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lovely car, the biggest problems with BMWs is rust, everything else seems to be superbly made, but I've rebuilt both rear jacking points with new metal last year on my E39 and now the front ones resemble Wheetabix. This was after shultzing the whole underside 8 years ago, it still managed to rot through. It's lathered in Bilthamber products now, but some of the box sections seem to be rotting from the inside out.
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Ray Singh
Posted a lot
More German exotica in my garage now
Posts: 1,993
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Got to convince the wife that its £1200 of fancy. She is not convinced and I have a lot of work to do on valentines day - perhaps £1200 worth!!
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Last Edit: Feb 2, 2021 17:36:01 GMT by Ray Singh
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1999 Alpina B3 3.3 Saloon #032ballbagbagins
@ballbagbagins
Club Retro Rides Member 164
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Got to convince the wife that its £1200 of fancy. She is not convinced and I have a lot of work to do on valentines day - perhaps £1200 worth!! Never mention the price, come on Ray, that's rule 1. |
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money "wasted" on old cars is great argument fuel, any good ideas for valentines day?
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Ray Singh
Posted a lot
More German exotica in my garage now
Posts: 1,993
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The cost is hard to hide when you have a joint account. Modern man and all that.
I have got her a few bits from the interweb and have to collect a 3 course meal on the day itself and plan to dish it out in courses whilst i eat pizza.
Should be well worth £1200!!
Who said love is dead?
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Ray Singh
Posted a lot
More German exotica in my garage now
Posts: 1,993
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Feb 21, 2021 19:53:40 GMT
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Dropped the car at BMR performance in Turners Hill near Gatwick today. Full suspension fitting and a few other jobs. Some nice cars in the car park to keep her company tonight.  Another nice Alpina....   Fingers crossed collection in a couple of weeks. |
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Ray Singh
Posted a lot
More German exotica in my garage now
Posts: 1,993
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Feb 28, 2021 14:49:55 GMT
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I finally have a proper Alpina B3 3.3!! Most here would agree that what makes the Alpina special is a combination of the engine and the suspension. I was sold by the engine immediately, power delivery is perfect. I understand that the 3.3 engine is used by track car builders and I understand why. Then there is the suspension, tuned specially for the car - but that's what I was missing. My car came fitted with Coil over suspension. HKS coil overs and whilst this made the car look very angry and low, made it a pain to drive on our lovely 'flat' roads. I spent £1.2k buying the parts and had Barry and Ross fit these at BMR. The journey home was amazing! Ok, it was the M23, M25, M4 and A4 but the suspension really is something else. Very composed, softening the ride like (dare i say it) a normal 318i and then when there was no 50mph limit, and I was able to press on, supporting Ok, so here is a picture of the car, now on the right suspension. Ride height is pretty high, but i was getting grounded on sheets of paper as my car was so low. I hope that it will settle a bit, or it might be me that needs to get used to the height.  If anyone wants to buy a set of E46 coil overs - let me know. The gear indicator light stopped working on the way home - something else to investigate. |
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Ray Singh
Posted a lot
More German exotica in my garage now
Posts: 1,993
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Mar 14, 2021 21:00:19 GMT
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Mar 14, 2021 21:11:46 GMT
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What a lovely thing! There's something very special about Alpinas. I'm a BMW boy through and through and I've always wanted one. Maybe one day!
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Ray Singh
Posted a lot
More German exotica in my garage now
Posts: 1,993
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Nov 17, 2022 20:52:02 GMT
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Passed a mileage milestone today going through Hungerford of all places.  I had never planned to use this car as my daily, but i am and i really do enjoy driving it. |
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Ray Singh
Posted a lot
More German exotica in my garage now
Posts: 1,993
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MOT advisory - ball joints in front wishbones - play! I took the B3 to Bird's BMW specialist in Iver for this. New wishbones - £1k! Car is driving well now.....  |
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teaboy
Posted a lot
Make tea, not war.
Posts: 2,125
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Your car looks great but there is no way, NO WAY that I would pay a grand for a pair of wishbones for it.
That is a complete Dick Turpin job.
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beautiful car, I'd dream of having a 3.3 coupe on the dished Alpina alloys! As for the 1k for wishbones, if you're handy with a breaker bar and a hammer its an afternoon job. And if yours are knackered like mine were, it makes one hell of a difference to the drive!
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MK3 Capri 2.0, Starion Widebody, Midget 16v, E46 Coupe, E46 Touring 330
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Have to agree about the cost of the last repair, (unless the parts are "Alpina specific" ??
That being said, it is a beautiful looking car and I can completely understand the desire to keep it 100% perfect,
The only thing that's wrong with it is it isn't mine 😁😁,
Nigel
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BMW E39 525i Sport
BMW E46 320d Sport Touring (now sold on.)
BMW E30 325 Touring (now sold on.)
BMW E30 320 Cabriolet (Project car - currently for sale.)
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Ray Singh
Posted a lot
More German exotica in my garage now
Posts: 1,993
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What a great car! Even after almost 5 years of ownership, i still turn back to take a look and occasionally a picture! I alternate between the boxster and this now and store the car in my storage unit. I really should get some of the rust treated now. Its the usual E46 points of rot - front and rear arches and door bottoms.    Can anyone recommend a reputable bodywork place who could look at this and make a good job for me? Perhaps someone here? |
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Last Edit: May 2, 2023 17:06:19 GMT by Ray Singh
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MiataMark
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,971
Club RR Member Number: 29
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You could try Autocolour in Wootton Bassett, not cheap, they did my MX5.
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1990 Mazda MX-52012 BMW 118i (170bhp) - white appliance 2011 Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4 2003 Land Rover Discovery II TD52007 Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon JTDm
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Ray Singh
Posted a lot
More German exotica in my garage now
Posts: 1,993
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Thanks @miatamark - I will give them a call in the morning.....
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,307
Club RR Member Number: 170
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1999 Alpina B3 3.3 Saloon #032ChasR
@chasr
Club Retro Rides Member 170
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May 10, 2023 18:45:13 GMT
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This is looking lovely! Some nice work done to the car. I'm just getting together my suspension inventory. It's not going to be cheap, is one thing I do know  . |
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Ray Singh
Posted a lot
More German exotica in my garage now
Posts: 1,993
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Oct 10, 2023 22:02:24 GMT
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A bit of a spoiler..... Watch this space.  |
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.