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Thread: Alpina Restoration

  1. #51
    Join Date
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    CSi#18, Tesla S85
    The new rear windshield came in and was shipped from GAULT to Jacksonville. It arrived in Jax today. It is a BMW OEM one without the black loop for US high stop lights. Charlie at Gault ordered it and it came directly from BMW AG in Germany, and amazingly was pretty reasonable (just under $500). Another box of parts has been ordered.......Gary at the body shop shares my passion for the Alpina now, so it is in good hands. More updates to come......

  2. #52
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    Alpina Restoration Update

    Several people have inquired as to where the car stands in the restoration process, so here is the update. Gary (the painter) was delayed on the car before mine, so he did not get to get started until this past Tuesday. He will be starting with the small items - bumpers, spoiler, side skirts, mirror covers, etc first to get them out of the way, then start on the body. He says the body is in great shape, so it will essentially be a strip and repaint. Since the clear had checked, and had been top-coated once before, everything will have to come off. Gary's shop is a very small one-man show, and he devotes all his time to one car at a time, and works on it until done. He has done several award winning restorations at national level shows, and has won best of show in such national shows as the AACA. His work speaks for itself and both he and I are excited he will be doing the Alpina.

    Since my rear window had a very small area (about 1/2 inch) of graying in the lamination, a new rear window was ordered by Gault from Germany without the blackout loop that US rear windows have. It has been delivered to Gary and it came in excellent condition.

    I have received a large box of fasteners from Gault to replace many of the original ones.

    The Alpina wood console is at a specialty shop in California to be redone - it seems that several of the Alpina's in Japan had the front piece of the console removed, and replaced with the OEM black piece, while the middle and back piece of the console still had the wood on them. The shop in California is going to rematch the original wood console so it will be replace back to the way it left the factory. I did find one original wood console piece from Alpina (all 3 peices plus the ash tray), but it was $5000, so I quickly decided to pass on it. The company I decided to go with has said that I will not be able to tell any difference. They have a piece of the original console to match the original wood.

    All 5 wheels have been finished by a company in Jacksonville. They were spun to true any irregularities, stripped, powdercoated silver, then clear, and look brand new.

    So, I have my work in front of me for the summer. As soon as I get pictures, I will post them here. Thanks everyone for the encouragement on the project.

    I think I have mentioned this before, but Marcia has renamed the Alpina...it is now called the Alexpensive!

  3. #53
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    840Ci|725tds|Alpina B7
    Thank you for the update. Who is redoing the wood trim, Madera Concepts?

  4. #54
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    Hi Roger, nice to hear of the progress.

    2 quick questions:

    What size spare did your car come with? I'm thinking I'd like to acquire an Alpina spare. I'm assuming that the spare is the same size as the front wheel?

    How did the wheels come out after restoration? I am looking for a refinisher who can revamp the damage incurred when my wheel was bent beyond belief last year. The wheel was straightened, I just need a refinish to match the other wheels.

    Best regards
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  5. #55
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    Updated 5/8/2012

    __________________________________________________ ______


    Quote Originally Posted by Koizumi View Post
    Hi Roger, nice to hear of the progress.

    2 quick questions:

    What size spare did your car come with? I'm thinking I'd like to acquire an Alpina spare. I'm assuming that the spare is the same size as the front wheel?

    How did the wheels come out after restoration? I am looking for a refinisher who can revamp the damage incurred when my wheel was bent beyond belief last year. The wheel was straightened, I just need a refinish to match the other wheels.

    Best regards
    Koizumi - I will be picking up the wheels and getting them out of the painters way in 2 weeks - I will let you know then and post pictures. The spare is the same size as the front wheel.

    Quote Originally Posted by olinjohnston1 View Post
    Thank you for the update. Who is redoing the wood trim, Madera Concepts?
    I contacted Madera, but they were not really wanting to do the work. See the pictures below for the redone console.

    __________________________________________________ ______________


    I just got approval pictures back from the shop that did the restoration on the console.
    The first picture is the rear console section, with a piece of the original wood that came off for comparison.




    Other Pics



    Last edited by rogbmw; 05-08-2012 at 11:09 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

  6. #56
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    Roger, I see what you mean about the match.
    They misaligned some of the burl marks, as well as the quantity is not correct - definitely not an ALPINA orginal.



    (J/K - It looks totally fantastic!)
    '93 850Ci - Mineralweiß Metallic

    2001 740iL - Titansilber
    ALPINA B7 -Alpinweiß III


    ...the price of cool ain't cheap!

  7. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by TxGR8White View Post
    Roger, I see what you mean about the match.
    They misaligned some of the burl marks, as well as the quantity is not correct - definitely not an ALPINA orginal.



    (J/K - It looks totally fantastic!)
    Thanks Steffen......you almost got me until I read the bottom part . Believe it or not, the burl on the Alpina did not match at all, but with burl you did not notice it unless you really looked at it. I think they did a good job. Plus, I think they finished the edges a little better too.
    PS - can't wait to see your car with Mark's hood!

  8. #58
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    Apr 2007
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    old world
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    e31, XJS
    Aren't the edges of the wood console pieces supposed to be radiused? Maybe it's just the angle of the pictures but it seems the ashtray piece has the radiused edge while the rear center piece and the main console have stepped edges.

    Quality looks great though!

  9. #59
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tonn View Post
    Aren't the edges of the wood console pieces supposed to be radiused? Maybe it's just the angle of the pictures but it seems the ashtray piece has the radiused edge while the rear center piece and the main console have stepped edges.

    Quality looks great though!
    It just looks that way in the picture from the light. All are the same.

  10. #60
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    Looks fantastic! Thanks for keeping us updated

  11. #61
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    Euro Spec 850CSi

    I'm new to this forum but I just wanted to thank Roger as I am the new proud owner of his previously owned Euro 850 CSI. It's not my first 850 CSI but I have to say it is faster, shifts and handles better than my last one. As soon as I figure out how to post photos on this forum (maybe someone could tell me how) I'll be sure to do so. Good luck with your Alpina restoration Roger and thanks again for taking such good care of the CSI.

  12. #62
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    Quote Originally Posted by TAGEuroCSI View Post
    I'm new to this forum but I just wanted to thank Roger as I am the new proud owner of his previously owned Euro 850 CSI. It's not my first 850 CSI but I have to say it is faster, shifts and handles better than my last one. As soon as I figure out how to post photos on this forum (maybe someone could tell me how) I'll be sure to do so. Good luck with your Alpina restoration Roger and thanks again for taking such good care of the CSI.
    Hey... another sweet 8 in NJ!

    -JRW

    Glacier Blue 1991 Dinan 8 | Chasis CB73392 | 1 of 50 Produced
    Built for PGA Pro Mark Calcavecchia
    Twin Turbo 5.0L V12 w/ Air-to-Air Intercoolers
    525hp - 589ft/lbs tq

  13. #63
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    Roger if you don't mind me asking, original from Alpina would be $5000, so then how much did this version end up costing?...

    A/

  14. #64
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    Update 5-26-12

    Had the opportunity to go up to Jacksonville, and see the progress on the car. Gary has painted the bumpers and some of the small pieces. He is working on the hood and trunk. Today when I was there he was hand sanding the hood with 3000 wet paper. The underside of the hood is finished, and he was working the topside. He had started stripping the main shell - the hood, front fenders and trunk are off the car, and the door will be coming off shortly. He said that the seam on the C pillar was one of the best factory seams he has ever seen on a production car. There is a photo attached. I also picked up the refinished 5 Alpina wheels, and have attache a couple of photos. The painting should be finished the later part of June. Here are some pictures I took today:

    These pictures are after two coats of stripper. The body will then be totally taken down by hand to metal. Gary saved me a bucket of the initial scrapings to show me the paint. Evidently the car had been repainted once before, so taking everything off was the correct way to do everything. I have total trust in Gary, and his work. Remember - he is a one man show, and does everything himself.







    Here is the factory seam on the C pillar. The trim under the yellow tape will be coming off Monday. The back glass in this picture has been taken out of the car, but is just sitting there for now.





    Here are the rims - all 5 were stripped, spun and any defects repaired, then powdercoated along with the center caps.




  15. #65
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    Better than Internet Porn!!!
    '93 850Ci - Mineralweiß Metallic

    2001 740iL - Titansilber
    ALPINA B7 -Alpinweiß III


    ...the price of cool ain't cheap!

  16. #66
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    Quote Originally Posted by TxGR8White View Post
    Better than Internet Porn!!!
    It IS internet porn!

    I do find myself wondering why it is LHD. Did Japan import LHD's rather than the UK spec RHD's?

  17. #67
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    Quote Originally Posted by Quackers View Post
    It IS internet porn!

    I do find myself wondering why it is LHD. Did Japan import LHD's rather than the UK spec RHD's?
    It seems that in Japan, some there think that a LHD car in certain high end models is something special. As you know being from the UK, driving a LHD car on the left side of the road has its challenges (I lived there 2 years).

  18. #68
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  19. #69
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    ALPINA B10 BITURBO
    Fantastic
    Sveinbjörn Hrafnsson

    E30 CABRIO V12 M70B50 ///
    ALPINA B10 BITURBO 346 @ 507
    ULTIMA Evolution
    Contacts
    http://alpina.123.is/pictures/

  20. #70
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    Quote Originally Posted by rogbmw View Post
    It seems that in Japan, some there think that a LHD car in certain high end models is something special. As you know being from the UK, driving a LHD car on the left side of the road has its challenges (I lived there 2 years).
    It does indeed
    I didn't know about the status view of LHD's in Japan. An odd one perhaps

    rogbmw, does it have AHK? I suspect it does
    Last edited by Quackers; 05-27-2012 at 10:14 AM.

  21. #71
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    Quote Originally Posted by TxGR8White View Post
    Better than Internet Porn!!!
    Agreed, and believe me, I've seen a lot of it.


    I mean....uh...


    Glad the Alpina's coming along so well.

  22. #72
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    1991 850i / 6
    There are a lot of Japanese spec e31s in Canada , and they are all LHD . It
    seems strange but evidently , according to a superlative source [Wuffer] ,
    BMW sent no RHD e31s to Japan . Any that may be there were imported privately . Roger , we are all breathless . Thank you .

  23. #73
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    Rog,
    Did you have to replace the rubber O-rings on the caps of your wheels? If so, where did you find them. 17 inch rims right?
    LouM...

  24. #74
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    Quote Originally Posted by LouM View Post
    Rog,
    Did you have to replace the rubber O-rings on the caps of your wheels? If so, where did you find them. 17 inch rims right?
    LouM...
    Yes - mine were pretty brittle. I have a new set, and found them online. They came with all 4 large ones for the caps, plus 4 small ones for the little cover cap that goes over the lock. I will PM you the link this evening, but I found them on ebay UK. My Alpina wheels are 18 inch wheels (that is what came on the e31 based Alpina).
    Last edited by rogbmw; 05-29-2012 at 12:56 PM.

  25. #75
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    Incredible progress, Roger!!!

    I will def. have to get your refinisher's contact info. I need to refinish one of my Alpina wheels after it cracked thanks to a formidable pothole. I had it straightened/repaired, but the finish has been compromised. I have searched locally for someone who can duplicate the original Alpina finish--to no avail.

    Cheers
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