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Questions about a parts car I bought, is it a Super ETA?

General conversations about BMW E28s and the people who own them.
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klavender1
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Questions about a parts car I bought, is it a Super ETA?

Post by klavender1 »

So I picked up a 1988 528e. Mainly for interior parts I needed to fix up my 1984 533i I also recently purchased. On the parts car, there was a small underhood fire that was extinguished quickly (much less damage than you would imagine :laugh: ). So the PO started to rebuild the motor including having the cylinder head refurbished. It also came with some new parts like cam seals, throttle body gasket, etc. I was told from another long time BMW mechanic that I had a Super ETA.

So a few questions if ya'll will indulge me:

1. Are all '88 528e cars "super"?
2. I see the head selling on Ebay for anywhere from $300 to $1000. What's a reasonable going price for these if it is a "super"?
3. Anything different about the intake manifold?
4. Is there anyway to tell if it has LSD? It's a slush box.
5. Will the exhaust system (except for the headers) fit my 533i?
6. The 533i came with a set of spare TRX wheels (useless I know). The 533i has nice 17s. The parts car has 14" stock wheels. I'm thinking of putting the TRXs on the parts car (that will eventually be scrapped) and keeping the 14"s. This should give me a spare wheel that I can actually buy a tire for. Unless the TRXs are actually worth anything? But I can't imagine they would be?



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klavender1
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Joined: Jan 15, 2019 10:08 AM
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Re: Questions about a parts car I bought, is it a Super ETA?

Post by klavender1 »

Ok was able to go look at the car. Build date of 4/87 with the 885 head. So at least I know it's a SETA head.
davintosh
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Re: Questions about a parts car I bought, is it a Super ETA?

Post by davintosh »

I'll take a stab at a some of your questions... By no means authoritative, but I'm sure someone will point out any errors.

1. Are all '88 528e cars "super"?
I think so...

2. I see the head selling on Ebay for anywhere from $300 to $1000. What's a reasonable going price for these if it is a "super"?
As for actual value, I couldn't name a figure, but it depends a lot on condition. You mentioned the PO had yours refurbished; fresh work like that will certainly help.

3. Anything different about the intake manifold?
Judging by RealOEM's part cross-reference, no; same part number for all build dates from 05/1981 through 12/1987.

4. Is there anyway to tell if it has LSD? It's a slush box.
There should be a metal tag on one of the bolts on the rear cover that tells you the gear ratio. If the number on the tag is preceded by an "S", it's LSD. If the tag has gone missing (not uncommon) a good way to tell is this: With both rear wheels in the air and the trans in neutral, turn one of the rear wheels; if the other turns in the same direction, it's LSD. If it turns in the opposite direction, it's open.

5. Will the exhaust system (except for the headers) fit my 533i?
Not likely. I'm pretty sure the pipes on the eta are a smaller diameter tube.

6. The 533i came with a set of spare TRX wheels (useless I know). The 533i has nice 17s. The parts car has 14" stock wheels. I'm thinking of putting the TRXs on the parts car (that will eventually be scrapped) and keeping the 14"s. This should give me a spare wheel that I can actually buy a tire for. Unless the TRXs are actually worth anything? But I can't imagine they would be?
The TRXs have been pretty much worthless for a long time. When that's the case for some things and the numbers dwindle to next to nothing, the value will sometimes rise a bit just because of rarity and some people wanting originality; I don't think TRXs have reached that point yet, but I could be wrong.
stuartinmn
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Re: Questions about a parts car I bought, is it a Super ETA?

Post by stuartinmn »

I actually sold a set of TRX wheels and tires a couple years ago to someone who wanted them for the originality. :) However, I didn't get much more than scrap aluminum price for them. Since new TRX tires are so expensive there are much better options, these days they're better used for mounting on the wall and storing your reel of garden hose.
klavender1
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Re: Questions about a parts car I bought, is it a Super ETA?

Post by klavender1 »

Thanks for the info! I've done so much searching on various E28 topics, sometimes the facts get lost in the ether. I looked at the cluster last night,it has a 6k redline so that just further confirms that it's a SETA. I'll try to look at the diff tonight to see if it's the LSD. Also just realized that there's already a spare 14" wheel in the parts car. :roll: So I can just take that without having to swap the wheels over. Can't imagine I would get much for those 14" bottlecaps either. So not really sure it's worth the effort of swapping the wheels. As far as the exhaust, it kinda looks like it's been replaced at some point. As in it looks like a muffer shop welded in new piping. I may try to see if it will fit my car as my car has an exhaust leak. And lastly pull the dash, wiring harness and windshield before selling for scrap.
LeiseyJr
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Re: Questions about a parts car I bought, is it a Super ETA?

Post by LeiseyJr »

The super eta block is whats worth money.
klavender1
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Re: Questions about a parts car I bought, is it a Super ETA?

Post by klavender1 »

LeiseyJr wrote:The super eta block is whats worth money.
Seeing as how the hood doesn't open fully and it's in my yard, the whole engine may be hard to pull. Maybe I can just sell the whole car locally for the engine.
south26
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Re: Questions about a parts car I bought, is it a Super ETA?

Post by south26 »

If it is a seta and has lsd it would have the 3.46lsd, worth more then the 3.25lsd.

Also the stock exhaust on the seta is better then the normal eta.

The engine harness is desired for up grading you motronic to 1.3 on your 533i.

The head if rebuilt would look at 300 to 500. Would look to sell on r3v.


Andy
klavender1
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Re: Questions about a parts car I bought, is it a Super ETA?

Post by klavender1 »

Thanks Andy! I'll check out r3v. Haven't logged into that site in a while!

The parts car came with a brand new engine wiring harness as the PO was planning on rebuilding it. But I'm not sure that will help with my M30? More searching!
davintosh
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Re: Questions about a parts car I bought, is it a Super ETA?

Post by davintosh »

I think that harness will need some rework in order to fit the M30, but it's probably better than the alternatives.

http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=60306

As for pulling the engine, those photos at the top look like the hood opens far enough to unbolt it and move it to the roof. ;)

But yeah, selling the car and letting the next guy worry about pulling the engine is easiest!
ElGuappo
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Re: Questions about a parts car I bought, is it a Super ETA?

Post by ElGuappo »

The Super E harness can definitely work on an M30 for the 1.3 conversion, BUT its best to remove the wrap from the harness, lay it over the engine and re route a few connectors, then wrap with new tape.
The Automatic Super E also came standard as Andy said with a 3.46, a toss up if they optioned for LSD or not.

The 885 head from a Super E really isn't worth much, since it would still have to have additional oil passages drilled for an e2i conversion.
Foonfer
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Re: Questions about a parts car I bought, is it a Super ETA?

Post by Foonfer »

Wait just a sec...
ElGuappo wrote: The 885 head from a Super E really isn't worth much, since it would still have to have additional oil passages drilled for an e2i conversion.
Isn't the 885 head precisely * the * head you should use for an e2i? That was basically my understanding.

The 1982-1987 528e ("Eta") head is part No. 11121272649
The 1988 528e ("Super Eta") head is part no. 11121707032, shared with the E30 325i and with the E34 525i, for example.

... do you have a different understanding? I'd like to know. This probably deserves a separate thread...
klavender1
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Re: Questions about a parts car I bought, is it a Super ETA?

Post by klavender1 »

That's what I thought but I'm not an expert. I'm sure I'll have more traction selling it over at R3V.
ElGuappo
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Re: Questions about a parts car I bought, is it a Super ETA?

Post by ElGuappo »

Foonfer wrote:Wait just a sec...
ElGuappo wrote: The 885 head from a Super E really isn't worth much, since it would still have to have additional oil passages drilled for an e2i conversion.
Isn't the 885 head precisely * the * head you should use for an e2i? That was basically my understanding.

The 1982-1987 528e ("Eta") head is part No. 11121272649
The 1988 528e ("Super Eta") head is part no. 11121707032, shared with the E30 325i and with the E34 525i, for example.

... do you have a different understanding? I'd like to know. This probably deserves a separate thread...
While the 885 casting is basically the same, the cam is different and there are more oil journal holes in the E30 version.
You want/need that more aggressive cam from the 325 for the e2i to be effective.
davintosh
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Re: Questions about a parts car I bought, is it a Super ETA?

Post by davintosh »

ElGuappo wrote:
Foonfer wrote:Wait just a sec...
ElGuappo wrote: The 885 head from a Super E really isn't worth much, since it would still have to have additional oil passages drilled for an e2i conversion.
Isn't the 885 head precisely * the * head you should use for an e2i? That was basically my understanding.

The 1982-1987 528e ("Eta") head is part No. 11121272649
The 1988 528e ("Super Eta") head is part no. 11121707032, shared with the E30 325i and with the E34 525i, for example.

... do you have a different understanding? I'd like to know. This probably deserves a separate thread...
While the 885 casting is basically the same, the cam is different and there are more oil journal holes in the E30 version.
You want/need that more aggressive cam from the 325 for the e2i to be effective.
And the early e34 525i version.
Foonfer
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Re: Questions about a parts car I bought, is it a Super ETA?

Post by Foonfer »

ElGuappo wrote:
Foonfer wrote:Wait just a sec...
ElGuappo wrote: The 885 head from a Super E really isn't worth much, since it would still have to have additional oil passages drilled for an e2i conversion.
Isn't the 885 head precisely * the * head you should use for an e2i? That was basically my understanding.

The 1982-1987 528e ("Eta") head is part No. 11121272649
The 1988 528e ("Super Eta") head is part no. 11121707032, shared with the E30 325i and with the E34 525i, for example.

... do you have a different understanding? I'd like to know. This probably deserves a separate thread...
While the 885 casting is basically the same, the cam is different and there are more oil journal holes in the E30 version.
You want/need that more aggressive cam from the 325 for the e2i to be effective.
HMM... True, the Super Eta has a different camshaft than the 325i/525i. But back to the 885 head: I find it a bit irritating that RealOEM lists both 885 heads (Seta/i) with the same part number. In real reality, what difference would it have made to have all 885 heads drilled the same way? It is actually quite mind-boggling...
a
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Re: Questions about a parts car I bought, is it a Super ETA?

Post by a »

I understand that it was a running change and the last month or so the heads were drilled. Could I tell by taking off the VC? Borman 6 has an 11/87 build date.
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