AboutJeff Clark Expertise I can answer most questions on vintage-car history and trivia, but there are three things I can't help with:
1) repair questions
2) "where-can-I-find-the-VIN-on-my-car?" questions
3) what's-my-car-worth questions
I'm not a mechanic, I can't know the location of every VIN plate on every vehicle ever made, and I can't appraise a vehicle I can't see.
Experience I've been a classic-car fanatic my entire life, and have spent most of my free time studying the automotive industry and its history.
Education/Credentials 25 years experience in the automotive industry.
Question QUESTION: Jeff, in 1977 apparently there was a change from the little boxey BMW's to a two door salon type vehicle. I have not picked it up yet but the seller says it is a 1977 BMW 630 CSI but the info I can see says they only made a 1977 CS that year....what is the difference and did they in fact make a CSI that year....and are is 2500 world wide in 1977 a lot of cars produced or not. Also is there any rational figuring for how many of those original 2500 may still be around..??
ANSWER: The new CS debuted in Europe in 1976, and didn't make it to the U.S. until the following year. Due to our more stringent emission laws, only the 630 CSi was sold here for '77, based on the info I can find. (As usual, the "i" referred to fuel injection, as where the regular CS had a 4-barrel carb. The CS was actually faster than the CSi, but fuel-injected cars are easier to tune for tighter emissions, so that's the car we got). For 1978, they punched out the motor for us and it became the 633CSi, which was closer in performance to the European 630.
As for production, I can only come up with world-wide sales totals of 32,292 for 1978-82, and U.S. sales for 1977-83 of 8,785. If they did make and sell 2500 world-wide (I can't verify that), then I would have to consider that a very low number (for comparison, Mazda makes 30,000-40,000 Miatas a year). How many are left? Good question. Frankly, this car's predecessor (the 3.0 CS/ CSi/ CSL) is the one most prized by collectors, even though the 6-series improved throughout the 80's and are now starting to get some attention. So, the '77 you're considering is sort of stuck in the middle: not as desirable as the car it replaced, or the one it eventually became. Because of all that, I'd be surprised if 1,000 of these still exist. But, at this point, you should be asking this question on one of the many BMW on-line forums out there. Club support for almost any BMW is strong, and they've been a force on the Internet for years. Just go to Google or Yahoo!, type in "BMW forums" and watch how many come up.
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QUESTION: Jeff,
I recieved an email yesterday directly from BMW regarding the number of CSI Models made and you where right there where not many made at all. These are the numbers below that came directly off BMW and I can forward you the email from them if you would like to have validation of these numbers for yourself. Thank you for your response though....as I am a newbee to the BMW world...any help I can get is great and I do appreciate it...again thanks
A total of 1794 BMW 630 CSi were built: They are:
432 with manual transmission as California-version
496 with manual transmission as 49-States-version
430 with automatic transmission as California-version
436 with automatic transmission as 49-States-version
Answer Thanks for the data, and there's no need to forward the e-mail: I'll take your word for it! Please keep in mind that any used BMW can be expensive to repair, and the 6 and 7-Series models from the late 70's- early 80's can be the most expensive of all. This is not a car one would want to buy as an everyday driver, but as a "playtoy." They're beautiful cars, very satisfying to drive; but breaking down in one on the way to work, and finding out that a new starter (assuming you can FIND a new starter...) is going to cost you a few thousand dollars can make one's life pretty miserable. Good luck!
