One BiTurbo back on the road

Thor · 22nd July 2002, 15:46

It took longer than I thought, but my BiTurbo nr 270 is now back on the road

. The long delay was mostly because it took four weeks to get a new headgasket from Alpina/BMW...

The cylinderhead has been completely rebuilt, anything worn was replaced or refurbished. I also changed the cam chain. The cylinders looked almost like new, no signs of wear at all. I noticed that the turbo´s were manufactured in -94, which means that they only have gone about 50000 km, they should be fine for at least another 50000 km.

My other BiTurbo, nr 120, will take me even longer to get fixed. I have removed the engine, and it will be dismantled and left at the place that did the head work, to see what needs to be done with it.

The BiTurbo is a pain in the a** to work with. It´s very tight in the engine bay, especially around the turbo´s. You also have to do things in the absolute right order, otherwise you´ll end up with a hose, nut or whatever that just won´t fit.

In the end it´s worth it of course. I had forgotten how smooth and quiet the BiTurbo goes. Not to mention the blinding acceleration, responsive steering and the finely balanced chassis. Driving a 1985 SAAB 900i for a month, does give you another perspective on things

.

Taipan · 23rd July 2002, 09:43

Congrats on getting the car back on the road!
Saab 900i Now those were great cars. Not too big difference to a Alpina eh? LOL

NRL BITURBO · 24th July 2002, 00:22

Thor,

Sorry, you asked me for the part number of the stronger 'metal' head gasket I had used on mine.

I did trace it from my invoice, but I have been on the road on and off for several weeks now (including presently) and it just slipped my mind to post it when I had the chance.

I shall dig it out and perhaps you could use the stronger gasket on No 0120 :-)

Regards,

Neil

Thor · 24th July 2002, 18:22

Taipan:

Thanks!

The SAAB does run pretty well for a car that has done over 350000 km

Neil:

That would be great. I don´t want to fork out 400 $ again, if I don´t have to.

Taipan · 25th July 2002, 08:41

Yes those Saab´s were made to last.. I´ve seen many examples of over 300 000km driven Turbo models which are in very good condition, engine and all other.. I was actually looking for a Saab 900 Aero (late '80s) but it was a bit too expensive for my budget at the time.. This would have been my second car (am 20) and I would have gone into small engine tuning with it..

Reliable and fast and cheap to maintain