E24 B7 Turbo Coupe vs E34 B10 BiTurbo? - Page 2 - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

bmb7t · 17th August 2008, 00:56

Sorry to hear about your issues with the B7. I saw some pics in some other posts and the car just looks so nice.
I knew about the polyurethane bracket to be changed on the E12-E24-E28 but I did not know that the rear chassis was a weak point for the E24. It is useful to hear feedback like those: so much to learn! ...and I will certainly think it twice before buying one (No rush, I do not have the money for it!).

Alpina: if you have the money, I am pretty sure that the one in UK is still for sale. 35,000 English pounds if I recall (44,000 euros!)...but it looked like a clean one.

alpina · 17th August 2008, 09:05

44000 euros?

pics?
I have also the expenses to bring to spain...

Sherlock · 17th August 2008, 11:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmb7t

I did not know that the rear chassis was a weak point for the E24.

It is such a weak point that BMW developed a "Differential Mount Repair Kit" in 1985. Here is the documentation: Differential Mount Repair

Here is a pic of the damage to my B7. There are 2 cracks: 1 near the bolt, and one on the flat bar :

Now the chassis has been duly reinforced around the 4 bolts, so this is behind me.

Two things I learned in 4 years of ownership of this B7:
1. strange problems can happen that you would not even thought about.
2. there are people who knew about these problems before you, thus there is a solution (mainly through BMW or Alpina itself for the engine).

The problem with old Alpinas is that not all spare parts exist anymore. Therefore we sometimes depend on the goodwill of some individuals in Buchloe to repair the most complicated pieces, such as the Pierburg Injection head (actually the repair is made at Pierburg plant in Neuss, but there they only accept orders from Alpina. Believe me, I tried... ) .
My fear is the going concern of my B7 (and B10 BT), when the people who have the knowledge won't be there anymore...

Aston (my other yougtimer) does not have that issue, because they decided to make a business out of the "heritage" cars, i.e. all parts are available, people are trained on how to make and install them , etc. Of course the price of Aston pieces is like beluga's one.
Which makes the B7 maintenance price look like cheap in comparison .

When I will have the B7 back at home (hopefully in a few days or two weeks) I will post a separate post with all encountered issues in the last 4 years, and their solution.

bmb7t · 17th August 2008, 17:21

alpina: here is the link. Alpinablue, white leather...the cost to bring it to spain would be small in comparison of purchase and maintenance. You could also just drive it from UK to Spain (2,000 kms), I am sure that you would enjoy the ride...(be careful not to loose your driver license by the time that you arrive).
BMW Alpina B7 Turbo E24 for sale, classic cars for sale uk

Sherlock: I do understand your concern. It is in fact somehow amazing that Piersburg is still in business and are still willing to work on it. If I recall some articles, the exhaust manifold is no longer available also and that is a nice piece of art! I think that the Piersburg injection would be the most difficult part. Not only to rebuilt but to understand and have the knowledge, as you indicated.
Does anybody know: how is it done for rolls Royce for example? If a 1920 model needs specific parts, does RR still provide them? Are there shops that would custom make any parts as requested?

alpina · 17th August 2008, 19:43

this car is perfect and fantastic.I have my 2 cars for sale and if they were already out of my house, tomorrow was going to lose the card ...

Chas C · 18th August 2008, 11:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmb7t

You could also just drive it from UK to Spain (2,000 kms),

The car is in Southampton so it could get to Spain for less than 20km (Portsmouth - Bilbao ferry).

alpina · 18th August 2008, 22:54

44000 euros is very very money

alpinacsi · 18th August 2008, 23:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sherlock

It is such a weak point that BMW developed a "Differential Mount Repair Kit" in 1985. Here is the documentation: Differential Mount Repair

Here is a pic of the damage to my B7. There are 2 cracks: 1 near the bolt, and one on the flat bar :

Now the chassis has been duly reinforced around the 4 bolts, so this is behind me.

That brings back many not so pleasant memories. My early e24 had already received the BMW repair kit but it was either not done soon enough or did not fix the total damage. I ended up reinforcing from one side to the other to make sure the issue did not reappear. This happened at about 75k miles in about '98 and as far as I know has not been a problem for the current owner.

Now if you were to introduce rust into this area, it would be time for some serious praying.

alpinab846 · 19th August 2008, 21:58

Well- I had the experience with a B7S E24 some 20 years ago-in Comparison to a M5 E28- the Alpina is a truly terrible quick car in a straight line. But that has been 20 years ago.

The E34 is much more refined, has a much better Injection System with less faults....it is a different world, just like comparing a Gullwing with a R107 Merc.....

The one is a classic car, the other is going to get one in the future. The Pierburg DL Injection System is complex nowadays....

alpina · 19th August 2008, 22:11

also a very important difference is that a model is another coupe and saloon.Always will have more value a classic coupe old or even more problematic than a saloon.Yo believe that the models E34 never come to be called "classics".