Discussion
On a nice train journey to Stourbridge to pick up an Alpina B3 3.3 Coupe, for an even nicer journey home.
It's got extended champagne leather, xenons, electric memory seats, electric folding mirrors, sunroof (maybe they all do?), rain sensor, olde worlde sat nav, harman kardon, and enough miles to be properly run in (144,000).
Pictures to follow.
It's got extended champagne leather, xenons, electric memory seats, electric folding mirrors, sunroof (maybe they all do?), rain sensor, olde worlde sat nav, harman kardon, and enough miles to be properly run in (144,000).
Pictures to follow.
Bought a first present for my new, rather enjoyable, Alpina:
and here's a hint to what the second present might be:
Yes, that's extended champagne nappa leather, £3980 worth when new.
And one of the car, seeing as you've been patient! (This is Craig, the previous owner's pic, a proper Alpina nut with an E34 B10, that you can see peeking out in the background)
This also means my clio 172 cup is for sale in the classifieds, spent way too much on it, bit of a bargain for anyone looking for a good example of a really capable hot hatch. Are you allowed to post a link to a classified ad?
and here's a hint to what the second present might be:
Yes, that's extended champagne nappa leather, £3980 worth when new.
And one of the car, seeing as you've been patient! (This is Craig, the previous owner's pic, a proper Alpina nut with an E34 B10, that you can see peeking out in the background)
This also means my clio 172 cup is for sale in the classifieds, spent way too much on it, bit of a bargain for anyone looking for a good example of a really capable hot hatch. Are you allowed to post a link to a classified ad?
Edited by Polynesian on Wednesday 15th May 22:07
based on some screechy noises and definite pulleys on last legs noises, some belts, tensioners, pulleys on the cards soon i think. All part of making sure this car is ready to roll and roll for many more miles... and melting my credit card in the process :-)
Edited by Polynesian on Tuesday 21st May 23:20
Yeah, the bolster... just getting quotes to replace it and repair a few other panels. Shout if you can recommend someone near South London.
The car had a completely rebuilt gearbox and a lot of maintenance, I'm really looking forward to it being tip top again. it sounds lovely by the way :-)
The car had a completely rebuilt gearbox and a lot of maintenance, I'm really looking forward to it being tip top again. it sounds lovely by the way :-)
ended up at ETA motorsport for a bigger service than i had planned.
diff, transmission, coolant and brake fluids changed, all coolant system renewed, all the way to the radiator and both thermostats, all pulleys, belts, tensioners replaced.
Still have the leather to restore/ replace, and 2 new things to do now. ETA found that there was a bootfloor crack... have looked at the Redish mortorsport solution and also considering ETA to do it as they have been excellent so far. And they found that all 4 Contis, whilst having loads of tread, have loads of cracks on the inner sidewalls. Bummer.
Leather, part cleaned, and with 3 minutes of gliptone leather cleaner and nailbrush. Crummy phone pics but it really was shocking and is much better although not finished!
work in progress for sure, but loving it.
diff, transmission, coolant and brake fluids changed, all coolant system renewed, all the way to the radiator and both thermostats, all pulleys, belts, tensioners replaced.
Still have the leather to restore/ replace, and 2 new things to do now. ETA found that there was a bootfloor crack... have looked at the Redish mortorsport solution and also considering ETA to do it as they have been excellent so far. And they found that all 4 Contis, whilst having loads of tread, have loads of cracks on the inner sidewalls. Bummer.
Leather, part cleaned, and with 3 minutes of gliptone leather cleaner and nailbrush. Crummy phone pics but it really was shocking and is much better although not finished!
work in progress for sure, but loving it.
Just a mini update, air conditioning regassed and now pumping air at 7 degrees instead of 30 as it was on Tuesday!
Car is booked in for the rear subframe welding in a few weeks. Other than that juggling with alloy refurb/ leather/ refurb/ rust action to invest in. Frankly another year of rust on the wings won't make any difference to me, I'll still just replace them, so probably wheels or leather next. Oh, and the four new tyres... Soon it will be all fresh!
Car is booked in for the rear subframe welding in a few weeks. Other than that juggling with alloy refurb/ leather/ refurb/ rust action to invest in. Frankly another year of rust on the wings won't make any difference to me, I'll still just replace them, so probably wheels or leather next. Oh, and the four new tyres... Soon it will be all fresh!
Quick update as ETA motorsport have fixed the tear in the bootfloor. Matt, who did the job, said the crack looked about an inch long but on further inspection was nearer 4 inches! All welded, plated, seam sealed and rust proofed now, with the box sections wax injected for good measure. No pics unfortunately.
Doesn't drive any different, but I can drive it differently, secure in the knowledge that I'm not about to provide another donor floorpan/ shell for a Renault Espace reader's car thread!
Next job will be the tyres (dangerously cracked on the inner sidewalls) and leather restoration, interior plastics and stereo or a wheel refurbish or something, there is always something more to do.
Loving the car though and it was nice to drive home today in switchtronic mode and really use the engine a bit. :-)
Doesn't drive any different, but I can drive it differently, secure in the knowledge that I'm not about to provide another donor floorpan/ shell for a Renault Espace reader's car thread!
Next job will be the tyres (dangerously cracked on the inner sidewalls) and leather restoration, interior plastics and stereo or a wheel refurbish or something, there is always something more to do.
Loving the car though and it was nice to drive home today in switchtronic mode and really use the engine a bit. :-)
Copying this over from alpina forum-
time for some grotty pics...
I just put an order in for some new interior plastics to freshen up some very tired parts, and to prepare for installing a decent stereo in place of the senile pro nav stereo thing.
horrible:
Ordered arboseal tape to deal with this ugly bodge (not sure what that white "matter" is!
Can you handle more?
Wheels in need of lepsonising:
Can you make out the crazing on the wheel centre cap? I have the lock cover safely kept by (it fell off)
and it's an early E46 so:
under the bootlid as well:
I guess that's enough for now. All going to be put right in time.
After pics to follow for the interior- probably not for a week or two until I receive the parts and have time.
I'm looking forward to sharing pics of a polished, clean Alpina with 4 perfect alloys and a body free of rot. At least it's free of cracks and busted welds now.
These arrived:
Should make a bit of difference to the feel of the cabin. When I get time to install them!
time for some grotty pics...
I just put an order in for some new interior plastics to freshen up some very tired parts, and to prepare for installing a decent stereo in place of the senile pro nav stereo thing.
horrible:
Ordered arboseal tape to deal with this ugly bodge (not sure what that white "matter" is!
Can you handle more?
Wheels in need of lepsonising:
Can you make out the crazing on the wheel centre cap? I have the lock cover safely kept by (it fell off)
and it's an early E46 so:
under the bootlid as well:
I guess that's enough for now. All going to be put right in time.
After pics to follow for the interior- probably not for a week or two until I receive the parts and have time.
I'm looking forward to sharing pics of a polished, clean Alpina with 4 perfect alloys and a body free of rot. At least it's free of cracks and busted welds now.
These arrived:
Should make a bit of difference to the feel of the cabin. When I get time to install them!
Arboseal tape was (so far) a complete success at restoring the door seal to its correct position, once i had scraped out the mass of white hardened gloop that had been bodged behind the seal to attempt to stick it back.
I think you can just about imagine an E46 coupe door seal in correct position, at least if you cast your mind back to a new car at the dealership!
Original idea for arboseal came from here-
http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/f4/e46-how-re-...
onto the next fix!
I think you can just about imagine an E46 coupe door seal in correct position, at least if you cast your mind back to a new car at the dealership!
Original idea for arboseal came from here-
http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/f4/e46-how-re-...
onto the next fix!
A few little updates. Today I attended to the minor rust bubbles that i have- one front wing had several, the other had just one, also a few bubbles on the sill below the driver's door, and the usual spot below the bootlid- this was the worst. I've cleaned back the bubbling paint and applied kurust and will touch them up tomorrow.
Also fitted the new centre console pieces:
lovely unscratched new plastic
They make such a difference from the driving seat.
Then fitted the castrol sticker from pukar design
notice anything else this B3 has had to endure? Someone had thought it would improve the engine bay to stick some stickers in there, and i'm left with the residue
any ideas how to remove it?
that's it for today.
Also fitted the new centre console pieces:
lovely unscratched new plastic
They make such a difference from the driving seat.
Then fitted the castrol sticker from pukar design
notice anything else this B3 has had to endure? Someone had thought it would improve the engine bay to stick some stickers in there, and i'm left with the residue
any ideas how to remove it?
that's it for today.
Edited by Polynesian on Thursday 22 August 22:04
Thanks for the tips all.
As to prices. Yes, for some moulded plastic it's a lot of money. I bought from bmmini parts, and the centre console, console insert and a sunglasses holder for the dashboard came to £134.08 with VAT and postage. Silly really, but the do make such a difference after such a scratched and tired looking interior. Lots still to do- wheel refurbish, tyres (current ones have plenty of tread but also cracks on inner side walls), leather work, new wings at some point, stereo fitting (junking the temperamental sat nav for a becker headunit) and then maybe some interesting stuff as well.
Be careful, looking on OEM parts or ECS tuning's site for replacement parts is a bit dangerous... it sucks you in! (though i haven't gone anywhere near M Stewart levels of dedication!
As to prices. Yes, for some moulded plastic it's a lot of money. I bought from bmmini parts, and the centre console, console insert and a sunglasses holder for the dashboard came to £134.08 with VAT and postage. Silly really, but the do make such a difference after such a scratched and tired looking interior. Lots still to do- wheel refurbish, tyres (current ones have plenty of tread but also cracks on inner side walls), leather work, new wings at some point, stereo fitting (junking the temperamental sat nav for a becker headunit) and then maybe some interesting stuff as well.
Be careful, looking on OEM parts or ECS tuning's site for replacement parts is a bit dangerous... it sucks you in! (though i haven't gone anywhere near M Stewart levels of dedication!
Bit of a Christmas update and a question for you.
B3 has had ups and downs recently. More work done on it but some unfortunate incidents like a broken side window (by me!) and a puncture that have been a pain. Of course since the replacement the glass is not flush against the seal, so needs sorting.
More than anything, I'm seeing that new front wings and some sorting of debts and previous poor quality paint will need doing. So... Thinking to stay with black paint but move from the solid black to either:
Citrin black
Azurite black, or
Carbon black
Any opinions? Citrin has some brown flake which is beautiful and could complement the champagne leather, but carbon and azurite are stunning too!
Not in a rush to do it, but have found a couple of well regarded places.
Plenty more to share on the B3 soon.
B3 has had ups and downs recently. More work done on it but some unfortunate incidents like a broken side window (by me!) and a puncture that have been a pain. Of course since the replacement the glass is not flush against the seal, so needs sorting.
More than anything, I'm seeing that new front wings and some sorting of debts and previous poor quality paint will need doing. So... Thinking to stay with black paint but move from the solid black to either:
Citrin black
Azurite black, or
Carbon black
Any opinions? Citrin has some brown flake which is beautiful and could complement the champagne leather, but carbon and azurite are stunning too!
Not in a rush to do it, but have found a couple of well regarded places.
Plenty more to share on the B3 soon.
Thanks, these are really helpful replies and getting me to think about the colours I love from some different perspectives.
As you give ideas, bear in mind I'm likely to swap to a black buffalo leather interior (also Alpina, with roundels) and that currently has a red piping - obviously can be changed.
Never really liked ruby black but it's on the list to consider now.
Idea is to keep it subtle but with a nice look in bright sun, ie once a year.
As you give ideas, bear in mind I'm likely to swap to a black buffalo leather interior (also Alpina, with roundels) and that currently has a red piping - obviously can be changed.
Never really liked ruby black but it's on the list to consider now.
Idea is to keep it subtle but with a nice look in bright sun, ie once a year.
Lynch91 said:
Ok, how did you manage to smash your own window? Nice car btw
Thanks! Shut (frameless) door with a healthy shove, edge of body in the way, shattered glass everywhere. Queue jokes of all sorts...I am the sort who walks into doorways a bit.
Glass man did come through with a connection to a local glazier, though I now have wind noise that wasn't there before. Just needs a bit of adjustment.
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