Alpina B3 3.3 Coupe no 88

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polynesian2
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Post by polynesian2 » Wed Aug 31, 2016 4:29 pm

thanks folks, glad i wasn't found squashed under the sunroof cassette!

Now I'm onto the drivers' door replacement (rust). That's been made more interesting as the donor door doesn't have HK, or consequently the loom for it. So, I'm swapping the original loom onto the donor door.

cause of the rust- factory unprotected holes in door skin for the rubbing strip (admittedly this one is not a good example- the rust is further along the door):

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Donor door about to be de-loomed. You can see the moisture barrier is in great condition (I was able to remove in one piece)

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HK speaker loom that I need (has to be transplanted whole all the way from the door connector- the entire door loom)

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More to come ,once I know how to lift the window manually to access and remove the donor door lock plug .....
Last edited by polynesian2 on Tue Jun 20, 2017 1:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by polynesian2 » Thu Sep 01, 2016 11:50 pm

Well, sorted the door issue by hanging the donor door with both looms on it- donor door loom for the plug stuck behind the window, and the new/old Alpina loom ready fitted because i'd had time to mess around with that.

Window up, plug unplugged, complete Alpina door loom fitted. Door panel on and i can forget it, right?

Well, the glass wasn't sitting well in the door aperture- that means lots of twiddling torx screws under the door and behind the trim strip. And the lock from my Alpina doesn't fit the lock aperture on the new door's handle...

Slight change in BMWs handles- the newer one is a little less elegant to my mind, bigger rubber seals- maybe they keep water and rust at bay???
[img]http://thumbsnap.com/s/rt3HmRW5.jp ... m/rt3HmRW5

Glass turned out not to be a window regulator adjustment- the bolts on the hinges were tight, but two 10mm bolts holding the door hinge onto the door were not. Missed them! Now fixed. Only the door lock to do. It seems BMW subtly changed the design of the door handle and lock in september 2000. My car was built April 2000, and the new door is a 2001. So not quite there yet. But NO RUST :-)

Most definitely a before picture-
[img]http://thumbsnap.com/s/872Vgfqb.jp ... m/872Vgfqb

polynesian2
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Post by polynesian2 » Tue Sep 13, 2016 4:22 pm

A bit more progress.

Fitted the LHD passenger lock cover to the driver's door, will whip it off for lashings of jet black and lacquer later this week, but couldn't stand looking at the misfit lock any more.

The door is looking really smart now and the colour match is very good, and will suffice at least for now. Here again is the lacquer peel and rust on the original:

*will post pictures when the site uploader is playing*

Also finally fitted a pair of M3 mirrors I had, on the basis that you could have Alpina fit them from the factory on the same age B10 (obv M5 mirrors) and even in a couple of B3s (m3 ones). It is surprising how much different mirrors change the feel of the car. You might not believe it but they do- they have much sleeker casings, so much less mirror around the lens and at first they made the car feel delicate, less robust- weird. I guess the old flag mirrors were just a bit clumsy by comparison. Certainly something I didn't expect.

I've also been swapping out 16 year old fuses for new in the fuse box, prepping the door rubbing strip to go back on with new clips and have managed to get one A pillar back into it's locating slot at the base and screwed back in. The other one is now out for 3M spraymount to re affix the charcoal/black lining material, and then another crack at reinserting- not finding this easy!

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Post by polynesian2 » Tue Jun 20, 2017 2:49 pm

Update time on the dear old B3.

Beyond an oil change and filters this spring, the Alp has been having a significant upgrade in the audio department. The awful old HK door speakers are out, and Gladen components are in. At least in on one side at this point!

And then a real win. My steering wheel looks like it has done at least 159k, possibly with a greasy gorilla having at it. I had made some efforts to refurbish it but it's never going to be perfect. And then I spotted a similar wheel on ebay. And it's in great condition. I cleaned it with some Woolite diluted in water and it looks very smart.

The Alpina wheel uses two Torx30 bolts behind to secure the airbag, unlike the clips on other E46 wheels.

I'm very happy with it. Here is the transformation-

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A few more pics when the uploader is happy again.

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Post by polynesian2 » Thu Jun 22, 2017 1:33 pm

Some more pics of the stark difference in wheels. it's as if the replacement is from a car that was hardly used. Very happy.



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Post by polynesian2 » Thu Jun 22, 2017 2:53 pm

Bit more progress!

I made a trip to Stephen James' new site in Woolwich yesterday. Getting less local and to be honest if it wasn't for the windscreen cowl (large and fragile) I would have ordered from Cotswold.

The replacement of the (old, crumbly, grey, shagged) windscreen cowl is pretty easy. I found that you do not need to remove the cabin air microfilter or housing, only the lid.

So, remove wiper caps, use a 15mm socket to remove the bolts, push down on the wiper arm near the base to free up the pressure nut, and ease it off. Then remove the arm, a small white split washer- careful, tiny! and a metal washer and after loosening off the rubber seal at the front edge of the old cowl, you can lift it off, recycle it into a 2 series active tourer, and fit the smart matte black new cowl. Lovely. Take a look at the difference-

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picture uploader playing up again...

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Post by polynesian2 » Thu Jun 22, 2017 2:55 pm

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Post by polynesian2 » Thu Jun 22, 2017 4:11 pm

busy times in fannying about with insignificant jobs land.

After fitting a replacement, non-rusted bootlid earlier this year, I have been building up to fitting the old badges again. Truth is, when the car is repainted, they will need to be replaced, as they are showing their age a little disgracefully. But for now they needed to go on. Facelift bootlid meant not quite the same coordinates as my original lid for placement. Plenty of B3S rears to compare to online, but I couldn't find a 3.3 facelift coupe to work from, of course.

I think they look ok, probably not perfect, but i think 30% of that is the inaccuracy of my phone camera ;-)

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You'll notice I have the Alpina spoiler still to refit as well. I miss the look it gives to the rear of the car.

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Post by polynesian2 » Tue Jun 27, 2017 9:33 am

A surprise stop for the B3 this morning. Driving (sedately) from Strasbourg to our office in Hagenau and I was stopped by Customs!

After a mini interrogation in which I admitted to making chocolate (I work for a chocolate company) but not any illegal drugs, it was all ok. But by this point there were 7 or 8 customs officers around the car. I suppose black car, low- compared to SUVs at least, and a lone male occupant suggest a pan European drugs mule or something.

The nice bit was that at the end, once I'd fired up the engine, one of the officers came back over to the car and asked how many ps! We had a garbled English/French discussion about old fashioned ps vs modern turbo ps. At least I think that's what it was.

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Post by neil » Tue Jun 27, 2017 12:56 pm

polynesian2 wrote:A surprise stop for the B3 this morning. Driving (sedately) from Strasbourg to our office in Hagenau and I was stopped by Customs!

After a mini interrogation in which I admitted to making chocolate (I work for a chocolate company) but not any illegal drugs, it was all ok. But by this point there were 7 or 8 customs officers around the car. I suppose black car, low- compared to SUVs at least, and a lone male occupant suggest a pan European drugs mule or something.

The nice bit was that at the end, once I'd fired up the engine, one of the officers came back over to the car and asked how many ps! We had a garbled English/French discussion about old fashioned ps vs modern turbo ps. At least I think that's what it was.
No strip searches then - that's a relief !

I think they just wanted a closer look at the car :)

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Post by rattusM3 » Tue Jun 27, 2017 11:48 pm

Still watching your progress.

Excellent stuff.

Kev
2002 Alpina B3 3.3 #220
2006 E46 M3
1992 E30 M3 (sold - what a twat)
1986 E24 M6 (working on)
Ford Grand C-Max Family Wagon
And lots of other BMWs from the past

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Post by polynesian2 » Wed Jun 28, 2017 12:02 am

Had a pleasurable drive back from Strasbourg today. After this morning's customs bust on the Alp- 7 douane agents looking for smuggled M&Ms I suppose (I work for Mars)- we had a good day at work, and then I hopped in for the 500 mile drive home.

It's true that the French autoroute network is still a treat, especially for those of us living in the south east where empty roads and 0.9 leptons aren't the stuff of everyday.

After the douane agent asking about the car this morning I experienced further interest in it along the way, of two kinds. The first kind, which came uniquely from 320d and 116d driver's was the "I am faster than you" attention, showcasing the worst of French driving and the desperate plight of people trapped in Diesel shitboxes across borders.

The other kind of attention came from larger engines BMWs including a couple of tuned E46's. This attention was really nice- appreciation and a flash of the lights and a wave, reminding us that mental wellbeing is improved by a large capacity petrol engine. Everything about the car was pleasing. Well, except if my seat went 2 inches lower it would be just about perfect.

We had some incredibly heavy downpours, the ones where you actually think you should pack it in, roll up the autoroute and sit in a field to wait it out. Mad levels of water sat on the road. But nothing the michelins couldn't handle :-)

And then appearing beyond some blonde wheat fields under a black sky that still managed to have bright sunshine beaming through- then the garages of Reims circuit appeared. I've never paid pilgrimage to them before, and I felt lucky to have stunning weather and the place to myself. It genuinely does feel like the ghosts of competitors and spectators, kids with their dads and rich gentleman racers, are there still. It's a must visit site for any petrolhead.

Before I knew it, my rusty 17 year old 158,000 mile car had managed 420 miles in 5hours 15 minutes of driving time. Relaxed, comfortable, sure footed, meaty noise from the peage toll, quiet underway. It was a memorable bonding experience for me and Alp.

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Post by polynesian2 » Wed Jul 26, 2017 12:49 pm

No alpina should have rusty wings. While BMW fitted rust-ready parts to much of the E46, Herr Bovensiepen says "nein" to rust. It's not part of the brand identity. And I agree. So I removed the embarrassingly rusty passenger wing and replaced it with a new one. I found some rather surprising matter as I worked, enough soil and muck behind the arch liner to noticeably increase the car's weight- no really, have a look below! And, of course, I found some more rust.

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Muck by the windscreen cowl at the rearmost top wing bolt

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Clearly these brakes are in desperate need of replacement with something bigger. Look at the lack of pad and the huge lip on the discs. Definitely need replacement

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FSD's still healthy. No misting, which is good news. The ride and ability to stiffen immediately into corners with these dampers is fantastic, and very Alpina

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Unlike the guides and the ECS fittings replacement kit, the Alp came with plastic screws to hold the arch at the rear. I replaced with the little BMW pins, the plastic screws did not survive removal

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Naturally, one wing bolt rounded off. They are Torx 30 and soft, but also hard when you try drilling them. The dremel did the job and cut a groove I could use the leatherman in to loosen this final bolt.

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Looking down into the crevasse between wing and inner body. At this point I thought this amount of muck was shocking.

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Inside of the old wing. Knackered.

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You could really grow crops in here

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This was after I had removed a large clod of earth

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It might not look it, but there is easily 400g of muck and soil here from behind the arch liner. Was this car used as a tractor?

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Rust below the rear fitting of the front wing. I dremelled it all off and applied lashings of bilt hamber hydrate 80.

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A tiny smidge of rust in the sill. There were 4 of these patches, each around one of the side skirt attachment points.

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All new fittings to put the arch liners back

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Freshened up the side repeaters while I was on the case

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This has been a rewarding bit of work to do- seeing a clean, smooth arch instead of an ugly rusty one is great- but it's also highlighted the lurking rust and muck behind the arch liners and sill covers... so I have more investigation to do the other side as well. To be honest, if it comes to welding sill repair panels in and ends up being much more rust below I'd half consider buying a nice individual E46, in an interesting colour, and transplanting the Alpina bits. A car that was cared for in it's earlier life and doesn't intend to implode with rust, and is in a great colour, probably beats chasing rust everywhere in this one AND repainting it (which it needs) in a colour I want...

In the meantime the work marches on though. Brembo brakes with 345mm 2 piece discs (proper ones, not the BMW semi floating jobs), H&R 27mm front anti rollbar, new track rod ends, purple tag steering rack, steering joint, a strengthened front subframe, all of these are in the works. The brakes are being refurbished into Alpina blue as I write and the subframe reinforcements being welded on today. Then it's down to ETA to have everything fitted. But that will likely be after a long summer holiday!

I always try to make upgrades and improvements in keeping with the Alpina ethos and specification. I hope no one minds them too much, but even if you do, it's hardly a rare Alpina and I'm making it more relevant, usable and enjoyable for me- at least until 2040...

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Post by rattusM3 » Wed Jul 26, 2017 1:56 pm

Excellent stuff, this is my next port of call, removing the front wheel arch liners and doing some preventative maintenance to keep the rust away and fix the rust I currently cannot see.

You also inspired me to replace the front windscreen valance and remove all the crap that was lurking in all those crevices.

Glad to see another Bilt Hamber hydrate 80 user :wink:

Kev
2002 Alpina B3 3.3 #220
2006 E46 M3
1992 E30 M3 (sold - what a twat)
1986 E24 M6 (working on)
Ford Grand C-Max Family Wagon
And lots of other BMWs from the past

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Post by polynesian2 » Wed Jul 26, 2017 6:51 pm

I thought I'd take a look behind the driver's side sill cover today, I wish I hadn't!

ImageDriver's side sill

ImageDriver's side sill

ImageDriver's side sill

ImageDriver's side sill

ImageDriver's side sill

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