I kept the car stock except for a few safety related items installed when the car was federalized, like the crash bars in the doors. Luckily none of the Alpina pieces were missing because they are nearly impossible to source. I still have the original Alpina muffler but after 35 years it was not in great shape so I replaced it with a new M5 muffler.
The car was originally Diamantshcwarz metallic and is repainted in the same color. It was also ordered with a black leather interior, manual sport seats and no AC. When I got the car it had a custom AC system (not the Alpina one) that I wasn’t happy with so I removed all traces of it. It currently has 132K miles (213K km on the odometer).
Some other highlights include;
Number matched B7 turbo engine
Getrag 265/5 close ratio dogleg trans
Limited slip big case diff
Alpina progressive rate springs
Extended gas tank (40L) in the trunk
Headlight washer system
Rear headrests
Alpina cosmetic pieces like the dead pedal, steering wheel, shift knob, number plaque, 300km gauge cluster, vent gauge, staggered wheels, spoilers, boost knob, tow hook
One of his garage mates, 1988 535is, 5-speed.
Here’s the extra 40L tank with the carpet removed. Total fuel capacity with both tanks is around 29 gallons.
I debated painting the original undercoat but decided to clean it instead. Ugly color but at least it’s not hiding anything and it does provide a nice contrast to the refreshed suspension.
Engine removal from below onto my welding table. It’s more stable than it looks.
The engine numbers were good and running very strong so as a preemptive measure I replaced all the rubber pieces, most gaskets, and the timing components.
Here are some of those pieces.
Working in a clean engine bay is very satisfying.
Fine glass bead media in my blast cabinet gets as close to the correct finish as I’ve found.
These heat shields are probably my favorite custom Alpina piece. Too bad they aren’t more visible when the hood is open.
Unfortunately half of the bolts snapped off into the manifold so they had to be drilled, tapped and a Heli-Coil inserted.
I lowered the car very, very slowly onto the engine and managed to avoid scratching the freshly painted engine compartment. I had an old 911 Carrera whose boxer engine was too wide to fit between the ramps so I unbolted one of the ramps and moved it over a few inches. Room to spare with a straight six.
