7 series parts

[rg-unit]

I have a 1987 bmw 750i. This model was not available in north america but I bought it from a german family that imported it here. Does anyone know if the parts are interchangeable with a 1988 750il? I don't know if there are differences between European and North American versions.

[libertylover]

Hmmmm. Probably most of the parts are the same. Problem areas would include the anti-polution equipment and the tires/wheels (see previously posted war about tire issues). Maybe some of this stuff has to reftrofitted at the time of import to the U.S. I don't know.

I have a copy of the BMW parts software known as ETK. If you'll post the last 7 digits of your VIN I'll plug them into ETK and snoop around to see if it looks "normal". BTW, the last 7 on my car is DE85083.

[rg-unit]

The last 7 digits on my VIN are 2750382. Thanks for the help.

[libertylover]

Originally Posted by rg-unit

The last 7 digits on my VIN are 2750382. Thanks for the help.

When I first saw the last 7 characters you provided I thought you had made a mistake because all of the ones I've seen before, all of the others have letters for the first two of the seven. However, when I entered those numbers into the ETK it does indeed map to an E32 750iL! It asked me for a country code and the choices were "JAP" which I guessed to be Japan and "ECE". I entered "ECE" but don't really know what that stands for.

I looked up the part numbers for the left and right Thrust Arms, which I'm familiar with since I just changed mine out. They are the same BMW numbers that I used on my '93 740iL. Also a gasket number that I had written down matches exactly. So it looks like most of the parts are the same anyway.

BTW, what size are your tires?

[rg-unit]

My tires are 225/60R15. The spare is a 240/45ZR415 which is about a 16" rim. The rims on my car are steel with BMW hubcaps but the spare is an aluminum rim, so I don't know if they are the original wheels.

By the way, Thanks a lot for the parts info. Now I can have less headaches about buying parts. Getting them through a dealer can be very expensive.

[libertylover]

Well, I was just checking to see if you had American wheels and tires and apparantly you do, except for the spare, which is a European size. It might be a wise idea to make sure that spare still fits. I'm wondering if the previous owner had to make changes in the wheel assembly to go to the American tire and wheel sizes and possibly the spare no longer fits because it's still in the European configuration. I would be good to know before the need for the spare arises.

Below is a link to a list of BMW vendors that I got from somewhere. http://home.earthlink.net/~hainesinutah/bmwvendors/

Also, www.bavuto.com, which is on the list, has lots of BMW parts and accessories as well, although they aren't cheap.

Hope this helps.