For Sale: 1981 BMW 745i Alpina $6500

I bought this car in October 2000 when we were in CA. It was fun to drive, and needed some TLC. I did a little work to get it running reliably as a commuting and weekend car, and was going to finish it up when we got our own place. That never happened, and we have moved back east to CT. So its for sale.

For those who dont know, this is an original factory TURBO BMW. It was never sold in the US. Rumour is that it was built to compete against the Mercedes 300 SEL 6.9 in the South African Touring Cars racing series in the late 70s and early 80s. It makes about 280 hp stock, but can easily be bumped up by another 100 by increasing boost.

Its titled as a 1982 in CA, but the VIN suggests its an 81. It has 83k miles on the ODO, but based on the Car Fax, I think it probably has 10k more. 

Recent repairs include a rebuilt 3-speed auto tranny, fuel pump, valve adjustment, oil and diff juice, new brake bomb and brake master cylinder, brake calipers and pads, idle control valve, coolant temp sensors, new fuel line and vacuum hoses, fuel pressure regulator, plug wires, cap and rotor, spark plugs and cat converter. 

The head looks like it was replaced at some point - if I remember correctly, it had a newer manufacturing date on it.

The paint is henna red (I think), its well oxidized from the CA sun. On the nose, there is evidence of a partial repaint, which has started fading too. Very minor rust - see photos.  No rust under the car, nor in the strut or shock towers.

Interior is fern green cloth. I don't think the rear had ever been sat upon before I bought the car. It also has an unused first aid kit and an almost full toolkit.

It has front and rear BBS spoilers. Combined with the Alpina Bilstein suspension, high speed cruising is effortless, even at speeds in excess of a buck.  It gave a Ferrari a hard time going up the hill to Ridge's Montebello Vineyard, too, and won a salute! I love driving this car.

Needless to say, its way lower than stock. No self leveling rear suspension to drive you into poverty, either.

The engine is in good condition. The car does not overheat, and idles and drives fantastically. Gives full boost, and sounds like a jet! Whoosh! My daughter (5 years old) loves it.

I have a set of 7 inch euro headlights too, not installed yet. Also included - manuals, microfiches, etc.

Problems not resolved yet:

- a/c not charged, nor tested to see if its working

- turbo cooling fan dead - have spare - need to install

- Blower speed switch has been bypassed and replaced by a 3 position switch. All the vacuum switching in the HVAC system works, however. 

- Some of the gauges don't work - connectors under dash need cleaning, I suspect. It has a 3 guage package for coolant temp, oil temp and voltage.

I paid $5250 for it. Too much, some say, but its a lot of car, and is more fun than most cars costing a lot more. I have at least $2k more in it. It should not be too hard for someone to make mechanically perfect.  It does attract attention. At least 1 2002 has turned around to come back and look at this car.

It would be very hard to replicate the suspension, and I think the car is unique for that alone. Having gone through many suspension variations to get happy with my 635, Alfa gtv6, and 530i, I am far more satisfied with this car than any of those. I almost like it as much as my Lotus Elan, from a handling perspective. You could buy any number of e23s for this kind of money, but they'd still handle like boats. 

What it really needs is a 5-speed. Which I have..another project waiting to happen..

I'll offer it for $6500. Show me a bid. 

Contact: Samir Shah, 203-273-0360 cell, 203-461-8738 Home, 203-618-1133 W.

Email: sshobby@optonline.net

Some more pictures:

Links:

BMW 7 Series Registry

745i Central

745i Turbo Modifications - Tuoma Perfection

Bimmer.org - e23 Board

Carfax data: