Caperix said:
Alpine did some cool things throughout the years, I had a supercharger for an e65 alpine b7 on the shelf for awhile, that belt drive diff cooler is interesting as well.
They were difficult to get the parts for that made them alpinas, maybe that will change now, though the new ones seam nothing more than wheels a body kit & a blue dash.
That e24 looks really good, thanks for restarting my want for an e24 project
I almost bought a real e12 Alpina that had the differential cooler with the pump driven off the axle. To this day I regret not buying it as it was priced very reasonably.
In reply to Caperix :
I don't think parts availability for the existing models will change much. One of the articles I linked to mentioned that the "old Alpina" will continue to provide the parts supply for the existing models and BMW will only support the new ones they slapped the Alpina brand on.
That would have me a bit concerned if I owned an Alpina based on experience with another storied provider of BMW motorcycle parts (Krauser) where it looks to me like the business was picked over by various buyers. While the aftermarket luggage they used to make is readily available, the remaining engine parts for their BMW Airhead 4V conversion kits are now owned by a company in the Netherlands that apparently stopped shipping parts outside the Netherlands.
Then again, apparently getting support from Alpina for properly old stuff - like the kits they made their name with in the 70s before they became a manufacturer - is pretty much impossible these days from what I read in the German classic car press.
I just started mocking up an engine with a bunch of parts that I have been saving up.
M20 stroker with 10:1 CR, 1mm oversized valves, ITBs run by a pnp MS2.
I also machined a factory valve cover because why not :)
All of this hopefully will find its way onto my trusty e30
The valve cover is a really nice touch.
In reply to Slippery :
I'm all for the Alpina-fication of your E30. The question is do you have the softline wheels that would complete the look? I believe the real deal Alpinas are very pricey, but I do believe that Ireland Engineering sells a replica that only ran $250 per wheel last I checked.
I'd be curious to follow along a build thread on that process. Especially on the ITB setup, as I would like to do something similar to the M10 for my 2002.
In reply to MTechnically (Forum Supporter) :
I never bought the wheels because I was unsure if to go for the "correct" 16" as I thought they looked too big for an early e30.
I might buy the replica 15" that Maxilite makes and would be correct for e21. They are 15x7 +12. Like this one:
Looking at the car above, I really wanted the classic green/blue Deko Set, instead I got the more subtle silver. My wife loves the e30 and drives it often to work. She said that if I put the green/blue ones on the car she would never drive or ride in it anymore lol.
I really regret my choice and should have gotten green/blue. I might buy it to have it just in case, I guess if they do not offer it anymore I could have the one I have copied and remade? Not sure.
Keith Tanner said:
The valve cover is a really nice touch.
Thanks. I figured since my car is not a real Alpina might as well do whatever I want.
I need to figure out what colors to powder coat it. Wanted to do something along the lines of green/blue, but that can easily go south and look tacky I think.
In reply to Slippery :
+1 for the chonky boi sidewalls.
In reply to Slippery :
I've struggled with that for my 02, because I want 13" wheels, but tire choice really hurts there. I would go with the 15's as well, more sidewall just feels right for the 4 lug cars (02/E21/E30). Added bonus is I believe you actually have more tire choice in the 15's over the uncommon 16's.
Fun fact: I read in an Alpina book a while back that the stripes were inspired by the Fischer C4 skis of the 70's.
In reply to MTechnically (Forum Supporter) :
On an '02 I would go for the Borranis steelies!! But they are crazy expensive nowadays.
I have been bugging a guy that has a 1600 in a barn in Vt. For about 5 years about selling it to me, but he has been playing hard to get. Borranis were my idea back then for that car.
