E92 Alpina B3 Biturbo #185

[BSSBMW]

Where to begin?

I have from time to time over the last couple of years played about with the online configurator for the F31 B3S Biturbo 'building' my ideal spec wagon waiting to be in a position to actually be able to go for it. I've never bought a brand new car yet its something I've always wanted to do from a young age but it needed to be something special and something i would keep long term.

With the realisation that F31 touring production was due to end pretty soon and now being in a position to go through with an order, about a month ago i made a call to Sytner Nottingham and asked the question of when F31 B3 production would end to which i was told 'one more car was to be built' so in effect the last one which appealed massively but it was a canceled order already specced. I asked if the colour or spec could be changed and it was a flat no.
Now i know that if a car has not been built there are ways of getting changes made so i ran with it basis that i would try to get it changed.
Cut a long story short after several calls and emails to various people it wasn't until a contact of mine at Rolls Royce found out via their opposite in Munich that the car had already been built a month before I made my initial enquiry despite being told otherwise!

After much thought i decided not to go ahead with the purchase as A, despite being a canceled (already built!) order, all I managed to get was a paltry £2750 off the full list price and i just couldn't justify close to £80k on a compromise.

So that brings us to the E92 B3.

As well as some other Alpinas, I have owned few earlier B3's over the years, (E46 B3S cabrio #34, E36 B3 3.0 coupe #185 and E46 B3 3.3 Saloon #114) and have worked on and driven many others throughout my working life so with the brand new car dream on hold the natural progression would be an E9x Alpina or a used F3x Alpina. After trawling the web and drawing a blank on a petrol F3x Alpina with none for sale other than a couple of used offerings from Sytner that were more than what i wanted to spend on a used car, i started looking at E9x petrol Alpinas.











Pictures taken from the advert. B3 Birturbo #185 was for sale fairly local to me at Jame Paul who were a pleasure to deal with and after an inspection of the car on the ramp and a road test a deal was done.

S2KEA BMW light alloy wheel, V-spoke 188
S459A Seat adjustment, electric, with memory
S481A Sports seat
S502A Headlight cleaning system
S520A Fog lights
S522A Xenon Light
S704A M Sports suspension
S853A Language version, English
S2XAA Sport leather st. wheel w/ shift paddles
S205A Automatic transmission
S249A Multifunction f steering wheel
S302A Alarm system
S320A Deleted, model lettering
S4ADA Interior trim strips, brushed aluminium
S4AEA Armrest front, retractable
S423A Floor mats velours
S428A Warning triangle and first aid kit
S430A Interior/outside mirror with auto dip
S431A Interior mirror with automatic-dip
S441A Smoker package
S470A Isofix-System
S494A Seat heating driver/passenger
S508A Park Distance Control (PDC)
S521A Rain sensor
S534A Automatic air conditioning
S544A Cruise control with brake function
S563A Light package
S6AAA BMW TeleServices
S6ABA Control, Teleservices
S6FLA USB/audio interface
S609A Navigation system Professional
S612A BMW Assist
S616A BMW Online
S620A Voice control
S633A Preparation, mobile phone, Business
S654A DAB tuner
S676A HiFi speaker system
S694A Provisions for BMW 6 CD changer
S760A High gloss shadow line
S775A Headlining anthracite
S8SMA Car ident. number visible from outside
S8SPA Control unit COP
S8S2A Coding, alarm signal
L812A National version England / Ireland
S863A Dealer List Europe
S877A Omission of non-combined operation
S880A On-board literature, English
S9AAA Outer skin protection
S920A Alpina without registration document
S925A Dummy-SALAPA
S940A special equipment BMW Individual

A decent spec, in overall very good condition and a fair price saw me collect in on Monday and its nice that I've now owned a pair of #185 build Alpina B3's!

Ive done a few miles in it so far and i have an impending road trip to Scotland in a few weeks time so will get the chance to stretch its legs on some decent roads.

I also have plans for some upgrades and retro fits as and when time allows.





Back at work the day I picked it up.

[BSSBMW]

First actions have been some general tidying up of some details.

[BSSBMW]

Ph1listine said:

That's stunning! How do these compare to the 335i? Slightly bigger turbo / turbos? Presumably it was a fraction of the cost of the newer model?

They have a useful amount of extra power and torque which on the B3 is achieved by different pistons, a bigger intercooler, better exhaust and revised software.

Alpina's software for the automatic gearbox is also a vast improvement and the ride and handling is like night and day compared to the harshness of the M sport suspension and run flat tyres most E9x 335i's are blighted with.

All of these improvements can easily be achieved on a 335i but with the Alpina its all wrapped up in a cohesive exclusive package.

And yes this car cost less that all of the optional extras on the new F31 B3S I was offered.

[BSSBMW]

Jour Poubelle said:

Lovely! I have one as well, in silver with the dynamic wheels and the pin striping.

They sure are a rare beast, I've had mine over a year now and never seen another one, seen a few D3's but never the B3, good luck with it!

Nice! One of my customers had a blue one which i got a taste of before taking the plunge with this one.

Funny you mention stripes......

[BSSBMW]

Felix79 said:

Wow nice find there Baz dude! Is this going to be use alongside you're E30 M3 you've been restoring?

I seriously wanted to find a good Alpina for me last year, but there was never anything that was right for me (due to me wanting a manual mainly) and even looked at the Alpina Roadsters until I read a few too many downsides to owning it, which is why I got my E85 Z4M, which my old man loved as you know is very much a M/// guy. I would love to get a set of classic style Alpina wheels (not the star shaped ones) for my Z4M but the offset is making it a mission impossible for me.

I'll keep an eye out for your updates as your threads are always second to none and a great way to pass the time in sodding waiting rooms at the hospital!

Thanks, was handy being local to me!

This will be my 'daily' but i dont do that many miles any more but yes this will be used regularly, the M3 no so much.

What downsides did you read about on the Alpina Z4 roadster?

[BSSBMW]

Overall the paint is in reasonable condition but some prep work was needed to get rind of some swirls before an important next step so I called in the services of Mark at Marells to do the business.



Alpina stripes are very much a marmite thing especially outside of Alpina circles but im firmly of the opinion that Alpinas need their full warpaint and as my B3 is on the more subdued side with its space grey with back combo, it needs a visual lift.





THE man for this Simon who not only is very reasonably priced but more importantly the quality of the decals and his attention to detail is first rate!











The result has given it the visual lift that it needed without being OTT and im over the moon with it!

[BSSBMW]

rayyan171 said:

Lovely car anyway, certainly a good M3 alternative if you don't want to deal with small fuel tanks and possible bork of the S65.

Thanks!

I did contemplate going for an E92 M3 but despite being epic cars one wouldn't have felt special enough to me, probably in part due to me being exposed to them on a weekly basis.

[BSSBMW]

f1nn said:

I am right in thinking these are N54 engined?

If so, there are items that you’ll want to take a look at.

Yes they are indeed N54.

I'm well aware of the potential pit falls of the N54 as I happen to work on BMW's for a living.

[BSSBMW]

Felix79 said:

The key aspects that put me off were,

1. The Alpina's use the electric power steering system, rather than going with a hydraulic system.

2. A lack of a "LSD"

3. On a Z4 forum, I came across a thread where a number of members were having head gasket problems, with a wide range of severity and cost to repair. (while I know first hand how pricey it is when things go wrong with an S54, I read in various buyers guides, that the S54 and the revised VANOS system, were actually less likely to fail, but there is an issue with some shoes for the crank)

4. When I was looking at Z4's , my max budget was £16,000, which gave me the choice of two different Alpina Roadsters on the market. In the end my folks and I P/X'd a 2010 factory JCW Mini and a few grand to cover the £10,750 price tag on my Z4MR.

5. Not so much a downside, but I liked the styling difference the M had over the normal Z4's, such as the quad pipes and bonnet's power bulge. Also the "standard" style of Alpina wheel didn't look as cool as the iconic classic's


With my dad having to let go of his E46 M3, I really missed hearing the S54 and I was struggling to find an E46 M3 Coupe with a manual box, that was within the price range and not showing the signs of a hard life.

Originally we were actually going to look at a couple of Z4MR's not too far from you, so when we could get an appointment with the dealership, we did plan in getting in touch with you and seeing if you be interested in going over it for us (we would have paid you for your tine). But after calling the dealership up 3 times and being told we'd get a call back. Eventually after around 3 weeks, we noticed the dealership who had the Z4MR I tried out, still hadn't sold it, so we went back and the owner gave a much fairer price against the Mini and extended the warranty for the Z4MR.


As you know Baz dude, I am such a fanboy for Alpina's (and often get fact wrong with them) and I was looking at both B3's and D3's , but with it being in mid November , I couldn't find the right combo for me. It was sheer dumb luck that I ended up with such a mint and well looked after example. I really wanted to get the E86 Z4M Coupe, but prices are so strong on them that I settled for the roadster, which really made my dad happy.


Slightly off topic, are you still active with car shows and meets? I've made it my goal this year to get really active and attend as many friendly events as possible. While meeting members from "You know where forum" would be really fun now I am back in a BMW, but I really don't want to have to deal with one person in particular, who made it his goal to troll/be abusive towards me and my car at every possible chance.

Edited by Felix79 on Thursday 30th May 20:55

Fair points raised regarding the Alpina roaster S.

An LSD can be retro fitted and even hydraulic PAS can be as well.

Head gasket aside the Alpina Iron blocked M52 based engine is a lot more robust than an S54 which themselves are not immune from HG failure.

Indeed, finding the right Alpina can be tricky though due to such low production figures.

I rarely get time to go to any shows these days to be honest but would like to change that in the future.

[BSSBMW]

sagarich said:

How strange, I rang up to enquire about that one last weekend but they hadn’t updated their site and you had already done the deal.

It seems like my timing was good then because as well as you, someone phoned up while i was viewing it to enquire and apparently someone else just turned up last weekend to view it without calling prior to check if it was still available.

[BSSBMW]

Felix79 said:

In your own experience, have you found much difference in insurance costs between an Alpina and M/// ? I was shocked at how high my policy was for a year, on the Z4MR.

I have found in the past that Alpinas tend to be more tricky and expensive to insure.

Felix79 said:

Getting back on topic with regards to your Alpina, are they 100% done over in Germany before coming over, or does Sytner still have some involvement with the conversion on UK cars?

Pretty much since the E36 Alpina B6 3.0, the only thing Sytner did was fit the number plates but they did still continue to offer Alpina styling for non Alpina models so quite a few E38, E39 run of the mill models ended up with Alpina wheels, spoilers and/or suspension.

[BSSBMW]

Time for a bit of maintenance.

The B3 uses a ZF GA6HP19Z automatic gearbox which is a variant of the 6 speed box used in pretty much every automatic BMW from mid 00's up until the 8 speed box replaced in on the first of the F series BMW's. Its also used by some other manufacturers such as Jaguar and is a pretty reliable box but is prone to the odd leak from its plastic sump and/or electrical plug sleeve.

BMW say its a 'sealed for life' unit and despite many cars making it to big mileage unopened I and many others are of the view that its not good practice to leave them alone with a change recommended at 80-100K miles so with no record of the B3 being done and it having hit 75k miles it was time to do it.

And oil and filter change on an automatic box is considered a wise thing to do on these newer 'sealed for life' units and with the ZF 6 speed box the filter is integral to the plastic sump so this requires replacement along with the oil and as the sump is off its wise to replace the electrical plug sleeve known as the 'mechatronic sleeve' on this box as its one of the places they can leak and to change it means sump off.

This is all common practice for BMW dealers and specialists to ether cure a leak or as part of maintenance or repair but there is a compromise on this job that most places do. When draining the sump of oil approximately half to two thirds of the oil in the complete system is drained out but the torque converter, cooler, lines and the rest of the gearbox is full of old oil so when the drained sump is refilled it mixes with the old oil. Not ideal.



This piece of equipment removes that compromise from a gearbox service as it connects to the oil circuit via the cooler lines and combined with a flush agent and conditioner it completely flushes the whole system of all old oil and replaces it with new and as well as maintaining an automatic gearbox it can also help with some faults and/or poor shifting.



The sump which looked to be original.



The new one along with the sleeve, flush and conditioner.





Sump and sleeve removed.





New sump on, 11 ltrs of fresh oil and adaptations reset has after a definitely smoothed the gear changes in auto mode and ticked a box off the maintenance list. An Engine oil service and brake fluid change were also carried out while up on the ramp despite not being due for anther year but again im not a believer in BMW's extended service intervals and tend to cut them in half.



First of the retro fits, a chance purchase at a (relatively) bargain price was this optional interior mirror wth integral digital compass and 'home link' which is BMW speak for a programable remote for things like electric gates and/or garage doors.

[BSSBMW]

SlimJim16v said:

Nice.
A very minor issue, you need to replace the yellow bulbs in the side repeaters with some silver, clear or rainbow ones from somewhere like powerbulbs.

Thanks.

The 'fried egg' look is not ideal yet the new lamps came with these bulbs fitted. One of the originals had a silver tipped one to prevent that look but my OCD didnt want unmatched bulbs so kept the pair of orange ones in the new lamps. I'll get some silver ones ordered.

[BSSBMW]

A Long weekend away with the wife to Scotland was a good opportunity to stretch the B3's legs on some decent roads which meant a long slog up from West Sussex to Loch Lomond on the first day, then from Alexandria, Loch Lomond to Oban via the Dukes pass and the A811/A84/A85 on day two then across to Edinburgh on day three before heading back down south the following day.

It has given me a taste of Scottish roads and will most definitely head further north in the future.

B3 never missed a beat and has shown what a broad talent this car has from refined comfort eating up the miles yet being able to grab it by the scruff of the neck and flick it up and down the box through the twisties as well as being able to pass a line of slow moving traffic with its great low down shove of torque.

It also sounds great for a turbo six when you wind up the RPMs with none of the synthesised engine noise nonsense pumped in to the speakers like newer BMW's have.

The trip has highlighted the need for an LSD that bit more tough!

[BSSBMW]

After the road trip it was time for a bit of cosmetic TLC. Mark at Marells detailing who started the paint correction before the application of the Deko set set to work completing the rest of it before applying a coat of wax.







The high gloss shadow line trim and rear lights got some attention as well as it was all covered in swirls and scratches













The obligatory beading shot.

[BSSBMW]

rayyan171 said:

Looking perfect.

With the mirror compass, did you retrofit it with HBA, or does the car not have it in the first place?
Also, what was done to sort those lights? Have some silly swirling on the rear lights of the Audi.

Thanks!

HBA?

Lights were just machine polished by the guy who did the rest of the car.

[BSSBMW]

rayyan171 said:

HBA - High Beam Assist - that little camera which changes the beam of the lights according to oncoming traffic. Being an Alpina I think it came as standard, although not too sure, and seeing that it is the mirror with homelink and a compass it may have it anyway.

Good to know that the lights are an easier job than thought, may find a good detailer to do them.

I see. Mine does not have HBA and i have not retro fitted it, some coding and wiring is required to do this.

I only wanted the mirror fore the compass and homelink anyway.

[BSSBMW]

I've never really been a private/cherished number plate kind of person and tend to appreciate area code identifiers on standard UK registrations such as the FJ for Nottingham on the new style plates or GO for South London on a prefix pate which my E30 325i has. The Bi turbo has had a plate change or two though so i did a search on a few plates and to my surprise this popped up as available!

Now only serious Alpina aficionados will acknowledge what relevance it has which i like. OAL is for cars registered in the Ostallgau region of Bavaria where Alpina are based in the town of Buchloe and the prototypes and press cars bare this on their plates. B1 reads like BI short for Biturbo so was happy with that as B3 OAL is on another Alpina already, an E46 B3 which i happened to spot out in the wild about 6/7 years ago.



LHD press car B3 biturbo #002



RHD press car B3 biturbo #004

[BSSBMW]

Jbeale96 said:

I have nothing to say other than that is some absolutely fantastic bearding.

I am very much in the beard/anorak type camp and embrace it lol!

[BSSBMW]

Thanks guys!



Before i purchased the car i conducted various checks which included the warranty history and if there were any outstanding recalls. Checking up on the warranty history found that the B3 has had all 6 injectors and High pressure fuel pump replaced along with a couple of other minor parts but those checks also revealed two recalls outstanding which were the Battery B+ cable and the heater blower motor cable which respectively can cause the failure of pretty much all of the cars electrical system or cause it to catch fire.

Being out of the dealer network for some time now meant i could not do these myself and also left me with the predicament of having someone i trust to do it. Luckily during my time as a senior tech I got to work along side some great guys (as well as some terrible ones!) but so many of the good ones have left to move onto different career paths or woking in different countries earning a better wage but i still have one or two contacts that I would trust to do a great job!

Cue a drive from Sussex to Essex one evening where a good friend and brilliant tech works at Sytner Harold wood on the night shift so he could carry out said recalls while i got to chill alongside and catch up.



Behind the glove box where the JBE and Blower motor are located.



Battery B+ cable repair kit.



Heater blower cable repair kit.

All back together and another job ticked of the list.