Best
E28 Alpina B7 Turbo/1 #0083
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Jon in Richmond
- Posts: 1389
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
You better hurry, he'll be on his way to San Diego soon.cek wrote:As I already said, I'll pay in beer this weekend... Flying into phoenix tonight.
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Das_Prachtstrasse
- Posts: 5616
- Joined: Sep 10, 2006 7:06 AM
- Location: Melbourne, Doooown Under
The build sheet specified gold. I guess at the time there was either silver or gold. I kind wanted to do silver but fortunately the gold is actually subtle enough while giving the car what I thought it needed with that front spoiler. I kinda wish there was a thin-line option for the Mardis Gras stripes as Kyle calls them (blue and green), but perhaps its for the best. 
Thank you everyone for the comments. Sia's car is Lachssilber and mine is Polaris. I believe there are five in North America. Mine, Roy's, David Frankel (GaAlpinaOwner), then Sia and another Diamantschwarz one in Toronto, owned by someone named Eric. That said, I figure there might be a couple more here in the US. A couple years back, one was imported from Japan which was not a particularly great example. It ended up selling on eBay to Australia, so it wasn't here long.
This past weekend, I drove to San Diego to participate in the San Diego chapter Clean Car Contest held Sunday morning. I entered in the "Clean" category having done absolutely nothing to the car until I arrived in San Diego at 8:30am on Saturday. Worked on it all day, but this is an event the participants spend weeks preparing for, so I was behind the 8 ball going in. Didn't win anything, but the car looked great, and was very clean save for a couple areas that had grease and some dirt around my seatbelt bolts, which just so happened to be areas judged. There wasn't even a single deduction for the exterior. 96/100 isn't bad for the first time ever entering one of these.
Right now, my car is in Costa Mesa, so I'll be flying back to CA on Friday (05/31) to prepare for another show in Huntington Beach on 06/02.
Here's a picture that Vince took right around "rags down" on Sunday. I had a camera, yet didn't use it a single time.
This past weekend, I drove to San Diego to participate in the San Diego chapter Clean Car Contest held Sunday morning. I entered in the "Clean" category having done absolutely nothing to the car until I arrived in San Diego at 8:30am on Saturday. Worked on it all day, but this is an event the participants spend weeks preparing for, so I was behind the 8 ball going in. Didn't win anything, but the car looked great, and was very clean save for a couple areas that had grease and some dirt around my seatbelt bolts, which just so happened to be areas judged. There wasn't even a single deduction for the exterior. 96/100 isn't bad for the first time ever entering one of these.
Right now, my car is in Costa Mesa, so I'll be flying back to CA on Friday (05/31) to prepare for another show in Huntington Beach on 06/02.
Here's a picture that Vince took right around "rags down" on Sunday. I had a camera, yet didn't use it a single time.
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GaAlpinaOwner
- Posts: 1120
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Atlanta Georgia USA
she looks stunning Chris! I wish I was there as well like last year....but damn I fried like a lobster in that sun...wkohler wrote:Thank you everyone for the comments. Sia's car is Lachssilber and mine is Polaris. I believe there are five in North America. Mine, Roy's, David Frankel (GaAlpinaOwner), then Sia and another Diamantschwarz one in Toronto, owned by someone named Eric. That said, I figure there might be a couple more here in the US. A couple years back, one was imported from Japan which was not a particularly great example. It ended up selling on eBay to Australia, so it wasn't here long.
This past weekend, I drove to San Diego to participate in the San Diego chapter Clean Car Contest held Sunday morning. I entered in the "Clean" category having done absolutely nothing to the car until I arrived in San Diego at 8:30am on Saturday. Worked on it all day, but this is an event the participants spend weeks preparing for, so I was behind the 8 ball going in. Didn't win anything, but the car looked great, and was very clean save for a couple areas that had grease and some dirt around my seatbelt bolts, which just so happened to be areas judged. There wasn't even a single deduction for the exterior. 96/100 isn't bad for the first time ever entering one of these.
Right now, my car is in Costa Mesa, so I'll be flying back to CA on Friday (05/31) to prepare for another show in Huntington Beach on 06/02.
Here's a picture that Vince took right around "rags down" on Sunday. I had a camera, yet didn't use it a single time.
The last two or so weeks have been quite busy. First we had the San Diego Clean Car Contest then yesterday the HB Concours/OC BMW Concours. Chris brought the Alpina to the San Diego event then left the car with me so that he didn't have to drive it back and forth to Arizona again.
While the car was with me I was able to have my glass person address the front and rear window gaskets and trim. This gave me the opportunity (with permission) to drive the Alpina. Thank you to Chris for trusting me as the experience was very special. Though my drive was not spirited I must say that I was very impressed. Not only is the power and ride impressive; but the way the car has been preserved and cared for really shows. I am without a doubt a bit envious.
Chris flew in Friday morning so that he could get a head start on preparing the Alpina for the Sunday show this also gave Chris the opportunity to take it to Cars n Coffee Saturday morning.
We were out of the house by 6:00am so we could get a good spot with the other BMW's at CnC. I rode with Chris and as we arrived the cameras starting snapping away. I was very impressed with how many people were intrigued with his car.
The usual suspects were there, Paul Cain, his brother Joe, Chris Macha, RonP et al. They were all very impressed with Chris' car each asking questions about the process and details of the car. It feels good when people recognize and appreciate your efforts.
I've been watching Chris work on this car prepping for both shows and I must say his passion for e28s in general is very inspirational. Chris is sort of a historian and I really respect his eagerness to maintain correctness with his Alpina. I've been trying to help him with preserving the new paint and keeping it as pristine as possible. He has been absorbing and learning the ropes with great eagerness.
Last Saturday Chris and Vince (VinceG101) had the opportunity to work at a friend/fellow enthusiast's shop. Andy Wong who is a Concours Judge and also a paint specialist volunteered his time and expertise to show them how to care for their paint and keep it healthy and durable. It was great to see the transformation. There is something very sexy about the feel of clean paint that has been detailed and freshly waxed.
The results of their work certainly paid off, both Chris and Vince took home 2nd place trophies in their respective classes, had it not been for my misinformation they both would have taken home 1st. place awards as their cars were that nice!
Congratulations to Chris and Vince!!! Hard work and dedication is starting to pay off!
While the car was with me I was able to have my glass person address the front and rear window gaskets and trim. This gave me the opportunity (with permission) to drive the Alpina. Thank you to Chris for trusting me as the experience was very special. Though my drive was not spirited I must say that I was very impressed. Not only is the power and ride impressive; but the way the car has been preserved and cared for really shows. I am without a doubt a bit envious.
Chris flew in Friday morning so that he could get a head start on preparing the Alpina for the Sunday show this also gave Chris the opportunity to take it to Cars n Coffee Saturday morning.
We were out of the house by 6:00am so we could get a good spot with the other BMW's at CnC. I rode with Chris and as we arrived the cameras starting snapping away. I was very impressed with how many people were intrigued with his car.
The usual suspects were there, Paul Cain, his brother Joe, Chris Macha, RonP et al. They were all very impressed with Chris' car each asking questions about the process and details of the car. It feels good when people recognize and appreciate your efforts.
I've been watching Chris work on this car prepping for both shows and I must say his passion for e28s in general is very inspirational. Chris is sort of a historian and I really respect his eagerness to maintain correctness with his Alpina. I've been trying to help him with preserving the new paint and keeping it as pristine as possible. He has been absorbing and learning the ropes with great eagerness.
Last Saturday Chris and Vince (VinceG101) had the opportunity to work at a friend/fellow enthusiast's shop. Andy Wong who is a Concours Judge and also a paint specialist volunteered his time and expertise to show them how to care for their paint and keep it healthy and durable. It was great to see the transformation. There is something very sexy about the feel of clean paint that has been detailed and freshly waxed.
The results of their work certainly paid off, both Chris and Vince took home 2nd place trophies in their respective classes, had it not been for my misinformation they both would have taken home 1st. place awards as their cars were that nice!
Congratulations to Chris and Vince!!! Hard work and dedication is starting to pay off!
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Kyle in NO
- Posts: 17638
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Nasty Orleans------> Batten-Rooehjch------>More Souther LA
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Kyle in NO
- Posts: 17638
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Nasty Orleans------> Batten-Rooehjch------>More Souther LA
Well, it's not entirely your fault; whomever was in charge of the judging and event should have done a better job of communicating the parameters of said judging.OcCoupe wrote:Well unfortunately it is true.Kyle in NO wrote:...had it not been for my misinformation they both would have taken home 1st place awards as their cars were that nice!
Actually, any communication would have been nice.
I am forever indebted to Mike, Andy Wong, and Jeff Tighe for their efforts on Saturday. It was extremely generous of them to do what they did for Chris and I.
Yeah, I know it's been a while, but I've been very busy.
So, after Clean Car in San Diego, we went to Costa Mesa to drop the car off at it's temporary home for the next couple of weeks. The drive up was a bit slow, but it was kinda fun seeing people pull out their phones and stuff. This guy in an Audi was even taking a video of my car going 30 mph. Never had that before. Also got a few thumbs up from other German car motorists. Neat.
While I was gone, Mike (OcCoupe) made arrangements with his windshield guy to redo my glass.
The front is much better, but not 100% perfect. Reason being that the lower windshield trim you get now doesn't fit. The curvature is not there like on the old ones. It pushes the corners out funny and you have to make it contour to the windshield yourself, which really can't be done. That said, it's not all scratched up or burned with a torch, so 100% better.
The rear went smoothly and there was no excuse for the screwup.
My thanks go to Mike for taking time out of his schedule to help ensure this was rectified. I came into town on Friday 05/31 and spent time working on the car myself. Tim, the windshield guy came to put the sealant in and that job was sorted. Fortunately, the headlining came out unscathed and most of the paintwork survived. Sadly, there's a nasty gouge below the seal on the driver's A-pillar put there by the original installer. The seal and the window sat so low that it covered most of it. Well, now with the window in the right position, it's pretty obvious. Something that will have to be fixed next time the car goes back in.
I spent a bunch of time tracing the cause of a malfunctioning low-beam, which ended up being a broken ground wire. Fixed that, then commenced cleaning the car. I did the wheel wells, etc. They get dirty as soon as you move the car ten feet, but I figured this way I could make less work for myself later. I also took the opportunity to switch the BMW lug bolts I had been running for a proper set of Alpina bolts. The Alpina bolts I had were in need of some cleaning and polishing and I just didn't have time to do it before San Diego. The originals to the car were damaged, so I was lucky enough to pick up this set for a fair price.
I neglected to take a "before" picture of the right side, but here's what the wheels looked like before:
Not bad, but not correct. And I seem to be going for correct on this car.
That's better.
Actually transforms the look of the car in my opinion.
So, with that cleaning done, we had dinner, which was great. Then it was time for bed. As early in the morning, it was time to go to Cars and Coffee in Irvine, CA. I had been there before with Greg's 745i, but figured it would be good to take the B7. It was received pretty well. I didn't take any pictures and while I saw people taking pictures of it, a cursory Google search produced no results. I got some very positive feedback from people whose opinions I respect.
So, that was fun, then Mike and I got some great breakfast and it was off to work on more cleaning with the help of both Mike and Andy Wong and Jeff Tighe's shop in Costa Mesa. I learned a lot. My paint was very good and there was only a spot or two where Andy thought some attention was needed. I had done the lion's share of the work on Friday in Mike's driveway So, in my own super-disorganized fashion, I worked on the interior and trunk, ignoring under the hood since no one cared about that - or so we thought.
Jeff was nice enough to let us keep our cars in the shop overnight and even meet us back there at 6am Sunday morning.
Went to the show. Cleaned the car some more. Finished cleaning the car. Even at rags down, people had no idea what was being judged or how it was being judged. I figured I was safe preparing for San Diego rules. After walking through the event some, I soon realized what the different classes meant. Concours was for stock cars and Street Driven was for highly modified Panteras with 5" exhaust pipes and chrome everything. I figured Street Driven was the way to go since I drive my car on a street. Either way.
I placed second to a 1989 M3 that didn't appear to have been driven on any street. Given that there were several other clean cars in my class (just about every other M3 there), I felt okay with that. I got a plaque. I was confused since I didn't know what I won or why there were two cars from the Concours class in the line. Haha.
So, I have several people to thank, but I really have to thank Mike Burger (OcCoupe) for really pulling out all the stops to help me prepare for these two events - first by really leaning on me to enter, then pushing me to stay focused on what at the time felt like a monumental task of cleaning what I thought was an already clean car and also for how he inconvenienced himself making sure I had a covered place to store the car between events and working behind the scenes to get things like the windows sorted. From the very beginning of that "disaster," he very calmly told me it's something that could be handled and while I believed that was possible, logistically, it seemed like a nightmare. I eventually stopped looking at them and everything fell into place. I don't usually let people drive my cars and I'm not even comfortable driving in southern California, but I knew that I could trust Mike, especially given the kind of vehicles he deals with daily. I really appreciate his thoughts on the car as well. I'm quite pleased with how it's come out so far and frankly, I was not used to the attention the car was getting, as I've always had kinda crappy cars. So, again, thank you for that.
After the show in Huntington Beach, I headed down to San Diego and it was a pretty fun and fast trip. It's really a great driving car.
There's still a couple things other Mike has to fix on the car that he didn't get to before the car went to San Diego. Minor stuff. Then there's more to do like everything underneath and I don't even know where to start. The sad part is that with everything suspension-wise original on this car, it feels fantastic. Almost a waste to redo it all. It just all looks terrible.
So, there's my update of sorts.
So, after Clean Car in San Diego, we went to Costa Mesa to drop the car off at it's temporary home for the next couple of weeks. The drive up was a bit slow, but it was kinda fun seeing people pull out their phones and stuff. This guy in an Audi was even taking a video of my car going 30 mph. Never had that before. Also got a few thumbs up from other German car motorists. Neat.
While I was gone, Mike (OcCoupe) made arrangements with his windshield guy to redo my glass.
The front is much better, but not 100% perfect. Reason being that the lower windshield trim you get now doesn't fit. The curvature is not there like on the old ones. It pushes the corners out funny and you have to make it contour to the windshield yourself, which really can't be done. That said, it's not all scratched up or burned with a torch, so 100% better.
The rear went smoothly and there was no excuse for the screwup.
My thanks go to Mike for taking time out of his schedule to help ensure this was rectified. I came into town on Friday 05/31 and spent time working on the car myself. Tim, the windshield guy came to put the sealant in and that job was sorted. Fortunately, the headlining came out unscathed and most of the paintwork survived. Sadly, there's a nasty gouge below the seal on the driver's A-pillar put there by the original installer. The seal and the window sat so low that it covered most of it. Well, now with the window in the right position, it's pretty obvious. Something that will have to be fixed next time the car goes back in.
I spent a bunch of time tracing the cause of a malfunctioning low-beam, which ended up being a broken ground wire. Fixed that, then commenced cleaning the car. I did the wheel wells, etc. They get dirty as soon as you move the car ten feet, but I figured this way I could make less work for myself later. I also took the opportunity to switch the BMW lug bolts I had been running for a proper set of Alpina bolts. The Alpina bolts I had were in need of some cleaning and polishing and I just didn't have time to do it before San Diego. The originals to the car were damaged, so I was lucky enough to pick up this set for a fair price.
I neglected to take a "before" picture of the right side, but here's what the wheels looked like before:
Not bad, but not correct. And I seem to be going for correct on this car.
That's better.
Actually transforms the look of the car in my opinion.
So, with that cleaning done, we had dinner, which was great. Then it was time for bed. As early in the morning, it was time to go to Cars and Coffee in Irvine, CA. I had been there before with Greg's 745i, but figured it would be good to take the B7. It was received pretty well. I didn't take any pictures and while I saw people taking pictures of it, a cursory Google search produced no results. I got some very positive feedback from people whose opinions I respect.
So, that was fun, then Mike and I got some great breakfast and it was off to work on more cleaning with the help of both Mike and Andy Wong and Jeff Tighe's shop in Costa Mesa. I learned a lot. My paint was very good and there was only a spot or two where Andy thought some attention was needed. I had done the lion's share of the work on Friday in Mike's driveway So, in my own super-disorganized fashion, I worked on the interior and trunk, ignoring under the hood since no one cared about that - or so we thought.
Jeff was nice enough to let us keep our cars in the shop overnight and even meet us back there at 6am Sunday morning.
Went to the show. Cleaned the car some more. Finished cleaning the car. Even at rags down, people had no idea what was being judged or how it was being judged. I figured I was safe preparing for San Diego rules. After walking through the event some, I soon realized what the different classes meant. Concours was for stock cars and Street Driven was for highly modified Panteras with 5" exhaust pipes and chrome everything. I figured Street Driven was the way to go since I drive my car on a street. Either way.
I placed second to a 1989 M3 that didn't appear to have been driven on any street. Given that there were several other clean cars in my class (just about every other M3 there), I felt okay with that. I got a plaque. I was confused since I didn't know what I won or why there were two cars from the Concours class in the line. Haha.
So, I have several people to thank, but I really have to thank Mike Burger (OcCoupe) for really pulling out all the stops to help me prepare for these two events - first by really leaning on me to enter, then pushing me to stay focused on what at the time felt like a monumental task of cleaning what I thought was an already clean car and also for how he inconvenienced himself making sure I had a covered place to store the car between events and working behind the scenes to get things like the windows sorted. From the very beginning of that "disaster," he very calmly told me it's something that could be handled and while I believed that was possible, logistically, it seemed like a nightmare. I eventually stopped looking at them and everything fell into place. I don't usually let people drive my cars and I'm not even comfortable driving in southern California, but I knew that I could trust Mike, especially given the kind of vehicles he deals with daily. I really appreciate his thoughts on the car as well. I'm quite pleased with how it's come out so far and frankly, I was not used to the attention the car was getting, as I've always had kinda crappy cars. So, again, thank you for that.
After the show in Huntington Beach, I headed down to San Diego and it was a pretty fun and fast trip. It's really a great driving car.
There's still a couple things other Mike has to fix on the car that he didn't get to before the car went to San Diego. Minor stuff. Then there's more to do like everything underneath and I don't even know where to start. The sad part is that with everything suspension-wise original on this car, it feels fantastic. Almost a waste to redo it all. It just all looks terrible.
So, there's my update of sorts.
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Das_Prachtstrasse
- Posts: 5616
- Joined: Sep 10, 2006 7:06 AM
- Location: Melbourne, Doooown Under
Car looks excellent, Chris, and congrats on the plaque. 2nd comes right after first, you know!
Interesting to know you had an issue with the curvature of the lower front window chrome, as I was beginning to think the one I received (brand new from BMW) was a one off fault. My window fitter had a similarly difficult time installing it, and scratched it to the shithouse in the process. I ended up removing it myself, and managed to roll it into a somewhat reasonable shape before refitting it. It still sits a little proud in the corners, more or less the same as what you've ended up with. Shame these new OEM parts are not up to standard.
It certainly is %100 better than before, though!
Interesting to know you had an issue with the curvature of the lower front window chrome, as I was beginning to think the one I received (brand new from BMW) was a one off fault. My window fitter had a similarly difficult time installing it, and scratched it to the shithouse in the process. I ended up removing it myself, and managed to roll it into a somewhat reasonable shape before refitting it. It still sits a little proud in the corners, more or less the same as what you've ended up with. Shame these new OEM parts are not up to standard.
It certainly is %100 better than before, though!-
Jelmer538i
- Posts: 1222
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Netherlands
- Contact:
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unt0uchable
- Posts: 2265
- Joined: Jul 21, 2011 8:05 PM
- Location: Rochester Hills, Michigan
- Contact:
As always Chris, your car looks immaculate and you just keep adding subtle touches to make it even more perfect. I hope some day I can post a story about a car of mine that gets even a fraction of this kind of build and attention. Owning crappy cars is my basically my middle name. Hard work and determination looks to be paying off...Congrats on the plaque!!
Congrats Chris, and damn what an amazing story...thanks for telling that. The car looks fantastic. I wish I could see it in person some day.
You briefly mentioned the driving experience, and it would be great to hear a detailed write-up on what it's like to drive the car, from suspension/handling to the drivetrain, on-boost performance, etc. You do such a great job with words it would be a pleasure to read.
I love that shot of the garage with that huge German Shepard standing guard!
You briefly mentioned the driving experience, and it would be great to hear a detailed write-up on what it's like to drive the car, from suspension/handling to the drivetrain, on-boost performance, etc. You do such a great job with words it would be a pleasure to read.
I love that shot of the garage with that huge German Shepard standing guard!
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grahamular
- Posts: 1717
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Baltimore, Maryland
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Coldswede
- Posts: 6859
- Joined: Oct 10, 2008 1:48 PM
- Location: Back U.P. North,. Where the water's blue, the wind is free and seasons four.
2nd on your very first outing is stupendous Chris! 
I predict many 1st place trophy's in the near future and very rightly so.
I'm glad you guys have the patience for this kind of competition, I just can't do it. Clean and waxed is the best I can manage, then there needs to be hot brakes and liquid tire residue.
Great car Chris.
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greenpants
- Posts: 68
- Joined: Mar 25, 2010 1:26 PM
- Location: Massachusetts
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Adam W in MN
- Posts: 5052
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Don't waste my motherf***in' time!
- Contact:
I also enjoy reading the stories with all the great details. The details are what make it interesting to me. The little details are also what have set this car apart from the beginning of your process. Well done.
It is also great to see fellow friends and enthusiasts helping each other with their cars. Great work, Mike.
It is also great to see fellow friends and enthusiasts helping each other with their cars. Great work, Mike.
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GaAlpinaOwner
- Posts: 1120
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Atlanta Georgia USA
Totally agree Roy. Outstanding job on this particular car Chris!RoyW wrote:Outstanding Chris, and congrats on the trophy!The car looks fantastic and couldn't have a better custodian. Thanks for the story too.
-RoyW
I am pulling mine out today for a weekend drive. We 3 need to figure out a way to get these 3 rare cars in the same place with JJ @ Bimmer for a photoshoot/article
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Eddie in TO
- Posts: 1007
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Contact:
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Ted in T.O.
- Posts: 3412
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Mississauga,Ontario
5er Fest next October!GaAlpinaOwner wrote:Totally agree Roy. Outstanding job on this particular car Chris!RoyW wrote:Outstanding Chris, and congrats on the trophy!
-RoyW
I am pulling mine out today for a weekend drive. We 3 need to figure out a way to get these 3 rare cars in the same place with JJ @ Bimmer for a photoshoot/article
Thank you all for the comments. I really do appreciate them. Haven't had much time to do much of anything since returning home from California. I took it to a couple of local meets but besides that, it's been sitting in the garage. There's still a few things I plan to do before Monterey, which I've decided to attend this year. We will see how that goes, as I made that decision pretty late in the game.