[BSSBMW]

Been lurking on the forum a while now so time to post up a thread on my daily.

Please excuse if it starts to read a bit odd as ive copied it from another forum.

26th May 2019

Where to begin?

I have from time to time over the last couple of years played about with the online configurator for the F31 B3S Biturbo 'building' my ideal spec wagon waiting to be in a position to actually be able to go for it. I've never bought a brand new car yet its something I've always wanted to do from a young age but it needed to be something special and something i would keep long term.

With the realisation that F31 touring production was due to end pretty soon and now being in a position to go through with an order, about a month ago i made a call to Sytner Nottingham and asked the question of when F31 B3 production would end to which i was told 'one more car was to be built' so in effect the last one which appealed massively but it was a canceled order already specced. I asked if the colour or spec could be changed and it was a flat no.
Now i know that if a car has not been built there are ways of getting changes made so i ran with it basis that i would try to get it changed.
Cut a long story short after several calls and emails to various people it wasn't until a contact of mine at Rolls Royce found out via their opposite in Munich that the car had already been built a month before I made my initial enquiry despite being told otherwise!

After much thought i decided not to go ahead with the purchase as A, despite being a canceled (already built!) order, all I managed to get was a paltry £2750 off the full list price and i just couldn't justify close to £80k on a compromise.

So that brings us to the E92 B3.

As well as some other Alpinas, I have owned few earlier B3's over the years, (E46 B3S cabrio #34, E36 B3 3.0 coupe #185 and E46 B3 3.3 Saloon #114) and have worked on and driven many others throughout my working life so with the brand new car dream on hold the natural progression would be an E9x Alpina or a used F3x Alpina. After trawling the web and drawing a blank on a petrol F3x Alpina with none for sale other than a couple of used offerings from Sytner that were more than what i wanted to spend on a used car, i started looking at E9x petrol Alpinas.











Pictures taken from the advert. B3 Birturbo #185 was for sale fairly local to me at Jame Paul who were a pleasure to deal with and after an inspection of the car on the ramp and a road test a deal was done.

S2KEA BMW light alloy wheel, V-spoke 188
S459A Seat adjustment, electric, with memory
S481A Sports seat
S502A Headlight cleaning system
S520A Fog lights
S522A Xenon Light
S704A M Sports suspension
S853A Language version, English
S2XAA Sport leather st. wheel w/ shift paddles
S205A Automatic transmission
S249A Multifunction f steering wheel
S302A Alarm system
S320A Deleted, model lettering
S4ADA Interior trim strips, brushed aluminium
S4AEA Armrest front, retractable
S423A Floor mats velours
S428A Warning triangle and first aid kit
S430A Interior/outside mirror with auto dip
S431A Interior mirror with automatic-dip
S441A Smoker package
S470A Isofix-System
S494A Seat heating driver/passenger
S508A Park Distance Control (PDC)
S521A Rain sensor
S534A Automatic air conditioning
S544A Cruise control with brake function
S563A Light package
S6AAA BMW TeleServices
S6ABA Control, Teleservices
S6FLA USB/audio interface
S609A Navigation system Professional
S612A BMW Assist
S616A BMW Online
S620A Voice control
S633A Preparation, mobile phone, Business
S654A DAB tuner
S676A HiFi speaker system
S694A Provisions for BMW 6 CD changer
S760A High gloss shadow line
S775A Headlining anthracite
S8SMA Car ident. number visible from outside
S8SPA Control unit COP
S8S2A Coding, alarm signal
L812A National version England / Ireland
S863A Dealer List Europe
S877A Omission of non-combined operation
S880A On-board literature, English
S9AAA Outer skin protection
S920A Alpina without registration document
S925A Dummy-SALAPA
S940A special equipment BMW Individual

A decent spec, in overall very good condition and a fair price saw me collect in on Monday and its nice that I've now owned a pair of #185 build Alpina B3's!

Ive done a few miles in it so far and i have an impending road trip to Scotland in a few weeks time so will get the chance to stretch its legs on some decent roads.

I also have plans for some upgrades and retro fits as and when time allows.





Back at work the day I picked it up.

[BSSBMW]

27th May 2019











First actions have been some general tidying up of some details.

[BSSBMW]

29th May 2019



Overall the paint is in reasonable condition but some prep work was needed to get rind of some swirls before an important next step so I called in the services of Mark at https://www.marells.co.uk/ to do the business.



Alpina stripes are very much a marmite thing especially outside of Alpina circles but im firmly of the opinion that Alpinas need their full warpaint and as my B3 is on the more subdued side with its space grey with back combo, it needs a visual lift.





THE man for this Simon who not only is very reasonably priced but more importantly the quality of the decals and his attention to detail is first rate!











The result has given it the visual lift that it needed without being OTT and im over the moon with it!

[BSSBMW]

2nd June 2019

Time for a bit of maintenance.

The B3 uses a ZF GA6HP19Z automatic gearbox which is a variant of the 6 speed box used in pretty much every automatic BMW from mid 00's up until the 8 speed box replaced in on the first of the F series BMW's. Its also used by some other manufacturers such as Jaguar and is a pretty reliable box but is prone to the odd leak from its plastic sump and/or electrical plug sleeve.

BMW say its a 'sealed for life' unit and despite many cars making it to big mileage unopened I and many others are of the view that its not good practice to leave them alone with a change recommended at 80-100K miles so with no record of the B3 being done and it having hit 75k miles it was time to do it.

And oil and filter change on an automatic box is considered a wise thing to do on these newer 'sealed for life' units and with the ZF 6 speed box the filter is integral to the plastic sump so this requires replacement along with the oil and as the sump is off its wise to replace the electrical plug sleeve known as the 'mechatronic sleeve' on this box as its one of the places they can leak and to change it means sump off.

This is all common practice for BMW dealers and specialists to ether cure a leak or as part of maintenance or repair but there is a compromise on this job that most places do. When draining the sump of oil approximately half to two thirds of the oil in the complete system is drained out but the torque converter, cooler, lines and the rest of the gearbox is full of old oil so when the drained sump is refilled it mixes with the old oil. Not ideal.



This piece of equipment removes that compromise from a gearbox service as it connects to the oil circuit via the cooler lines and combined with a flush agent and conditioner it completely flushes the whole system of all old oil and replaces it with new and as well as maintaining an automatic gearbox it can also help with some faults and/or poor shifting.



The sump which looked to be original.



The new one along with the sleeve, flush and conditioner.





Sump and sleeve removed.





New sump on, 11 ltrs of fresh oil and adaptations reset has after a definitely smoothed the gear changes in auto mode and ticked a box off the maintenance list. An Engine oil service and brake fluid change were also carried out while up on the ramp despite not being due for anther year but again im not a believer in BMW's extended service intervals and tend to cut them in half.



First of the retro fits, a chance purchase at a (relatively) bargain price was this optional interior mirror wth integral digital compass and 'home link' which is BMW speak for a programable remote for things like electric gates and/or garage doors.

[BSSBMW]

10th June 2019











A Long weekend away with the wife to Scotland was a good opportunity to stretch the B3's legs on some decent roads which meant a long slog up from West Sussex to Loch Lomond on the first day, then from Alexandria, Loch Lomond to Oban via the Dukes pass and the A811/A84/A85 on day two then across to Edinburgh on day three before heading back down south the following day.

It has given me a taste of Scottish roads and will most definitely head further north in the future.

B3 never missed a beat and has shown what a broad talent this car has from refined comfort eating up the miles yet being able to grab it by the scruff of the neck and flick it up and down the box through the twisties as well as being able to pass a line of slow moving traffic with its great low down shove of torque.

It also sounds great for a turbo six when you wind up the RPMs with none of the synthesised engine noise nonsense pumped in to the speakers like newer BMW's have.

The trip has highlighted the need for an LSD that bit more tough!

[BSSBMW]

16th June 2019

After the road trip it was time for a bit of cosmetic TLC. Mark at www.marells.co.uk who started the paint correction before the application of the Deko set set to work completing the rest of it before applying a coat of wax.







The high gloss shadow line trim and rear lights got some attention as well as it was all covered in swirls and scratches













The obligatory beading shot.

[BSSBMW]

I've never really been a private/cherished number plate kind of person and tend to appreciate area code identifiers on standard UK registrations such as the FJ for Nottingham on the new style plates or GO for South London on a prefix pate which my E30 325i has. The Bi turbo has had a plate change or two though so i did a search on a few plates and to my surprise this popped up as available!

(This is posted on other forums so many of you will probably already know the following.)

Now only serious Alpina aficionados will acknowledge what relevance it has which i like. OAL is for cars registered in the Ostallgau region of Bavaria where Alpina are based in the town of Buchloe and the prototypes and press cars bare this on their plates. B1 reads like BI short for Biturbo so was happy with that as B3 OAL is on another Alpina already, an E46 B3 which i happened to spot out in the wild about 6/7 years ago.



LHD press car B3 biturbo #002



RHD press car B3 biturbo #004

[BSSBMW]

20th June 2019



Before i purchased the car i conducted various checks which included the warranty history and if there were any outstanding recalls. Checking up on the warranty history found that the B3 has had all 6 injectors and High pressure fuel pump replaced along with a couple of other minor parts but those checks also revealed two recalls outstanding which were the Battery B+ cable and the heater blower motor cable which respectively can cause the failure of pretty much all of the cars electrical system or cause it to catch fire.

Being out of the dealer network for some time now meant i could not do these myself and also left me with the predicament of having someone i trust to do it. Luckily during my time as a senior tech I got to work along side some great guys (as well as some terrible ones!) but so many of the good ones have left to move onto different career paths or woking in different countries earning a better wage but i still have one or two contacts that I would trust to do a great job!

Cue a drive from Sussex to Essex one evening where a good friend and brilliant tech works at Sytner Harold wood on the night shift so he could carry out said recalls while i got to chill alongside and catch up.



Behind the glove box where the JBE and Blower motor are located.



Battery B+ cable repair kit.



Heater blower cable repair kit.

All back together and another job ticked of the list.

[BSSBMW]

21st August 2019



Good things come in small packages, especially in Alpina wrapping!



An optional extra on the E9x B3 models was this digital gauge that fits in one of the dashboad vents. These hark back to the 80's with various Alpina models such as the E30, E28, E28 having one as either standard fit on the flagship models or as an option on the lesser versions.

The E9x version is made by Awron who sell it themselves but without the Alpina branding and it incorporates several features including a boost gauge, temp gauges for engine oil, auto gearbox oil and coolant which is important as the E9x and E8x models don't have a coolant temp gauge!

It also features a couple of gimmicky things like transverse and longitudinal G measurement, a 0-100 KM stop watch plus peak measurements recorded for all parameters on each ignition cycle.



Installation is fairly straight forward, six wires that need to be piggy backed into the JBE for CAN bus signals, ground and power. Glove box out to access the JBE and dash trim off to fit the gauge.







Very happy with it and ads to the whole Alpina feel to the car in my opinion.

[BSSBMW]

The first part of next retro fit, a new rear shelf with cut out for an electric rear sun blind. A retro fit I've done on previous BMWs (as well as door blinds on some) is one some people consider to be a bit pointless but i have two children the regularly travel in the rear so it comes in useful plus I like an optioned up car!

A lucky find on german ebay scored me a used electric E92 blind for a bargain price but compared to other BMWs, this is not as straight forward a retro fit.





I could have made up the wiring but instead bought the retro fit wiring loom which means the correct colour wires and terminals.



Rear end stripped out ready to fit the loom.



Part of what makes this retro fit not as straight as other BMWs is the control side of it. Other cars such as E46 use a switch direct too the blind to operate it. On the E9x the switch input travels to the heater panel (IHKA) via a ribbon cable which then is linked to the body CAN BUS (K-BUS) to send a signal to the Junction box electric control unit (JBE) which activates a relay to power the blind.

The original JBE in my car was a lower spec one which doesn't have the relays so a new 'M' level JBE was purchased, fitted and coded to the car.



Another lucky ebay find was the switch which wasn't even advertised as having the blind function, i just got lucky and spotted it had that function!



Vehicle order (equipment list) changed on the car to ad S405 then all control units coded to recognise the change)



And the end result, one erect blind!

[BSSBMW]

Suspension.... Ride, handling, balance etc. One of the key elements that makes up part of what we love about BMWs being the 'ultimate driving machine'.

In recent times (ok maybe the last 25 years or so) Alpina have been famed for getting the balance right for making a car handle well yet retaining a ride comfort that doesn't try to break your car or spine especially on our blighted UK roads.
Alpina (as well as BMW to a lesser extent) have moved away from using Bilstein shock absorbers to solely using units made by Sachs so pretty much every BMW and Alpina have used Sachs units since the late 90's and Alpina up until the E9x used their own specification Sachs units.

The advent of the E9x B3 and D3, a standard BMW spec Sachs shock absorber was used with the B3 using an Alpina specific spring, the D3 using a BMW spec spring and losing the run flat tyres obviously helped a lot. This in my opinion was a compromise especially on the D3 part.

Fast forward 77k miles and like most Sachs shock absorbers by approx 60-80k miles they are finished.





New OE spec Sachs units and genuine BMW mounting parts acquired to give the original Alpjna spec every chance to enamour itself with me as dare i say it, its not quite stiff enough with compression being ok but rebound not to my liking.
Contemporary road tests naturally drew comparisons to the M3 and testers always picked up on the chassis not quite being as accomplished at the upper echelons.





The very tired looking parts removed from the B3 to be replaced with new.



The nearside front shock was pretty corroded. After a couple of pumps off the car it started leaking from the seal so it was only a matter of time before it failed in use.

I've yet to put it through an paces since replacing everything so the jury is out on weather i'll stick with Alpina efforts in this department.

[BSSBMW]

Those of you who own or have owned a modern BMW with direct injection are probably familiar with various misfire faults often caused by failing injectors. When i bought my B3 i checked the warranty history to find it had its high pressure fuel pump replaced at 17405 miles when it was nearly 2 years old and all six injectors replaced at 28253 miles when it was close to 3 years old so great i thought.

After a couple of weeks i started to notice a lumpy idle on cold start for the first second or two which i ignored for a week or so but when i noticed the fuel consumption had dropped from approx 300-350 miles to a tank down to approx 160 miles to a tank it was obvious something was amiss!

A cold start injector test on BMW ISTA resulted in a pass which was not conclusive in the slightest.





Engine cover removed to reveal index code 09 injectors, the latest being index 12.





Spark plugs removed to reveal a rich combustion mix but what the picture does not reveal is how wet they were with fuel when first removed, all clear signs of leaking injectors.



All six cylinders were inspected for any potential damage but luckily only wet piston tops from the leaking injectors.



All six 09 index injectors removed.



Six new index 12 injectors, buffers and (not pictured) spark plugs. Injectors coded and adaptations reset i am pleased to report perfect cold starting manners and fuel consumption has returned to approx 300-350 miles to a tank. Happy days.

[BSSBMW]

In the run up to the BMWCC festival at Gaydon i decided to get a couple of things sorted. First up were refurbishment of the wheels as they had been touched up by the seller but looked crap close up. I have used Lepsons many times in the past and their quality is top notch so off the 19's went and came back like new in the correct sparkle silver.



A bit of preventative maintenance and cosmetic improvement at the same time.

All four wheel arches thoroughly cleaned and dressed, brakes tidied up with a bit of paint as a stop gap until a brake upgrade is devised that will fit behind the original wheels.

[Fritzer]

Beautiful write-up on an amazing car! Man I really do wish we got these in the states, fantastic BMWs! And that digital guage is so cool, never knew Alpina did that on E9x.

[Fritzer]

Originally Posted by BSSBMW

until a brake upgrade is devised that will fit behind the original wheels.

Look at the 1er sport brakes, they look fantastic and should be a really nice OEM+ upgrade.

[BSSBMW]

Originally Posted by Fritzer

Beautiful write-up on an amazing car! Man I really do wish we got these in the states, fantastic BMWs! And that digital guage is so cool, never knew Alpina did that on E9x.

Thanks! You guess in the states have always been short changed when it comes to Alpinas!

Originally Posted by Fritzer

Look at the 1er sport brakes, they look fantastic and should be a really nice OEM+ upgrade.

I did consider the BMW performance/E8x 135i brake upgrade and even test fitted my wheels to a customers E82 135i to see if they clear and they do. Only trouble is the discs are actually smaller so in some respects would be a down grade.

I know the the F3x 370mm front brake upgrade is a direct fit and the 345mm rear brakes can be made to fit but i have tried my front wheel on an F30 with the 370mm brakes and the back of my wheel hits the calliper. They may clear with a spacer but didn't have one to hand to try out.

[dragerboy]

Brilliant write up and a lovely car, never seen one on the road before.

[Sensible_]

Nice, how about some headlight love? KYCS would do something which might really improve the front end...

[BSSBMW]

Originally Posted by dragerboy

Brilliant write up and a lovely car, never seen one on the road before.

Thanks! I'm only up the road from you in Crawley down and i bought the car close to Horsham.

They are pretty rare though, only 50 coupes sold in the UK.

[BSSBMW]

Originally Posted by Sensible_

Nice, how about some headlight love? KYCS would do something which might really improve the front end...

Thanks. I generally stick to OEM for looks, maybe with the exception of an LCI upgrade but i have considered a bulb change for the halos.

[rasa bmw]

or a seller on facebook for lights CYLED

[richard_tricky]

Hiya who did your gear box service?

Thanks