This had to be saved! Alpina B10 3.5

Post Mon Oct 10, 2011 10:09 pm

Looking forward to seeing the updates on this.
Im guessing at a manual conversion and Black interior swap....

Post Mon Oct 10, 2011 10:12 pm

Good guess!

But there's more.......

Post Mon Oct 10, 2011 10:13 pm

Aircon?

Post Mon Oct 10, 2011 10:22 pm

Retrofit of the armrests is going to require bravery Barry,

Had a look when i swapped over the passenger seats, the back pannel requires some sliceing up,

You want me to take some pictures of the components for referance once you have a set to fit?

Its make me think twice about fitting the armrests onto the sports leather*!

*(Which is very nice btw ta!)

Post Mon Oct 10, 2011 10:38 pm

That would be great if you could take some pics!

Dan, that's on the list.

Post Mon Oct 10, 2011 10:44 pm

bss325i wrote:Good guess!

But there's more.......

Have you found rot?

Post Mon Oct 10, 2011 11:10 pm

No, no rot just someones previous spannering skilz that needs rectifying.

Post Sun Oct 16, 2011 3:03 pm

Here you go Barry,

I'll take some pictures of the required molestation later in the week, if you remove the back panal on your seats you will see the appropriate holes already placed in the frame, as i say the seatbacks will require modifying skillz...

Post Sun Oct 16, 2011 9:08 pm

Nice one mate, i'll keep an eye out for some.

So, as we are a week away from the major work commencing and as i'm moving house this week so wont get much time on here towards the end of the week, i'll fill you all in on whats prevented me from using the B10 and spurred me on into doing a bunch of jobs in one hit!

Basically, as mentioned earlier in this thread i had found evidence that the head had been off as it was very clean in there and had a schrick 284/280 cam and some new rockers.
What was a problem is it seemed to be quite noisey from the top end but in one particular area, toward the rear of the head.
Upon further investigation i found that the rear three inlet rockers were not seated correctly on the the cam lobes which also meant that the eccentric adjuster was not in full contact with the top of the valve, almost hitting the retainer!
After close inspection of all the valve gear it was apparent that all of the springs, washers and rockers were correctly fitted to the rocker shafts so this was not the problem. As the problem was isolated to the rear three inlet rockers which are located by the rocker shaft it meant that the rear inlet shaft was incorrectly seated in the head thus pulling the three rockers back off the cam.

In the pic above you can see the bottom rocker is in the middle of the cam lobe but the top rocker is hanging off!

So to rectify this means the head has to come off to reposition the rocker shaft as it slides out the back of the head.
Disaster i hear you say?! Well yes and no. Yes its a pain but it will give me the chance to go through the previous work properly and replace/sort anything that i dont like!
This has meant that i ordered 4 new rocker shafts, 12 new eccentrics with nuts bolts and washers and courtesy of Henry/Winx a new genuine BMW head gasket set and head bolts.
Also, that nice man Trevor/B7 has done me a rocker and inlet in the grey that Alpina did them in.

Thats two Alpina heads that need to be removed due to previous "craftsmen" at work!

This little gem turned up on piston heads for not a lot of money and it had two ingredients that are missing from the B10, an LSD and a manual box!
After a road test and conformation that the slipper was still fitted, some haggling ensued and i was on my way back home with the poor turd. It had some interesting features fitted which have a comedy value but are also a bit on the naughty side!

I wont say exactly what those switches do but there is light and sound involved!

Some lucky ebay purchases have included a brand new genuine BMW clutch kit at £80 posted and these, a new pair of Hartge bilstein B8's for a bargainous £64 posted!

Sooo, that leaves me an even bigger list of jobs to tackle what with the interior swap so i have booked a week off work and secured the use of a ramp at work to get the following done,

in no particular order,

Retro fit LSD with new seals and oil
Convert from auto trans to manual with all new seals and rebuilt gear linkage
Replace entire interior including dash from indigo blue cloth to extended black buffalo leather
Remove cylinder head and rebuild with new rocker shafts etc
Install climate A/C heater box while dash is out
Replace front shocks for B8's and fit eibach springs all round
Retro fit cruise control
Install some of my ICE.

I will have 6 full days to do this in so we'll see.

Post Sun Oct 16, 2011 9:14 pm

that lot should keep you busy

Post Sun Oct 16, 2011 9:20 pm

Good luck!

If you get chance grab a few pics of the head to see how Alpina did there magic on the chambers, Hemi style.

Post Sun Oct 16, 2011 9:30 pm

I bought 20 sets of those Hartge shocks around 7 years ago - £20 a pair. I saw them on Ebay at 20 quid each, and went down to buy a couple of pairs but ended buying all of them minus the 2-3 sets he'd already sold. They originated from a guy who ran a Ford dealership in Warwickshire whose mate worked for Bilstein before Euro Car Prats took on the franchise - hundreds of new Billies were bound for the skip until matey saved them. They're actually E32 fitment, some pre 7/90 narrow pin and some post 7/90 thick pin. In the end I made nigh on 3 grand on those. In my cache of shocks were two pairs of AC Schnitzer M5 inserts.

I had a pair of the Hartge ones in my 730i for a while - they're bloody stiff. They're E32 fitment but they fit an E34 perfectly.

Post Sun Oct 16, 2011 9:47 pm

Yep, they were listed as E32 and the seller bought them in error as he had a post 7/90 turd, a '92 735i to be precise.

Post Sun Oct 16, 2011 10:05 pm

Good luck with your list of jobs!

Pity about the rear rocker shaft, it must not be fully pushed 'home'?

Will be a proper spec retro Alpina when done.

Post Mon Oct 17, 2011 7:11 am

bss325i wrote:

This little gem turned up on piston heads for not a lot of money and it had two ingredients that are missing from the B10, an LSD and a manual box!
After a road test and conformation that the slipper was still fitted, some haggling ensued and i was on my way back home with the poor turd. It had some interesting features fitted which have a comedy value but are also a bit on the naughty side!

I wont say exactly what those switches do but there is light and sound involved!

What Barry's failed to show here is the epic rear exhaust bodge including 2 x cherry bombs with 2 spark plugs welded and wired up into them

I hope these are to your liking. It was a right result I had Si's here as well so could do the 2 sets at once.

By b7tmw at 2011-10-16

Didn't realise you were moving this week

Post Mon Oct 17, 2011 9:40 am

Is it this week your doing it Barry, can i pop down for a looky one lunch time/after work?

Post Mon Oct 17, 2011 6:35 pm

Looking good Trev!

Steve, its next week.

Post Tue Oct 18, 2011 4:14 pm

good work! Look forward to seeing this soon

Post Tue Oct 18, 2011 4:39 pm

Barry, treat us to some pics of the flame thrower exhaust antics on that donor turd

Post Tue Oct 18, 2011 4:48 pm

It'll certainly be a lot fitter than when Pete owned it........

Post Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:54 pm

B7 wrote:
bss325i wrote:

This little gem turned up on piston heads for not a lot of money and it had two ingredients that are missing from the B10, an LSD and a manual box!
After a road test and conformation that the slipper was still fitted, some haggling ensued and i was on my way back home with the poor turd. It had some interesting features fitted which have a comedy value but are also a bit on the naughty side!

I wont say exactly what those switches do but there is light and sound involved!

What Barry's failed to show here is the epic rear exhaust bodge including 2 x cherry bombs with 2 spark plugs welded and wired up into them

I hope these are to your liking. It was a right result I had Si's here as well so could do the 2 sets at once.

By b7tmw at 2011-10-16

Didn't realise you were moving this week

Why do people protest when I say the E34 is council?:)

Post Tue Oct 18, 2011 6:24 pm

BMW's are council.

PERIOD!

Post Tue Oct 18, 2011 6:44 pm

bss325i wrote:BMW's are council but not nearly as council as Fords

PERIOD!

Fixed

Post Tue Oct 18, 2011 6:48 pm

pacerpete wrote:
bss325i wrote:BMW's are council but not nearly as council as Pacerpete!

PERIOD!

Fixed

Post Tue Oct 18, 2011 6:55 pm

Pete's getting a bit above his station in life now he's able to add photos, links and quotes

Post Tue Oct 18, 2011 6:58 pm

bss325i wrote:
pacerpete wrote:
bss325i wrote:BMW's are council but not nearly as council as Pacerpete!

PERIOD!

Fixed

I'm the product of a Swiss finishing school compared to you ! I could count on one hand the amount of times I have been to Croydon and not once in an untaxed Orion !

Post Tue Oct 18, 2011 7:44 pm

pacerpete wrote:
bss325i wrote:
pacerpete wrote:
Fixed

I'm the product of a Swiss finishing school compared to you ! I could count on one hand the amount of times I have been to Croydon and not once in an untaxed Orion !

Touche!

Post Tue Oct 18, 2011 8:32 pm

pacerpete wrote:
bss325i wrote:
pacerpete wrote:
Fixed

I'm the product of a Swiss finishing school compared to you ! I could count on one hand the amount of times I have been to Croydon and not once in an untaxed Orion !

Unlike yourself, I can't ever recall stalking the local co-op waiting for the reduced products to appear!

Post Tue Oct 18, 2011 9:46 pm

What will become of the poor donor turd?

Post Tue Oct 18, 2011 9:51 pm

She is little more than a rolling shell now.

China's calling!

Post Tue Oct 18, 2011 9:59 pm

bss325i wrote:
pacerpete wrote:
bss325i wrote:

I'm the product of a Swiss finishing school compared to you ! I could count on one hand the amount of times I have been to Croydon and not once in an untaxed Orion !
Unlike yourself, I can't ever recall stalking the local co-op waiting for the reduced products to appear!

Thats not council, thats smart, more money to spend on scrap !

Post Tue Oct 18, 2011 10:24 pm

You've got to much scrap!

Post Tue Oct 18, 2011 10:36 pm

bss325i wrote:You've got to much scrap!

Haven't we all!

Post Tue Oct 18, 2011 10:42 pm

TPS wrote:
bss325i wrote:You've got to much scrap!
Haven't we all!

You been to Pete's?

I challenge you to find someone with more!

Post Tue Oct 18, 2011 10:46 pm

I've never had the pleasure, I've heard its legendary though, Also heard the haagen-daz is on special offer as well.