E12 from SA now in UK. Help with date of manufacture.

92472

New member
I am in the UK, and new to the forum. It's my first post and I'm looking for help!
Is there anyone can help me establish a date of manufacture for my E12 that was assembled and sold new in SA?
I need some evidence of date of manufacture in order to register the car in the UK. The car was recently imported into the UK from Portugal. A South African built car, RHD.
The Portugese reg certificate states (using Google translate) :
"number of frame 510471"
"date of registration in Portugal 20/03/1992"
"national approval 19781000710001" (I believe this is a homologation number)
"has enrolled CKH290T from South Africa since 05/01/1981"

The VIN plate states it was manufactured in SA by BMW SA (PTY) LTD/(EDMS)BPK chassis number 510471, engine number 5650477.
The numbers 510471 are also stamped into the right side front suspension tower, with the letter W underneath.
On enquiring about the car with BWW group archive they say they have record of that engine number being manufactured in 1979 and sent to SA with a CKD (Complete Knock Down) car kit for assembly in SA. But they do not have record of the chassis number.
It has Identimark window etching with the SA reg number CKH290T etched on all the glass and also has D510471M etched on the screen (but this does not appear anywhere else on the car). The telephone number on the Identimark is 704-2816.

The problem is the Portugese registration certificate I have doesn't actually say the car was new when it was given the SA registration number, it just states the date it was given the number CKH290T as 05/01/1981. The UK registration authority (DVLA) will want some official confirmation on a formal letterhead of date of manufacture. (I think on email should be OK). Needn't be exact day but a range of a couple of months should be OK.
I'm pretty sure this car was new when given that registration number CKH290T in 81. If so the windows being etched when the car was new.
Is there anyone who can help confirm the approximate date of manufacture (or assembly) of VIN/chassis/serial number 510471?
At the moment I have a superb BMW 520 E12 that I cannot drive!
 

RonCT

New member
The E12 is a beautiful car :praise:

Do you have a 17 digit vin number which you can use an online vin decoder? Otherwise have you tried e-mailing a BMW dealership to assist?

There should also be a date stamped on the back of the label on the seat belt
 

rodga

Well-known member
RonCT said:
The E12 is a beautiful car :praise:

Do you have a 17 digit vin number which you can use an online vin decoder? Otherwise have you tried e-mailing a BMW dealership to assist?

There should also be a date stamped on the back of the label on the seat belt
The older bmws did not have a 17 digit vin number. I'm not sure if this was only applicable to locally manufactured vehicles or others as well.

To the Op, I'm sure someone on this forum will be able to assist.

Sent from my MI 8 using Tapatalk
 

92472

New member
There is no 17 digit VIN. I think they only came into general use around 1982. There are no date labels on the seat belts. The engine was built in 1979. There is a manufacturers label under the rear seat itself, dated 24/05/79. I'm pretty sure the car is 1981 but I need to prove it to our registration authority. It will then get a correctly dated registration number for the year of the car.
Thanks.
 

92472

New member
Thanks for the advice but I have already tried them. They requested I provide a 17 digit VIN despite me explaining it was just only a 6 digit. I suspect there are paper records somewhere going back to the time before the 17 digit VIN system but they don't appear to be interested in helping despite a second email request.
 
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