New owner B3 3.3 n499

[hap]

Nice work some money on the new steering wheel

[hashluck]

Looks really good, love the cloth interior

[lorant]

First participation in an event organized by the local Alpina Owners Club:

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A small group, but amazing cars: B8 4,6, B10 Biturbo, B10 V8, and a non-Alpina 3 series touring with the BMW S62 V8 engine.

[James_G]

It's a lovely car and as mentioned already, extra special on account of being a manual. Such a shame we didn't get that option in the UK.

Interesting to note that it has a 6 speed box since the car it was based on, a pre-facelifted 330i, only came with a 5 speed box. They didn't get a six speed unit until the facelift which makes me wonder what car Alpina sourced the gearbox from.

Final point, that white E36 looks amazing!

[Frosty]

Final point, that white E36 looks amazing!

Especially as a B8

[lorant]

Interesting to note that it has a 6 speed box since the car it was based on, a pre-facelifted 330i, only came with a 5 speed box. They didn't get a six speed unit until the facelift which makes me wonder what car Alpina sourced the gearbox from.

I found some info about it in their parts catalog:
- it has the S6S 420 G transmission
- until 02/2001 they used 23001434507, the one from M3 E36 with the S50 engines
- after that they used 23002229721, which came in the M3 E46 with S54 3.2L

#499 has the later one.

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[simon13]

Final point, that white E36 looks amazing!

Especially as a B8

who had one those i wonder!!

[lorant]

The B8 is a fabulous machine:
https://youtu.be/BmxxQHATZXU

[James_G]

Interesting to note that it has a 6 speed box since the car it was based on, a pre-facelifted 330i, only came with a 5 speed box. They didn't get a six speed unit until the facelift which makes me wonder what car Alpina sourced the gearbox from.

I found some info about it in their parts catalog:
- it has the S6S 420 G transmission
- until 02/2001 they used 23001434507, the one from M3 E36 with the S50 engines
- after that they used 23002229721, which came in the M3 E46 with S54 3.2L

#499 has the later one.

Some great detective work, and very interesting, thanks.

[lorant]

#499 is now in the garage, getting a proper underbody restoration:
- careful cleaning of the entire underbody
- suspension, differential, clutch assembly removed and disassembled
- cleaned all reusable parts, ordering new brakes, clutch and other bits which need replacing

[lorant]

The other suspension parts were cleaned and repainted:

[jolls]

Those pictures warm the cockles of my heart.

[JohnW]

Interior is just about perfect now, the underside and suspension looks like going better than it did from factory. I’m ashamed now I didn’t paint the differential on mine.

[lorant]

The previous owner did an amazing job in keeping it in top condition. No signs of rust on the underbody, the factory paint is in good condition, and nothing is damaged. Even the Alpina front spoiler, which sits pretty low, has no scratches underneath.

Now, with all the parts cleaned, it really looks like freshly out of the factory. Only the items that came from the factory painted in black were repainted to keep the corrosion away. The springs were in good condition, so they went back on the car, but unfortunately, the repainting covered the Alpina marking on them. The shocks need to be replaced and will be ordered from Alpina.

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[ScooBeeFive]

This is fantastic - it's like an episode of M539 Restorations! The refurbished parts look superb.

What a great car to lavish the attention on too - lovely colour, manual and with a special interior. Fair play. I look forward to seeing further updates.

BTW That white B8 is just