Alpina C2 2.5 , Finally gets a clean!

[Felix79]

Finally after I think 8+ months my old man did a quick wash and clean on my car.

For newer members on here the car is a 1985 Alpina C2 2.5 . The car started off as a 323i before Sytner did the conversion. The engine is a 525 eta lump with a custom Alpina worked head, power output was around 185bhp. Orginally the car was an Australian spec but for some reason the car stayed in the UK. I have owned the car for nearly 3 years and finally the car is on it's way to being finished. Many people make the mistake of calling a C2.5 a C2 2.5 , but infact a C2 2.5 like mine is pretty rare. I have yet to see another surface in the time I have owned it.

Over the next few weeks the car is going to get a tidy up done on the body work and a fair bit of mechanical work. By the end of the year I am going to organise the car to be stripped and have all the pannels sorted proerly and a respray. I am getting a intresting daily ( none BMW ) so the Alpina can be kept tucked away in the garage any used for fun and meets. The car has many things I love about it like the engine noise and the howle of the exhuast ( very different to a 325i or the C2 2.7 ) , but the cars best mpg return was 23mpg and I normally get 18-21mpg it is an expensive toy to use for a daily.

[toby]

Interesting little write up. Looks good Dan. Are you going to do any more with the slight bubbling on the rear arches. I thought you'd had that treated already.

Your engine has custom pistons though right?

Didn't realise your fuel economy was that poor.

[Coops90]

Love this!

[polsta]

awsome car, ive had the pleasure of being passenger in a nice drive in this car to buy my e30, and i love it, old school cool as ice,i love the look of it and she flys, and the interior features are super

as above,how come youve not treated the bubbling etc mate ? even a little rub down and treat yourself would help

[bss325i]

Dan, i enquired the other day and Alpina centre and rear box's are not NLA, about £700 though.

[Felix79]

Dan, i enquired the other day and Alpina centre and rear box's are not NLA, about £700 though.

Thanks for finding out Baz.

Toby & Karl

The mechanical side was more important to get sorted , last October Barry and Pete replaced the front and rear subframe , wishbones , shocks , springs ,brake lines , rear brakes , all bushes and corrected the engine timeing. Because I suffer from a spinal injury , doing any work on the car myself is not possible.

Also I am very aware that once I start rubbing away the rust I could end up with a job too big for me to deal with. I know the rot is pretty bad in that arch so I decided it was best to leave it alone. I'm just getting things touched up as I it needs a good amount of cash on the bodywork and I want to make it the final job on the car. When Pete had the car back in October he and Barry went over everything for me and discovered the shell was actually in pretty good condition , it needed some minor welding underneath , bar that is is the rear quarter that has been the bigest problem sinced I have owned the car.

Kos had mentioned to me that he thinks it would take about £5000 to get the body sorted to a good standard. So I am going to put some money into a 2nd toy to use as my daily and keep the Alpina in a garage or some where out of harms way.

There is two main reasons why it drinks so much fuel. The main one is my cold air slide ( I think that is the correct name ) is shoot on the car , so Pete have locked the valve at a stronger mixture so the car runs better when cold. The drawback is it needs a slightly higher idle and the mixture is slightly rich. Secondly the car when new only achived 23 mpg in the tests back in 85 , the injection system for the C1 2.3 and the C2 2.5 is the much older type as the base car is the 323i. It is a very odd build and because of the quirky nature of it has saved it from being fragged. When you add the fact I am a student and I have only done work during the holidays shows how devoted I've been to it's revival.

[tonybtonyb]

A good looking car mate,a one off as well how lucky are you

[RustyRuss]

Always loved this car....and i still love it!!!

[spook]

Quality shot on the rear, lampost for an Arial

[RustyRuss]

Quality shot on the rear, lampost for an Arial

lol it actually looks quite in proportion doesent it

[Felix79]

Always loved this car....and i still love it!!!

Thank you , as nice as they are , parts can often be very expensive and tricky to get hold of. The rear boot badge you see in my sig cost me £93 and I had to get the VIN confirmed as being a genuine Alpina!

I'll try and do some pics of the inside, as I have managed to get a full set of houndstooth , which I'm proud of to say the least.

[RustyRuss]

Always loved this car....and i still love it!!!

Thank you , as nice as they are , parts can often be very expensive and tricky to get hold of. The rear boot badge you see in my sig cost me £93 and I had to get the VIN confirmed as being a genuine Alpina!

I'll try and do some pics of the inside, as I have managed to get a full set of houndstooth , which I'm proud of to say the least.

I could well imagine that some parts would indeed be a challenge...well worth the smile the rarity value gives you though and the exhaust note!! Nice work on the Houndstooths!!