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.
Expert: Jeff Clark Date: 6/8/2008 Subject: 1976/1977 BMW 630 CSI
Question Jeff, couple of quick questions.. when I contacted BMW and asked about the car I now have they told me 1977 and yet the plate on the door says Manufacture date as 1976...with out doubt. How does this work...the plate obviously was put on when it was manufactured and not later...so why do they say it is a 1977 and not a 1976.
The BMW 630CSi (California model) VIN 5500112 (this is correct for this era)
was manufactured on January 20th, 1977 and delivered on January 24th, 1977
to the importer BMW of North America.
Is there anything or anywhere you can tell me about where I could find out more about this car...
AS THE EXPERT out of A total of 432 cars of this variant were built between July 1976
(pre-production model, official start was in September) and June 1977. They
were built in the approximate sequence of the VIN's (5500001 - 5500432, but
not always exactly. So we can say that your car was only approximately the
No.112 of the line.
How many of these cars do you feel will still be around...and I am only asking for a guess...
Answer To answer your first question, THE EXPERT answered it for you. Production of the 1977 630CSi ran from July of '76 to June of '77; BMW could have made one as early as January 1st of 1976, and could still legally call it a '77.
For a typical car, one driven every day and then hauled off to the junkyard after 8-10 years, the survival rate might be 10%. But the 630 CSi is not a "disposable" car. A few were driven hard, abused and neglected, and certainly some were totaled in accidents. But my best guess is that at least 50% of these survive, perhaps more. Either way, it's still a rare car.
