mccusername

There's actually not a filter inside the rectangular air box. Alpina used a separate in-line air filter, which consisted of two large (7" in diameter) Knecht air filters joined face to face by a bracket. In the 1600-2, there is room for the bracket and air filter to mount above the battery. @NickVyse I have been in touch with Guido on and off about his quest to have a reproduction of the Alpina air filter made but progress seems... slow. I might have to strike out on my own.

I looked for some of those ‘old-timey’ looking batteries but couldn’t find anything that fit. Closest was a faux 6v battery made for 356s. I do have a nice repro 6v Varta battery sticker, and a repro Bosch 6v coil sticker, but at some point maybe it gets a bit twee and/or dangerous to purposely mislabel electrical components. There is nothing uglier than that purple filter. Looks like we’ll have to fabricate the Alpina air filter. In the meantime I’ve got some trumpets that look just like what Alpina offered as an alternative, but the air box actually works really well.

Everything appears 6v but it is actually 12v. A previous owner had already converted the car but we put some (foolish?) effort into keeping a stock 6v appearance, including converting a 6v generator into a 12v alternator, and putting 12v regulator guts into a 6v regulator. The battery is a small, black 12v but it is located in the correct position for the early cars-- very low-- and the correct battery tray had to be fabricated (it has sort of a pressed X in the bottom instead of a hole). The Alpina jetting prescription for the 1600 motor was indeed the starting point. I think Nate at SCR made a few adjustments but the basic idea is keep the venturi small. Have not been able to find the correct Alpina air filter housing (they used two Knecht filters pressed together) so currently the car has a K&N filter stuck on the Alpina air box. Both the car and I are humiliated.

Only briefly. I wasn't trying to keep things period correct on the internals or anything, but you have to draw the line on mission creep somewhere. Bang for buck, using polished/balanced OEM bits was how we chose to go.

C'est moi. The engine is done, the rest of the car is, um, ongoing. A 1600 block with original 118 head with small intake and exhaust valves, forged JE pistons at about 9.5, a BMW 300 degree motorsport cam with big journals, rebuilt Italian 40DCOE's with little bitty chokes, early Alpina intake manifolds and 'cracker box' air box. Original crank, flywheel, mechanical clutch and early 4-spd. Engine build overseen by Nate William at SCR. The idea was to stick as closely as possible to the original Alpina equipment and formula for the 1600 engines. I haven't driven it much since the car isn't all the way done, and I was conservative with the RPM, but so far I love it. Very smooth and free-revving, as is the nature of the 1600. I was really concerned about a lumpy idle and I have no complaints at all. Maybe a hint more 'character' than stock but I wouldn't describe it as lumpy at all (should note that I'm using a 123 distributor as well). Quick, light and smooth! Michael

More importantly, anybody have a ticket they're not using?

My ass demands only the finest.

The real trick is to match these period pictures with confirmed dates. I think the BMW accessories catalogue is from late '73... would like to know the date of that particular Scheel ad. This ad looks similar and is from 1974-- This one is from 1970-- And these are from Sep '69--

Second that. They will give you good advice at the least. Or just send it to Retro Engineering in the UK. Shipping to Europe would be expensive but if you think of it as a percentage of the horrifically expensive rebuild it'll make you feel better.

Yes, I wish I knew that too. I think these are indeed Scheel 200s from say '72-'74 but perhaps the 'factory' ones had special markings or some other distinguishing characteristic. I've read many many of @LarsAlpina's posts and they're incredibly helpful, maybe he'll chime in at some point. Or @uai? Hint... Steve, Scheel 203s were more commonly used by Alpina, perhaps more in E21s. I think they are a little broader across the top. It is super hard to track all the little changes and variations over the years and Scheels are less documented than Recaros it seems.

Calling all Scheel experts and seat nerds... I got a set of Scheels from Germany that were advertised by the seller as the factory option sports seats. I have no reason to doubt the seller's intent but the seats have been recovered and no longer have their Scheel tags so I'm trying to confirm what they are. In these pictures, the seat is not assembled, so the upper and lower half are just resting against each other. Nonetheless, the seats look a little larger than I thought Scheel 200s would be. As a reference, I have the seat in question lined up against a Scheel 500 (larger) and a very early Scheel 200, which is notably smaller. I'm going to get these re-covered and if they are actually factory option sport seats, I will keep them very close to original. If not... Alpina stripes! Thanks Michael

I have a car at SCR right now and they had a Scheel 300 re-done for me by magic New England elves somewhere. It looks fantastic but if I want my car finished I have to stop distracting those guys with my seat habit.

Oh no, if I had Idealsitzen they would go to Tony. We're just talking Scheels here!

I'm sure Tony wouldn't mind going to his local Greyhound depot and picking them up! 😜 I know it's worked for some people but Greyhound is a huge pain, and they lost my Dad's 911 Turbo whale tail, so no-go for me. If you looked at how much it actually costs to Fedex or UPS these, you might not spend my money for me! I already shipped them from Germany and it made me cry. There has to be top-notch upholstery shops in the tri-state area. The seats are already in pieces though-- mostly because I can't for the life of me get them back together.

These seats are on the East Coast and too heavy to ship (again). Is there an equivalent to Autos International or Tony at Autobahn on the East Coast?