From e30 to e9. My 3.0cs with a little ALPINA

[JamesE30]

Hi guys,

I'm very happy to say that I am now the owner of this 1975 3.0CS! #4300382

My names' James, I live in Stuttgart, Germany and work in Automotive design. The e9 coupe is a car I've always loved for its elegant low slung stance and crazy proportions. I'm super excited to start work on this one!
Coming from an e30 background I've got a fair bit of experience working on bmws but I'm definitely learning more and more as I go and look forward to contributing more to this forum as I go. I already have plenty of questions too haha

My M-Tech 1 323i back in Australia

And my 318is daily driver here in Germany (with 340,000kms haha)

The car is not completely original and is far from perfect condition, the engine is not running well and needs to be tuned, but for me this is exactly the type of car I've been looking for. A car I can really work on myself and build into what I want and actually drive it! This won't be a concours garage queen, but as you can see with my other bmw's I still love attention to detail and I will take good care of it. Maybe one day I plan to completely strip the car and rebuild it but that could be 10 years from now!

The History of the car is a little vague as the original papers were lost a long time ago.
I do know that the elderly gentleman I bought the car from in Frankfurt, Germany has owned the car since 1997, and he had the replacement papers issued when he purchased the car.
2 years ago the electric fuel pump started having problems, he replaced the pump in the trunk and hasn't been able to get it to run properly again. Due to old age and illness he never got around to fixing it and it has sat for the last 1.5 years.
Prior to the previous owner (more than 20 years ago) the car has gone through somewhat of a restoration. There are rust repairs in the floor and wheel arches and I'm very pleased to find out the underbody still looks to be very straight and clean! However of course there are some rust spots here and there in the door and bumpers I will need to take care of.

The car was originally presumably Taiga Green and has been resprayed possibly Anthraciteblau or Nachtblau? There is no record of the new colour code so it really could be anything. A friend of mine in the car industry is solving this mystery using the fuel filler door to match the colour to a paint code.
The paint is OK but not great, scratches and bubbles here and there. When I get the paint matched I'll repair some parts.

And now for the most interesting part:

Fitted to this engine are original triple Solex 40DDH carbs along with the Alpina airbox, as found on the Alpina B2. On further inspection, the engine block has in fact got " xxxx B2" Stamped near the firewall.
Is this one of the alleged 192 Alpina B2 Engines produced? Can anyone tell me if there is anything else I can look for to confirm?

Plan is to get the thing running well, just go through and fix/service/update everything mechanical so I can really drive the car properly! Cosmetics and rust repairs will come along the way.

Any tips and advice is much appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Stevehose]

Welcome, I can't answer the real B2 question, but the carbs and the airbox are to die for! Good luck, looks like quite a find, keep us posted.

 

[wilies13]

Hi James,
I´m living in Waiblingen a few kilometers away from you. And there is Fabian with a ongoing full resto, living in Fellbach.
And some others....
Best Regards;
Willy

 

[Markos]

Score! I saw this car when it was for sale. Love the Alpina box!

 

[CSteve]

Score! I saw this car when it was for sale. Love the Alpina box!

I love the original velour, black or grey. Can we see more photos of the seats? Is it the original fabric? Thanks, Steve

 

[zinz]

Alpina air box and triple Solex DDHs... Love it. That is a GREAT carburetor! I run two of them on my '71, 2002. They are quite tunable and though some parts are hard to locate, it is worth the searching! I would recommend Ruddies-Berlin for Solex parts. Ruddie is very knowledgeable about the DDH and was able to help me tremendously. http://www.ruddies-berlin.de/index2.html

That engine is going to sound AWESOME when tuned up. I bet you the new electric pump is delivering too much fuel pressure. The Solexes only need about 2psi. Plumb a fuel pressure regulator between the pump and carb and set it to 2psi... I bet it helps your problem. I would also put a check valve between the pump and the tank to keep fuel from draining back into the tank after sitting. That check valve will keep fuel in the entire length of fuel line and makes for quicker restarts. I notice that Walloth&Nesch is now selling them... though they can be bought online for much cheaper.
https://www.wallothnesch.com/en/non-return-valve-13-20-00.html

Congratulations on great car! Beautiful job on repainting the airbox and valve cover!

Ed Z

 

[JamesE30]

Cheers guys,

Hi James,
I´m living in Waiblingen a few kilometers away from you. And there is Fabian with a ongoing full resto, living in Fellbach.
And some others....
Best Regards;
Willy

Nice! Would love to see some other local e9's, definitely would be great to get some advice in person too. Waibelingen and Fellbach are not far away at all!

Alpina air box and triple Solex DDHs... Love it. That is a GREAT carburetor! I run two of them on my '71, 2002. They are quite tunable and though some parts are hard to locate, it is worth the searching! I would recommend Ruddies-Berlin for Solex parts. Ruddie is very knowledgeable about the DDH and was able to help me tremendously. http://www.ruddies-berlin.de/index2.html

That engine is going to sound AWESOME when tuned up. I bet you the new electric pump is delivering too much fuel pressure. The Solexes only need about 2psi. Plumb a fuel pressure regulator between the pump and carb and set it to 2psi... I bet it helps your problem. I would also put a check valve between the pump and the tank to keep fuel from draining back into the tank after sitting. That check valve will keep fuel in the entire length of fuel line and makes for quicker restarts. I notice that Walloth&Nesch is now selling them... though they can be bought online for much cheaper.
https://www.wallothnesch.com/en/non-return-valve-13-20-00.html

Congratulations on great car! Beautiful job on repainting the airbox and valve cover!

Ed Z

Hi Ed! Thanks for the advice and information, unfortunately I just ordered a new pump!
The pump in there is actually branded "Automotive England" # 7.21440 .53, after searching for that part number it appears to be the same as the Pierburg pump which is rated at 2.18psi.. Having read that others are using Facet or Carter pumps at around 3psi I thought it might actually be running too low! So I ordered a Facet 40105 which is rated at 3-4.5psi.. If it is indeed running at the correct pressure already that is disappointing as I was sure that was part of the problem. The previous owner said the car was running well before he started messing around with the fuel pump, so I wanted to avoid adjusting the carbs until I'd exhausted all other options.

Symptoms are high idle, stumbling and stalling, but I haven't really had the car running long enough to diagnose anything more specific..
I guess at least with the slightly higher pressure pump I have some room to adjust the pressure with a regulator. I'll also ad a check valve as per your recommendation.

Until now the car has had no fuel filter installed and no air filter so I am sure the carbs are dirty as well though I didn't think this would be the entire problem since I was sure it was fuel pump related.
I've bought rebuild kits for the DDH carbs but I wanted to avoid taking them apart as long as possible as I'm not confident at all about such a complicated carburettor.

Any other suggestions about the fuel pump?
Thanks!

I love the original velour, black or grey. Can we see more photos of the seats? Is it the original fabric? Thanks, Steve

The front seats are leather e21 Recaros and the rear appears to be the original black velour. I'll post some new pics when my steering wheel arrives


On another note, went to change the front brake discs yesterday (It has vented discs all round) and turns out my discs are thicker than the original CS/CSI discs. Mine measure approx 271 x 28mm wide, any idea what these are off?? Brake pad part number is #11179369 which seems to be e12 or e28. Did Alpina do Big brake kits for the e9 like they did for the e30?

 

[zinz]

I always suggest sorting out your ignition system prior to futzing with the carbs and such. Pull your plugs and check their color and condition; this will tell you a lot about your engine's running condition.

My tuneup procedure is valve adjustment first, then new/correct plugs (not platinum), new points condensor, ignition advance properly set (does the timing mark bounce around significantly in the timing light strobe?... if so, maybe think about a new dizzy), after you know the ignition is sorted out, then you can begin to play with the carbs.

Don't be intimidated by the Solexes, they just need to be cleaned and probably rebuilt with new seals. The tops come off easily and you can blast them out, if they are filthy. The fuel level is critical to good running with any sidedraft; fortunately, the DDH is very simply adjusted from the brass inlet port, just loosen the top jamb nut and adjust with the lower nut. Easy.
After that, it's a matter of syncing them (gotta buy the sync tool), or better yet buy a 6-port manometer, to really do the job properly. You see the DDHs have vacuum ports that allow you to pull vacuum signal from to sync the carbs exactly... very very helpful. Adjusting the idle mix screws and sync are crucial to good running.

Buy this book on Solex carbs. I found it has plenty of information about the DDH to solve most issues and has good photos. Ruddies site also has good schematics.

Do some reading and you'll get comfortable working on the car. Stevehose (replied above) is very good about setting up triple carbs). This site is very good about helping folks out. I bet you get it running well in no time. Ignition first, then fuel.

Ed

 

[JamesE30]

Awesome, thanks again. I'll definitely have a look for that book.
The NGK plugs I took out were black and wet (all 6 the same), I have replaced them with Bosch WR7DC+.
I have ordered a new distributor cap and will order new points and condensor now.

 

[Stevehose]

I guess living in Germany you can still get German Bosch plugs, correct should be W7DC or W8DC (hotter), non resisted. I've used both German Bosch and NGK and prefer NGK BP5ES (hotter) or BP6ES. Obviously your carbs are too rich or plugs not firing from igniton issues per Zinz.

 

[zinz]

I agree with Steve on the plug choice. NGKs for me. All the plugs were wet, or just a couple?

The DDH have a cold start mechanism that is notorious for leaking at idle (high vacuum). I'll try to get you some pics on how to easily defeat that mechanism. (here ya go)

See the line that runs from the cold starter to the throttle plate? Pull that line and plug the nipples. This will keep the leaking stater valve from dumping fuel.



Another simple step you could take on the carbs is to check where each idle mix screw is set. Remember to write this information on a pad of paper... take a long thin screwdriver and turn each idle mix screw in until just seated. Count how many turns it takes to gently seat each screw. Look to see if any are drastically different than the others. Properly set up, the DDH should only need about 1 1/2 to 2 turns out from seated. If the mix screws are much further out than 2 turns, I'd put them at 2 turns out and see how the engine responds.

 

[JamesE30]

Ok thanks guys I'll order some NGK's, the Bosch are brand new but spark plugs are cheap and I'd rather start off with the right ones. I'll go with the BP5ES.
All 6 were the same, black and a little wet but not soaked.
What change should I expect to see from blocking that vacuum line? Does the cold start mechanism ad fuel under high vacuum?

I received my distributor cap today, and yet again another part that doesn't fit.. It's far too small. RealOEM lists 12111351446 for the cap and 12111355211 for the rotor for a 3.0CS, but my distributor appears to be the larger unit like in the CSI, are they interchangeable or was there a larger variation for the CS? My Bosch distributor # is 0231309006 and the rotor looks like this:

Just want to make sure I'm ordering the right parts!

Thanks a lot for being so helpful guys.

 

[zinz]

That line on the cold starter is actually a fuel line. The starter valve is actuated by a cable-pull that is routed to the cabin and has a choke button on it (I don't see a cable hooked up in your engine bay picture, but unless the mechanisms are blocked off underneath the valve, they can still leak.) The cold start can be also called a "choke", but operates like a miniature carburetor on top of a carburetor... and adds fuel past the throttle plate to help a cold engine warm up. These were designed instead of a "strangler butterfly" in front of the carb throat to clean up the air flow into the venturi.

A quick way to know if they are leaking is to spray carb cleaner at them while the engine is running... if the engine runs differently at all, they are leaking. This will cause your high idle because excess fuel is being dumped past the throttle plate and you can't control it except to plug it. Pull the line and plug the nipples and try respraying with carb cleaner and see if you get no reaction. PLugging them off is no big deal... when the engine is cold you will just need to give it more throttle until it's warmed up.

That big rotor in your picture is a rev-limiting model Those are not really recommended. Ask for the non-limiting model...cheaper, too.

 

[JamesE30]

Great, thank you very much for explaining that. I will look into the cold start system when I next turn the engine over.
Going to look at the distributor tonight and try and figure out exactly what parts to order. The cap and rotor seems to be larger diameter like on the csi but I didn't think injected and carb'd distributors were interchangeable..

As for the brake discs I have no idea what they are from! They are 271mm x 28mm vented and I can't find any other bmw discs in that size, if anyone has a clue, I'd love to know!

 

[Ohmess]

What a cool car. The Webers that I have on my car allow for a similar cold start setup, but I have taken off the cold start units and blocked off the openings. The climate here is fairly mild, and I am willing to put up with a car that runs rough when cold. This reduces the variables I need to deal with to tune my carbs and eliminates a potential source of vacuum leaks.

 

[JamesE30]

So, I've done a valve adjustment. Intake and exhaust adjusted to 0.3mm. I've replaced the points, condensed and distributor cap. I bought a replacement rotor without a limited but it doesn't seem to fit so I'm just using the old one for now. New NGK spark plugs.

Started the car up, it started straight away, idle is high around 2k and crept up to about 2.2k. Seemed to run smooth though.

I tried blocking the cold start line as per your suggestion, Ed. (I also got that book on silex carbs, thanks for the tip)
With the cold start blocked it runs a little more rough... but still idles high. Hard to describe.

Im waiting for my new fuel pump and pressure regulator to arrive. I also need to check the timing with a light still.
Then will try playing with the fuel pressure to see if it makes any difference.

The carbs themselves are wet underneith, sot hey are definitely leaking and need to be cleaned and rebuilt. Saving that til last.

I've also discovered some rust holes in the front wheel wells so will have to address that while I've got the engine bay pulled apart.

 

[daddywad]

Great car, good find, I hope it serves you well!

For those liking the Alpina setup, I still make and sell the repro Alpina Airbox, elbows and manifolds. suitable for any sidedraft carb

see attached flyer

Mark

 

[zinz]

For those liking the Alpina setup, I still make and sell the repro Alpina Airbox, elbows and manifolds. suitable for any sidedraft carb

see attached flyer

Beautiful parts, Mark. Very nice, indeed.

Ed Z

 

[JamesE30]

Double post oops

 

[JamesE30]

Well it’s been a while and sadly my earlier pictures are not up any more. But I’ve been busy working!

After doing further research and contacting Alpina in Buchloe with my engine number, I was able to get confirmation that I do in fact have a genuine 3.0 litre Alpina B2 engine produced in 1978. As it was produced in 1978 this motor would not have been in an original alpina B2 car, but rather a later conversion done by Alpina at a customers request.
They did not have any information about which chassis number the engine was installed into. (Nor do I) however interestingly, I also discovered that my front brakes are original alpina pieces.
270x28mm vented rotors, the Caliper featured a wider spacer than the standard csi vented discs, as well as wider brake pad clips, pins and of course RIBE bolts. Unfortunately the brakes are not reusable as the discs are nla and the Caliper needed complete overhauling.

I’m unsure what to do with these parts now as I plan to just run the standard vented rotors on the front. And was even thinking about machining the spacer down to the apropriate thickness.. thoughts?

As of right now my chassis is completely stripped and ready to be sent to the body shop. I will start a new thread documenting everything but for now I’ll just leave this image here of the cars current condition.