New to BMW 92 conv. Totaly confused

[loganscuda]

I have a 92 325i convertible with a SOHC it seems all the parts I try to get for a 92 I have to get for a 91. Can someone help explain Do I have an E30 or E36. I need to replace rear lower control arms and bushings but not sure where to by or what to order from. Is this car a 91 sold in 92? Thank you very very much

[JDStrickland]

You do not have a SOHC, you have Single VANOS. Or, you have no VANOS at all. But you do not have single overhead cam.

Use www.realoem.com, and plug in the last 7 digits of your VIN. The result will be the display of all of the factory parts it would take to build your car today. You will also see pictures of the E30 or E36, depending on the results of the VIN. '92 is the initial production of the E36, so your car could be a holdover because they introduce the coupes and sedans before the 'verts. '92 was also the year of VANOS, so depending on which side of the cutoff you are on, you can nave a Non-VANOS engine.

When you get a parts page for any part, double click the part number that is shown and a list of models that also use the same part will be displayed in a new window. Since the information is for factory parts, the source for those parts is assumed to be a dealership, but you will have cross reference information that will help you navigate the aftermarket parts sources.

[loganscuda]

Thank you very much this is great info.

[loganscuda]

According to that I have a 93 e30 with an m20 engine straight six SOHC I don't know what vamps is

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VANOS not vamps

[JDStrickland]

'93 E30? That does not sound right. The E30 should be long gone by the '93 model year. If you in fact have an E30, then you are in the wrong forum. The driver side door jamb should have a sticker that gives the Production Date in a mm/yy format. My car was built in 07/94. I have learned that it was actually built on 07/25/94, which would have been in the final week of production for that particular model year. Automakers close down for the month of August and retool for the next model year, then commence production in September. On that basis, a car with a production date of 09/94 would be a '95 model car. The E30 cars are square and boxy, the E36 is more sleek. You can look at resources such as Wikipedia for pictures, or do a Google Search on BMW E30, and another on BMW E36. The picture libraries will show you the significant differences in the two chassis/body configurations. Wikipedia has a listing of the different engine designations used.

VANOS, not vamps.

VANOS is German for Variable Valve Timing. The M50 engine used in the E36 was introduced without VANOS, and this persisted until the '92 model year, when VANOS was introduced. The first go around with VANOS was for a single cam. When the M52 engines came along in the '96 models, they had the same VANOS as the M50, then after a couple of years VANOS was changed again to include both cams. M50 is the 6-cylinder engine that is OBD I compliant, the M52 is the same engine, but OBD II compliant. OBD II has a few more sensors for emissions/engine management, and a cleaner diagnostic utility that gives more information more easily, and manages engine operations within tighter parameters so they run cleaner.

[JDStrickland]

In your VIN, the 10th digit will be an alpha character that defines the model year. My car is a '94, the 10th digit is an R. You can do a Google on the digits of the VIN to find out what each position means, and what the values of the positions can be. As I recall, O and 0 look the same, so O (the letter, o) is not valid. I could be wrong, but read the reference material to be sure. 0 (zero) is valid, O (o) is not.

Try this,

https://www.bmwvin.com/

[Baby ///M3]

Here in the U.S., BMW sold the E30 cabriolet as the 1992-1993 models (even though its sedan/coupe siblings became the E36 for the 1992 model year). The E36 convertible was not available until the 1994 model year.

The E30 used the M20 motor. Therefore, you have a SOHC.

The vanos unit on the M50 motor (DOHC) was not introduced to the U.S. market until the 93 model year. Look at the 1992 E36s and you won't find the bulge where the vanos unit sits.

Jon

[DannyBoy909]

I concur with JD. It looks to be a 95 with a production date of 09/94.

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[JDStrickland]

I concur with JD. It looks to be a 95 with a production date of 09/94.

Sent from my SM-G360T using Tapatalk

I was giving a tutorial on production dates, I used my car as one example -- final production for the '94 model year -- and went on to describe that production for the '95 model year would begin in September. We still don't know what the productin date is for the OP's car. He said that he's got a '92 but the parts come back for a '91, then said he's got a '93. His convertible E30 might be a '93 if the first E36 'verts came in the '94 model year. I was trying to explain the make up of a VIN, and how to read the various digits (17 of them) to derive useful information. The 10th digit of the VIN gives the model year, and a sticker on the driver side door jamb gives the production date and the VIN.

[flyfishvt]

The simple answer is you have a e30. E30 verts were made up through the 92 model year. BMW did not produce a 93 model year vert. They skipped 93 and introduced the e36 vert as a 94. However instead of releasing them in September of 93 like all other 94 models they did an early release in the spring of 93 but they still called it a 94. I've seen 94 verts with production dates as early as 5/93. Those early release verts look exactly like a 93. All the electronics and wiring etc are identical to a 93 sedan or coupe.

Why is it like this? Very simple. When BMW moves from one generation to another....e30-e36 or e36-e46....they make those changes to sedans first, then coupe then vert. I can't tell you why it took so long for them to release the e36 vert. I guess it doesn't really matter.

[jclausen]

The last year for e30 convertibles is 1993.