Sharkfan Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 (edited) Just adding a few car pics of my second Alpina Touring - a 1995 E34 B10 4.6 Touring based on the 1995 540i. These are the pics I saw before I took the train down to Dover to buy it - it was with the original owner who had grown a little weary of it and wanted to resist some offers where the engine and gearbox would be put into an E30 and the car scrapped. It was in quite a tired state but I bought it unseen and drove it straight home. Edited April 5 by Sharkfan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfan Posted September 23, 2022 Author Share Posted September 23, 2022 The B10 4.6 car was eventually developed followed the ending of the production of the M30 engine which powered the 360bhp E34 Alpina B10 BiTurbo - Alpina bought the last 50 M30 engine blocks from BMW and built the last B10 BiTurbos but knew they would have to start developing cars based on the M60 V8 engines BMW had introduced in the E32 and E34 cars. No right hand drive cars could have been made with the BiTurbo powerplant due to the position of the turbochargers and no Tourings were made for whatever reason either. The switch to BMW's V8 engine gave Alpina the chance to rectify this and so the developed the 4 litre M60B40 engine from 286bhp and 295 lbft to 315bhp and 302 lbft and put the engine in E34 cars, the 'B10 4.0', the E32 'B11 4.0' and some Japanese spec E36 cars, the 'B8 4.0'. Of all these cars there are two right hand drive B10 4.0 saloons made by Frank Sytner in Nottingham from kits supplied by Alpina and sent from Buchloe. The further development of BMW Motorsports S38 engine from the 315bhp 266 lbft 3.6 litres to 340bhp and 295 lbft in the 3.8 litre version might have egged Herr Bovensiepen on, so realising the 4.0 engine was as tuned as possible for a road car his team designed a new engine with 4.6 litres and 340bhp and 354 lbft to overcome the 3.8 litre M5 and come within 20bhp and 29 lbft of the mighty B10 BiTurbo. This engine was put into all E34 and E36 bodyshapes producing some remarkably quick and tractable road cars - due to the smaller chassis size the engine 'only' made 333bhp and 346 lbft in the E36 chassis and right hand was unavailable again. The first owner of my car had a friend with an E34 B10 3.5 with 260bhp which had impressed him. The B10 3.5 was again only available as a saloon and also out of production but the first owner of my car needed a Touring so he was shown an Alpina catalogue with the 4 wheel drive B10 3.0 AllRad in it - based upon the 192bhp 525ix it had been fettled by Alpina to 231bhp and was available as Touring and in right hand drive. Impressed as he was with the specification he realised he would be significantly outgunned by his friend so he turned the page in the catalogue and discovered the Alpina B10 4.6 - available as a Touring, in right hand drive and with 340bhp to play with. It didn't take him long to place an order, despite the heady price. Back in 1995 you could buy a 540i Touring for c£40k and an M5 for c£56k but the Alpina started at £65,000... Sadly he was the only UK owner to discover the B10 4.6 as out of 19 Tourings and 27 Saloons there is just this one right hand drive car. It was made in Buchloe as almost all Alpina's were by 1995 and uses almost the same chassis and brake modifications as the B10 BiTurbo. It was specified in Arctic Silver with Ultramarine buffalo leather, black headlining, heated sports seats, Switch-Tronic 5 speed gearbox, full automatic AC and ACC and and by the time he added some other items from the options list he had gone just over £70,000. After the order had been placed his friend was sadly car-jacked in full striped and badged up B10 3.5 Saloon so a phone call was made to Buchloe to deliver the car without the ubiquitous Alpina stripes and the badges to be placed in a bag not on the car. He took delivery of the car in late 1995 after some press photographs had been taken for a magazine article and then used the car quite anonymously in the South East until I bought it from him some 16 years later. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfan Posted September 23, 2022 Author Share Posted September 23, 2022 I had first fallen in love with E34's in 2006 when I bought another rare version, a six speed manual gearbox 540i Touring. It had been used in several magazine articles and had benefitted from a warranty replacement engine due to the nikasil problem. It was Orient blue with black leather and in fabulous condition... Sadly after just a year or so I had been visiting friends overnight and awoke to find this... A sleepy taxi driver had fallen asleep at the wheel and shunted it a good ten feet up the road and inflicted a killer blow - the bottom of the A post was bent and the chassis was buggered. Pretty heartbroken I thought I would never find a car quite the good again but a few months later I found myself gambling on this, a 1993 M5 Touring... It was slightly shabby and had spent a good few years on the Atlantic coast in deepest darkest Cornwall - but it was worth a gamble wasn't it? Sadly no, it lasted a couple of years before the engine lunched itself and the bodywork plus engine costs made it unviable - off it went to the breakers. During these few years of E34 ownership though I had learned from a obscure thread on a different forum that one very special E34 Alpina Touring existed so I secretly said to myself if it was ever discovered I would try and buy it - meanwhile I consoled myself with this, a one of 12 right hand drive cars E39 B10 V8 Touring... Individual Steel Grey metallic, Individual light grey Nappa leather, Individual black birch trim and c£17k worth of extras on top of the c£57k 2001 new price - it had been Sytners demonstrator and was one of just four facelift B10 V8 Tourings in right hand drive - the old forum5 even had a thread on it before I bought it withe the title 'Is this the most beautiful E39 in existence?' Whether it is or isn't is down to taste but the colours and the very high spec; full Nav, Motorola phone, DSP, TV, heated leccy sports seats, M5 mirrors, auto-dim mirrors and full electric windows with rear door blinds, all mean it is still a very nice car. I have upgraded the phone to factory bluetooth and put in a factory digital TV tuner as well as some other nice bits and despite a major engine blip a few years ago it is still my daily driver. I will start another thread about it at some stage. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 7 minutes ago, Sharkfan said: I had first fallen in love with E34's in 2006 when I bought another rare version, a six speed manual gearbox 540i Touring. It had been used in several magazine articles and had benefitted from a warranty replacement engine due to the nikasil problem. It was Orient blue with black leather and in fabulous condition... Sadly after just a year or so I had been visiting friends overnight and awoke to find this... A sleepy taxi driver had fallen asleep at the wheel and shunted it a good ten feet up the road and inflicted a killer blow - the bottom of the A post was bent and the chassis was buggered. Pretty heartbroken I thought I would never find a car quite the good again but a few months later I found myself gambling on this, a 1993 M5 Touring... It was slightly shabby and had spent a good few years on the Atlantic coast in deepest darkest Cornwall - but it was worth a gamble wasn't it? Sadly no, it lasted a couple of years before the engine lunched itself and the bodywork plus engine costs made it unviable - off it went to the breakers. During these few years of E34 ownership though I had learned from a obscure thread on a different forum that one very special E34 Alpina Touring existed so I secretly said to myself if it was ever discovered I would try and buy it - meanwhile I consoled myself with this, a one of 12 right hand drive cars E39 B10 V8 Touring... Individual Steel Grey metallic, Individual light grey Nappa leather, Individual black birch trim and c£17k worth of extras on top of the c£57k 2001 new price - it had been Sytners demonstrator and was one of just four facelift B10 V8 Tourings in right hand drive - the old forum5 even had a thread on it before I bought it withe the title 'Is this the most beautiful E39 in existence?' Whether it is or isn't is down to taste but the colours and the very high spec; full Nav, Motorola phone, DSP, TV, heated leccy sports seats, M5 mirrors, auto-dim mirrors and full electric windows with rear door blinds, all mean it is still a very nice car. I have upgraded the phone to factory bluetooth and put in a factory digital TV tuner as well as some other nice bits and despite a major engine blip a few years ago it is still my daily driver. I will start another thread about it at some stage. Absolutely stunning and about the best E39 touring out there IMO - a real credit to you 👍🏼 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfan Posted November 16, 2022 Author Share Posted November 16, 2022 (edited) The E34 with it's stable mates... Edited November 17, 2022 by Sharkfan 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfan Posted December 2, 2022 Author Share Posted December 2, 2022 (edited) A few more pics from when I first got it back home. Switch-Tronic steering wheel and ultramarine buffalo leather interior. Details of the extra Alpina instruments, (L-R), Engine oil temp, Engine oil pressure, Switch-Tronic gear, Differential oil Temp And the lump that pushes it all about. 340bhp and 354 lbft, 4.6 litre 32 valve V8. The all important plaque, car number 16 of 19 made. Edited June 18, 2023 by Sharkfan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobiwine Posted December 3, 2022 Share Posted December 3, 2022 Wonderful collection you’ve got there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryM Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 You're a very lucky man Kevin, have you done a thread on the M635 - that was my dream car when I was a bit younger! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfan Posted January 18, 2023 Author Share Posted January 18, 2023 (edited) There is a short thread on the bigcoupe forum about both my E24’s; an M635 was my dream car too and after 3 635CSi’s I managed to get hold of one. I’ve had a full restoration done on the bodywork and it’s always garaged now. Lee has done some excellent work on the front suspension links, cooling system and after getting the tappets done the engine is back to a fabulous Swiss watch with nearly 300bhp again - fabulous. Edited January 20, 2023 by Sharkfan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryM Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 On 18/01/2023 at 22:41, Sharkfan said: There is a short thread on the bigcoupe forum about both my E24’s; an M635 was my dream car too and after 3 635CSi’s I managed to get hold of one. I’ve had a full respiration done on the bodywork and it’s always garaged now. Lee has done some excellent work on the front suspension links, cooling system and after getting the tappers done the engine is back to a fabulous Swiss watch with nearly 300bhp again - fabulous. I'll see if I can track that thread down. Lee seems much too popular these days, or maybe I just don't spend enough money with him to get special treatment 🙁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfan Posted March 17, 2023 Author Share Posted March 17, 2023 Bits… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfan Posted March 23, 2023 Author Share Posted March 23, 2023 (edited) Did a bit of work on the E34 these past few weeks - some necessary, some optional. The front struts were changed as one had developed a fatal crack above the cup but below the shock absorber gland nut. Knowing that the other side looked in similar condition the last time I was poking around I bit the bullet and bought two good ones from the ever resourceful Tim Pollock. I also picked up some other bits while I was up there but once home I decided to fully refurbish the struts before installing them. That meant cleaning out all the crack from the cup and the cup drain hole, followed by a complete rub down of the strut, treat with Bilt Hamber hydrate 80, wait, then paint with black exterior metal paint. Then it was take the old struts out - during this the cracked strut sheared so it was a bugger of a job due to the spring fully extending, then it got worse as once apart I could not remove the gland nut without damaging it and the dowty seal inside it. Then it was a fruitless battle with BMW UK to try and order the 'Alpina only' gland nut - this was weeks ago and despite being able to directly e-mail the factory to establish they have them in stock I still haven't got an answer back from BMW UK. Whilst searching part numbers I discovered the part isn't 'Alpina only' as the same physical sized shock absorber was sold as a Sports Suspension set-up by Bilstein way back when. Numerous telephone calls to Bilstein Technical (who can't directly sell you bits) and online chats to the UK Bilstein supplier (who won't answer the phone) led me to those three bits pictured above... The gland nut, the seal and the specific spanner which I now know MASSIVELY increases the ability to both loosen and correctly tighten the gland nut onto the strut. Then it was the simply job of strip one broken strut of the Alpina disc, brake caliper, spring and shock absorber and then re-assemble on my freshly painted strut. Then it was simply a job of checking the other side - naturally the other refurbished strut looked miles better so I swapped that one over too. While the car was in my -'fix-it' garage rather the tidy garage it shares with the B12 I decided to have a long overdue go at the rear glass struts - I had done one before, many moons ago but I still had to look at this vid to clue me back in on what to remove... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVXSD2ubrqM For anyone attempting this, the circlips which you might probably lose are part number 0711 9 932 822 and if you don't want to pay extortionate BMW prices for the struts the Stabilus part number is 7101FU. Arm yourself with a suitable tube for strut insertion, the magnet as the guy in the video suggests, and be prepared to be very patient. You will probably want to clean up any rust you find and either treat, paint or waxoyl the glory once you have the new strut inserted. The best method of getting the teeny-tiny circlip back on is needle nose pliers - I tried other methods but this is what worked for me. While I was arsing around at the back I upgraded the rear light bulbs to 15w from their standard 10w. This came after following another E34 at night recently - those old lamps and dim bulbs really aren't man enough so I sourced some BA15s 15w bulbs and have done both E34 and E24 to increase visibility to other cars. I also changed out a quite crazed tailgate cluster for a gifted one from a good friend who put new on his - purely cosmetic but better looking now. Lastly I had a go at the cruise control. My car was pretty well specified from new but no cruise control but when I bought the car over ten years ago I had to replace the nearside front speaker and behind that I found a multi pin electrical connector and loom. A bit of research showed it was for Cruise so I looked in the engine bay and found the loom connection for the actuator and cable. I searched up some numbers and bought the correct second hand actuator, control box and stalk bits from here and there but sadly it didn't work, and so it remained for all these years. When I picked up the struts from Tim they had come off a 540i he had in for breaking which as luck would have it had factory Cruise control. A quick fit, and then a test drive today has proved it all works - happy days. It's another OEM option I have fitted and I think I'll start a 'What have you added to your E34' thread in the E34 section soon. Edited September 20, 2023 by Sharkfan 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KennyP Posted April 12, 2023 Share Posted April 12, 2023 (edited) It's interesting looking at the pic of your engine. As my (e39) one is early non-vanos too it all looks quite similar intake wise, the connector for the MAF & the TPS sitting on top. The plastic engine cover is a different shape though in places at least no doubt to fit the different bonnet shape etc. Mine now booked in late May to have all the bits fitted. Edited April 12, 2023 by KennyP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfan Posted December 22, 2023 Author Share Posted December 22, 2023 Sorry Kenny, I hadn't seen your reply - is yours all bolted together with all the new bits now? The engine cover may look a little similar but they are actually quite different engines - yours is an M62B46, mine is the older M60B46 so no electronic throttle, no single row timing chains and generally just the older architecture engine. In other news I had always been jealous of the older E31, E32 and E34 Alpina cars and their grill badges. B10 3.5... BiTurbo... E31... For whatever reason the B10 4.0 and B10 4.6 did not have these - probably because unlike the B10 3.5 and B10 BiTurbo where Alpina made way over 500 cars of each, there were only 49 B10 4.0 cars and 46 B10 4.6 cars ever made. This little lot were made for me in CNC aluminium instead of the original (very flimsy) pressed aluminium sheet and are winging their way to me... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KennyP Posted December 26, 2023 Share Posted December 26, 2023 Sorry chap, not been on here for a while. My one in an early one so proper throttle cable throttle cable and the bizarre cable actuated asc system with a secondary butterfly valve in the Intake system that closes to reduce wheelspin. This gives 2 throttle cables! Can't help thinking a modern Racelogic type electronic system would help get rid of lots of old electronic stuff and the secondary butterfly valve giving a cleaner inlet path. Yes. all back together late summer. The new arms have made huge difference to how it drives but I would still like to replace the dampers with fresh Alpina ones if they ever start making them again! Can't beat a good badge!😃 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfan Posted January 3 Author Share Posted January 3 (edited) Badges arrived and fitted - only two nuts but not a five minute job as the front grill has to come off and I took the opportunity to replace the black plastic section behind the kidneys (that got damaged when the bonnet cable snapped) and then decided to also polish the kidneys and the silver front grill section too. Edited February 2 by Sharkfan 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfan Posted March 4 Author Share Posted March 4 Spot the difference… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan-uk Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 Mud flaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfan Posted March 4 Author Share Posted March 4 Close, but no cigar. I've changed the 18" front wheels for the original 17's for a little more sidewall and a little more comfort in the pot-holed South East. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan-uk Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 Yeh, roads are shite - make me wince all the time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfan Posted March 12 Author Share Posted March 12 My next project after finally sorting the rear suspension, is to sort out a solution for the instrument cluster. The last 50 made E34 Bi10 BiTurbos and the B10 4.0 and B10 4.6 cars had an Alpina specific cluster with a blue bezel, blue dials with white number and red needles, but just like the right hand drive E38 cars which were made in such small numbers Alpina didn't bother making MPH speedos, neither did they for my right hand drive B10 4.6. I managed to get hold of a cluster from a late BiTurbo and because it is based on an early straight 6 535i car the back of the cluster is very different to my late V8 car. I swapped over the bezel and individual instruments and to my surprise they all worked... ...except the speedo. The speedo needle registers but reads the wrong speed. You can see in the comparison above that 100mph/160kph is in a different place and that while the standard 540i clocks go to 260kph/160mph the Alpina ones wizz round to 320kph/200mph. I have got by with a black speedo and the rest blue for the last few years but have always wanted to get it sorted. I recently found a chap in the US who managed to correct his E34 speedo a long time by firstly fitting a variable resistor in place of a constant resistor on the back of the instrument and then after testing fitting a fixed resistor of the correct value in place. I think it is along the lines of this thread... http://bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/467642/ ...but I'm waiting for him to get back to me. BTW, I fixed the outside temp wiring now! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan-uk Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Do you have any thoughts on a blue face? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan-uk Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Sorry i see you did this a while back - could you have something printed maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkfan Posted March 12 Author Share Posted March 12 I could possibly get something printed but for the messing about with a resistor and a bit of solder I could get the genuine Alpina Speedo working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan-uk Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 Yeh, i was just thinking about the MPH thing - have KPH in the alfa and its the mental maths. Bought one of these to use when out and about. -just need to hardwire it and find a spot - not ideal but useful - suppose phone could do the job. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/315086576923?itmmeta=01HRWBXVEV7KSY0TQ53SGQ77N0&hash=item495c9f9d1b:g:B1cAAOSwJbVlnkkJ&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAAwOfBFNsTgYJ6gdJ6xyFd8RfITvwlZKiYv830eJR3wn7TkR0LSiPFeXAfTxFB9DZdEpljQjSKHQsChDRfNLv920AgqJwUSVuCHAZLNaVHkmmGLU1xxelckNoUQOH1sOIA%2FX1rynnQx0JvXUAPH4eeq%2Fv4r3bNqds8pN%2B8C3hgJgSBDvFAibuOQPfAGpREGuqauRpv0PYUshtBikY7V2nzJ4PuNkXLOXOZadH2555ggMTfUEkOblAkq%2Ba821VSlK79XA%3D%3D|tkp%3ABlBMUNK394vHYw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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