engine to serial numbers

[Keshav]

Hi Marco54,
With the way the Csl’s are heading and the amount of forgeries going on, they are doing everything and more to cover their tracks, ie, not issuing certificates which with the BMW stamp, gives the car a valuable piece of authenticity.

Regarding your point of the engine#, the fact is that forging a block# is easy enough and they know that too.
Either you can backtrack the history of your car or else even the ‘matching numbers’ (block#) doesn’t mean a thing (to me). I can get a block and replace the engine#.......
BMW is just trying to avoid getting stuck having given a fake car their certificate, having done that often enough in the past.
I think most auction houses or even buyers with limited knowledge would authenticate a Csl with a BMW certificate.
Just my personal 2 cents worth....


Keshav

 

[Marco 54]

Hi Marco54,
With the way the Csl’s are heading and the amount of forgeries going on, they are doing everything and more to cover their tracks, ie, not issuing certificates which with the BMW stamp, gives the car a valuable piece of authenticity.

Regarding your point of the engine#, the fact is that forging a block# is easy enough and they know that too.
Either you can backtrack the history of your car or else even the ‘matching numbers’ (block#) doesn’t mean a thing (to me). I can get a block and replace the engine#.......
BMW is just trying to avoid getting stuck having given a fake car their certificate, having done that often enough in the past.
I think most auction houses or even buyers with limited knowledge would authenticate a Csl with a BMW certificate.
Just my personal 2 cents worth....


Keshav

Hi again Keshav

As usual you are absolutely correct.

I did just wonder whether they would refuse to authenticate a car without matching numbers.
Perhaps in that case they would need to know more about the reasons for the engine change and seek documentary proof.
When I bought the car it cost £2,700 and at that time it was not worth enough to fake!

Cheers.

Marco

 

[Keshav]

I did just wonder whether they would refuse to authenticate a car without matching numbers

Hi Marco,
And that’s exactly their dilemma. They are possibly hoping that if the car (and this rule might apply to the Cs/ Csi’s in the future too) has both numbers matching, the chance of it being an authentic car is increased!
What you are encountering is new to me, but a necessary step towards not issuing more certificates than Csl’s produced .
Hopefully they have been keeping a record of the issued certificates, something they haven’t practised too well in the past. But since you do have the correct engine, you won’t have a problem.
Regards
Keshav

 

[HB Chris]

Where it gets interesting is if you have an official BMW replacement block with no VIN then what does BMW do?

 

[Keshav]

I believe (back in the day) the block# (stamped in) identified it as a replacement block and a letter from BMW showed both numbers, the old engine # and the replacement block #. The letter was the proof of the official swap.
That’s how MB did it too.......

 

[HB Chris]

My CS had a replacement block but it was stamped 530 and little else, no new block number.

 

[sandhu]

On facebook there is a guy with an old CSL engine searching for the car it belongs in to reunite

Do you know the engine number ???

 

[Keshav]

My CS had a replacement block but it was stamped 530 and little else, no new block number.

With Bmw’s lack of records, it probably won’t be traceable (again, as opposed to MB from the same years). The # 530 surely/ obviously will represent a replacement block but the pertinent info/ letter is surely lost. The fact that we are talking about the most produced M30 block in bmw history and combined with no records leaves much space for interpretation.
The blocks with no numbers at all were/ are ideal for replacing the original engine number....... and I personally can’t find any fault in that.
And no, I don’t have a matching # car either! I have an hand made Alpina Group A engine built in the 80’s.