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This is a 1982 BMW E28 528i (euro car) built as a tribute to an Alpina B9 3.5. It is not a real Alpina. It is not a clone, as it has not been built to exact standards, using exact parts and processes as Alpina did when they built the real B9 3.5 cars. This car was built using some Alpina parts, some modern parts and some just plain reliable parts…along with a lot of blood, sweat and…money. The car is not perfect. It has imperfections. They will be listed in this essay. This car was in Bimmer Magazine # 56
A gentlemen in Newport Beach by the name of Ron Perry built 95% of this car. He pretty much did all the visual Alpina Tribute stuff that you see today. Ron worked endlessly on the paint finish, installing the Alpina stripe kit, Alpina replica front spoiler and real Alpina rear spoiler. Ron had fabric made to closely match the Alpina pattern and then had the interior recovered in it. Ron installed the Alpina instrument cluster, Alpina leather steering wheel, Alpina wood shift knob and Alpina dead pedal.
Ron then moved to the engine bay. The engine is a euro M30B34 bored and stroked to 3.7L using Venolia pistons. It has been updated to later Motronic running a 059 ECU. I had a custom chip burned to take into account the 3.7L, 284 cam, 19lbs injectors and big headers. The chip never really worked well and I went back to a stock 059 chip. The engine has been able to achieve the best drivability tune with the stock chip, thus no further work was done on another chip. The 3.7L chip is included with the sale.
A 5spd 265 transmission was installed along with a Dinan short shift kit, matted to a freshly rebuilt Beyer Driveline drive shaft back to a very tight 3:73LSD. Redline fluids have been put in both the transmission and differential.
Suspension is Bilstein Sport struts and shocks with ST springs. Koni sway bars on front and rear (22mm/16mm). The steering has been updated with a M5 close-ratio box that has been freshly rebuilt by Greg Edwards @ Bench Work Steering in Scottsdale, AZ.
The car has 16” Alpina open lug wheels with new Bridgestone RE750 tires. Tires have less than 200 miles on them.
Brakes are currently E32 750il spec. The car previously had Brembo E31 4 pot front calipers installed, but have since been put back to the E32 specs due to installation of the 16” Alpina wheels. (Used to have 17” BMW style 32 wheels installed).
Exhaust has been updated with a set of big headers that have been Jet-Hot coated. Custom intermediate pipes fabricated back to a Stebro rear section consisting of a resonator and rear muffler. The vehicle currently does not have a catalytic converter installed. It is running a Bosch oxygen sensor. A TCD CIAS (cold air intake system) was added on the intake side.
The exterior of the car is Lapis Blue, which is a dark blue with no metallic in it. The car has had paint work in the past with the most recent being the entire left side to remove an ugly inside out dent at the trunk and some odd chips and marks down the side. The front spoiler was replaced with a new replica fiberglass unit at the same time. I then had the entire car re-striped so everything matched. There are still a few rock chips (mostly on the nose) here and there and a mark or two around the vehicle. It is not presented as a perfect, garage queen example. You can drive it without being in fear of nature.
The interior, as noted previously, has been updated with Alpina replica cloth on the front seats, rear seat and door panels. The front seats are Recaro units that just flat suck you in. Standard 3-point belts still present and operational, no boy-racer harnesses installed. A crack free dash has been installed. Has the euro console with aftermarket a/c that works well enough to drive all summer long in Phoenix (as I have). Blaupunkt stereo installed, no crazy sound system. I had a brand new OE BMW E28 M5 black headliner installed in April of 2006. In early April of 2008, the rear seams starting to come apart and BMW said they would replace it under warranty. Turns out I missed the warranty deadline by 2 days (yes, this is correct) and they would not honor the parts warranty. I then paid $400 to buy the new black headliner but have not installed it. It will come with the car but will need to be installed.
Now I will cover the known issues with the car.
1) Headliner will need to be replaced (as previously noted, comes with the car)
2) Front brake pads and rotors are nearing replacement time
3) Some areas around the vehicle have thinning paint, rock chips, etc. As it is not a 100 point car. Please expect some areas to not be perfect. Personal inspection is always best.
4) Small star fracture in the windshield, it is right below the field of vision.
5) This is a TMU (true mileage unknown) car. Originally a euro car, converted to US spec speedometer and then back to euro with the Alpina cluster….who knows how many miles the chassis has seen. Also of note, the Alpina cluster has an issue with the odometer as it reads really slow. Will register about 1 mile for every 100 you drive.
6) As stated above, the car currently has no catalytic converter. This may be a problem in some states so please be prepared for that. Yes, you can install a cat and make it pass (at least here in AZ), but that will be up to you.
As this is a very unique vehicle, it would be best if you can visually inspect the vehicle before purchase. At the least have someone you trust come look at the vehicle. I will accommodate inspection, but I will not be able to drive the vehicle all over to have them done. The vehicle is currently at Beyer Motor Works (a BMW independent repair facility), and can be inspected there any time during business hours.
Please ask any and all questions before the end of the auction. Once the auction ends and you are the high bidder, congratulations, you bought a car. The vehicles sale is final, no refunds. This vehicle is being sold as-is, where-is, with no warranty expressed or implied. I have done my best to describe this vehicle as honestly as I can. It is up to you to inspect the vehicle to your standards.
Transportation after sale is up to the buyer, but I can assist with arrangements if you need help. Airport pick-up is available if you wish to fly in. Please give me decent advanced warning so I can plan accordingly.
PAYMENT: Please read this and understand this section before you place a bid. I will only accept 2 forms of payment for this vehicle. No exceptions.
1) Cash in hand. This means actual cash. Not a money order, bank draft, cashiers check. Actual dead presidents.
2) Bank to Bank Wire Transfer (Preferred method). If you are out of my area, a Bank-to-Bank Wire Transfer is the easiest and fastest form of payment. It is an ebay-approved method and is safe. No more information is needed other than what is printed on your checks.
I DO NOT ACCEPT money orders, cashier checks, loan checks, bank drafts or scams from Nigeria. I sell honestly, I expect you to buy honestly.
Payment must be received no later than 7 days after the end of the auction. On the 8th day, it will be reposted and negative feedback will be left.
Payment must be in my bank and cleared before vehicle will be released.
On Jul-02-08 at 07:43:04 PDT, seller added the following information:
On Jul-02-08 at 08:50:45 PDT, seller added the following information:
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