Needle in Haystack - 1970 2002 Alpina

[grbbenny]

Taking a trip down memory lane leads me to make this post. In 1970 the BMW dealership in Calgary, Alberta, Canada ordered two 2002s and had them shipped directly to Alpina for modification before delivery to Calgary. I owned one of those cars in the 1980s - a Colorado Orange car bearing VIN 1675426. Modifications included twin Weber 45DCOE carbs with the Alpina airbox, Alpina head with 301 degree billet cam, 10.2:1 compression, Alpina round hole steel wheels with caps, Alpina roll bar, ventilated front disc brakes, 40% limited slip diff, Alpina springs, etc. I had the original spec sheet from Alpina. In a weak moment I sold it to a fellow from Dearborn, Michigan. In an impressive display of youth and stamina, he drove from Dearborn, Michigan to Calgary, looked at and bought the car and then drove it back to Dearborn. An honest fellow - he forgot to sign one of the traveller's cheques he used to pay for the car (remember those?). I mailed it to him and he signed it and sent it back!

 

Anyone know whether the car still lives?

Edited May 31, 2019 by grbbenny

[markmac]

Probably not the same car, I parted out an early Alpina 2002 that came out of Ocean Motors (apparently), it had a 2oo2 'Rallyemotor' in it - the shell was toast, but I took the front suspension and motor.  Sold it to a dude in Japan for a pile of dough.  Wish I kept it.....like many others.  No idea what the vin of the car was though, probably a different car.  For all the millennials out there that don't know what it was like without internet, this is after post office (like mail) and BI (before internet) - facsimile.....this motor was #1292 with cylinder head #3044, despite what some think, Alpina did keep some records.  Some.  Ask nicely and sometimes you get rewarded.  Frau Reif, who as I understand now has passed away, was a huge help/advocate.

[Conserv]

11 hours ago, grbbenny said:

Taking a trip down memory lane leads me to make this post. In 1970 the BMW dealership in Calgary, Alberta, Canada ordered two 2002s and had them shipped directly to Alpina for modification before delivery to Calgary. I owned one of those cars in the 1980s - a Colorado Orange car bearing VIN 1675426. Modifications included twin Weber 45DCOE carbs with the Alpina airbox, Alpina head with 301 degree billet cam, 10.2:1 compression, Alpina round hole steel wheels with caps, Alpina roll bar, ventilated front disc brakes, 40% limited slip diff, Alpina springs, etc. I had the original spec sheet from Alpina. In a weak moment I sold it to a fellow from Dearborn, Michigan. In an impressive display of youth and stamina, he drove from Dearborn, Michigan to Calgary, looked at and bought the car and then drove it back to Dearborn. An honest fellow - he forgot to sign one of the traveller's cheques he used to pay for the car (remember those?). I mailed it to him and he signed it and sent it back!

 

Anyone know whether the car still lives?

 

Have you requested BMW Group Archives’ data for 1675426 (info.grouparchiv@bmwgroup.com)?  An email with the VIN, requesting their data, is all you need. For cars shipped straight to Alpina, the record generally shows Bovensiepen in Buchloe as the delivery address.

 

The car is not yet in this forum’s Registry — unfortunately. After you get the return email from Group Archives, (a.) open an entry for the car in this forum’s Registry (“Add new vehicle”). (b.) post Archives’ response in the entry. (c.) Make yourself a “follower” of the entry, so you’ll be notified if others post to the car. (d.) Enter what you know about the car. (e.) Post any photos you have of the car to the entry. (f.) Copy and paste a link to this thread within the entry. As the person who set up the vehicle, your username (grbbenny) will automatically be associated with the VIN and perhaps....someone who has further information will post a comment, and they’ll know who to contact! There is no downside.

 

Sounds like a great car!

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited June 1, 2019 by Conserv

[JsnPpp]

Photos of any kind would be really fun to see. Thanks for posting, fuels the dream that there are still barn find Alpina's out there...

 

Jason

[mccusername]

@grbbenny Do you know the name of that BMW dealership in Calgary? I just bought a '68 1600ti out of Alberta and I'm trying to track down as much of its history as I can. Apparently the original owner said he purchased it at the 'first' BMW dealership in Canada-- but it might have been the first dealership in western Canada. I'm not sure if it was Calgary or Vancouver. The dealership raced the car for a year or two before selling it. Seems like the kind of dealership that would order two Alpina cars.

Thanks,

Michael

[grbbenny]

On 6/1/2019 at 10:18 AM, mccusername said:

@grbbenny Do you know the name of that BMW dealership in Calgary? I just bought a '68 1600ti out of Alberta and I'm trying to track down as much of its history as I can. Apparently the original owner said he purchased it at the 'first' BMW dealership in Canada-- but it might have been the first dealership in western Canada. I'm not sure if it was Calgary or Vancouver. The dealership raced the car for a year or two before selling it. Seems like the kind of dealership that would order two Alpina cars.

Thanks,

Michael

It was T&T BMW.

[grbbenny]

On 5/31/2019 at 10:12 PM, JsnPpp said:

Photos of any kind would be really fun to see. Thanks for posting, fuels the dream that there are still barn find Alpina's out there...

 

Jason

Here are a few, pulled from an old CD I have lying around. Note the three gauge pod on the dash. Something I could never get an explanation for are the orange marker lights at the BACK of the car. A previous owner also installed an adjustable rear subframe so the car could be lowered slightly while keeping the camber correct. For some reason I don't have a good photo of the dash - the tach had the ALPINA text in the middle of it.

Edited June 2, 2019 by grbbenny

[grbbenny]

On 5/31/2019 at 9:29 PM, Conserv said:

 

Have you requested BMW Group Archives’ data for 1675426 (info.grouparchiv@bmwgroup.com)?  An email with the VIN, requesting their data, is all you need. For cars shipped straight to Alpina, the record generally shows Bovensiepen in Buchloe as the delivery address.

 

The car is not yet in this forum’s Registry — unfortunately. After you get the return email from Group Archives, (a.) open an entry for the car in this forum’s Registry (“Add new vehicle”). (b.) post Archives’ response in the entry. (c.) Make yourself a “follower” of the entry, so you’ll be notified if others post to the car. (d.) Enter what you know about the car. (e.) Post any photos you have of the car to the entry. (f.) Copy and paste a link to this thread within the entry. As the person who set up the vehicle, your username (grbbenny) will automatically be associated with the VIN and perhaps....someone who has further information will post a comment, and they’ll know who to contact! There is no downside.

 

Sounds like a great car!

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

Good idea, I will do this today.

[Conserv]

Beautiful and desirable example!

 

The rationale behind the extra amber reflectors is certainly lost among old memories and trivia....

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[grbbenny]

2 minutes ago, Conserv said:

Beautiful and desirable example!

 

The rationale behind the extra amber reflectors is certainly lost among old memories and trivia....

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

The rear orange lights actually flashed with the signal lights - very strange!

[mccusername]

What kind of steering wheel is that?

[PaulTWinterton]

It would be really cool if you tracked down your car.  Wish I could add some insight.  Good luck.

 

(my car was bought at T&T as well)

 

[grbbenny]

4 minutes ago, mccusername said:

What kind of steering wheel is that?

If I recall correctly (30 years later!), it was a Moto-Lita? Not positive though.

[Conserv]

22 hours ago, grbbenny said:

The rear orange lights actually flashed with the signal lights - very strange!

 

So they didn’t just bolt on front sidemarkers reflectors, they installed rear sidemarkers lamps and then swapped amber lenses onto them!  

 

I think I’ve got it. One night, after a few beers and a little weed, the owner and a buddy were looking at the car and started thinking....”How cool would it be if....” ???

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited June 3, 2019 by Conserv

[mongo3251]

I am the guy that bought the car from you and took it to Dearborn. I kept it for a few years and then sold it to my brother. He kept it for a few years and sold it to a family friend. After that it ended up somewhere on the central east coast.  We all did mostly good thing to improve it as well as a few dumb things along he way. Best thing I did was install a close ratio 5 speed. I will try to find some pictures of when I had it.