem any of the 'genuine' ZA VIN range, it comes up with the same description.
I'm pretty sure there has been correspondence on the detail of this before....or not.
But bear in mind that Rosslyn assembled cars from kits and the 535i would be the nearest match to provide all the bits needed - wiring loom and oil cooler come to mind. I suspect - but do not know - that some parts would be sourced in ZA, such as glass and seatbelts. Also bear in mind that all other M5's were built at Garching....from a painted and part-assembled shell - effectively, a kit. A ZA-assembled car cannot have a VIN in the same series because a VIN is specific to the country of manufacture.
What I cannot explain is the VIN of this car....but it does appear to have all the right bits, including the standard E28 M5 air intake arrangement: unfortunately it's not possible to see where the battery is on this car.
The mystery of the SA M5's continues.
To begin...
The published SA E28 M5 VIN range is 2001013 (06/87) thru 2001108 (11/88) - a total of 96 cars.
The subject white, Japanese market, SA-built "M5" has VIN 0965326 (04/87) and the aforementioned NZ car has VIN 0965306 (03/87) - neither of which fall into the official 96-car VIN range above, and both of which were built prior to the official SA M5 production start date of 06/87.
However, one reference source does state that the SA M5 production actually started in 03/87.
Hold that thought...
Now, as Mfiver has correctly stated, if you do a model search on any of the published SA VIN's (2001XXX series) using RealOEM.com parts search, they all come up as M30-engined, 535i RHD SA built manual cars, with a production code of DC78 instead of the correct DC94 code that was supposed to be assigned to the SA M5's.
Likewise, the two Japan cars mentioned above also appear as 535i M30 RHD SA built manual cars, with non-M5 production code DC78.
Now here's the question:
Could it be that BMW SA (a) built all their E28 M5's from 535i bodies with preassigned production data, and (b) assigned different [0965XXX series] VIN's to an unknown number of additional, Japanese market M5's that they also built from 535i bodies?
If (a) is true, that explains the strange production data results for all the SA cars, and if (b) is true, then there will be an unknown number of additional SA-built M5's out there, over and above the official published total of 96 units!
This could explain the origins of the subject white M5, as well as the aforementioned NZ car (ex-Japan) that I also assumed was not a genuine M5.
Can anyone out there help solve the mystery?
I'm asking all these questions because I'm possibly going to go for a SA-built M5 myself, if I can find the right car.
Now, as Mfiver has correctly stated, if you do a model search on any of the published SA VIN's (2001XXX series) using RealOEM.com parts search, they all come up as M30-engined, 535i RHD SA built manual cars, with a production code of DC78 instead of the correct DC94 code that was supposed to be assigned to the SA M5's.
SA cars have model code DC98.
I agree that the VIN-plate of this particular car is strange. Judging from the pictures, I would not classify this particular car as a fake so we have found a new unsolved issue here. The official records are as follows:
I have now heard from two contacts that the SA-built M5 bodies were sourced from the 535i production line at Rosslyn.
They were taken from the line to an "M-workshop" and were then hand-built using both the CKD M5 mechanicals from Germany and a certain percentage of locally sourced materials such as leather, etc. in order to qualify as SA-built cars.
I guess this explains why all SA M5's have the same build code data as the 535i production cars.
However, the question of the other 0965XXX series SA cars found in Japan, still remains unanswered.
I can only guess that they were 'special order' vehicles sold new to Japanese owners.
A further question I have that may be easily answered is:
What modifications were done to the 535i body shells from which all E28 M5's were built?
One would assume that certain critically loaded chassis areas would have needed strengthening.
I do know that the standard 535i 's already had reinforced strut towers, etc, but the M5 chassis must have required further mods to handle the increased dynamic loads?
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