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Alpina Replacement

Discussion of other cars non-Z4
Rich-hill
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Alpina Replacement

Post by Rich-hill » Sat May 27, 2017 3:32 pm

Good afternoon,

I've been a long time member of the forum here, starting life with a Z4 3.0si then a few years away before coming back with Alpina 185.
Having owned the car for 12 months and realising i don't use a second car very much at all i decided to change to something that will be a little more of an ongoing project and sense of occasion when out driving.

There was nothing wrong with the Alpina, I enjoyed every drive, however only covering 1,500-2,000 miles a year i longed for something with a little more theatre.

Image20170521-924A7099 by Rich Hill, on Flickr


Here we are, 1998 Chimaera. It certainly doesn't disappoint when it comes to theatre thats for sure.

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maxman
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Alpina Replacement

Post by maxman » Sat May 27, 2017 3:40 pm

You have taken a brave move. :thumbsup:

Rich-hill
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Alpina Replacement

Post by Rich-hill » Sat May 27, 2017 3:46 pm

maxman wrote: Sat May 27, 2017 3:40 pm You have taken a brave move. :thumbsup:
Fortune favours the brave.. right?

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gannet
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Alpina Replacement

Post by gannet » Sat May 27, 2017 3:58 pm

sweet :driving:
-- Gannet.
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firebobby
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Alpina Replacement

Post by firebobby » Sat May 27, 2017 5:15 pm

They do sound like thunder, you can't beat a V8 burble, good luck with your new toy. Have you checked the chassis as these can/do rot.
BMW Z4 30i 2003 auto 107's Whippy Toledo Blue
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Rich-hill
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Alpina Replacement

Post by Rich-hill » Sat May 27, 2017 5:26 pm

Chassis is still good.
Only covered 29,000 miles and over the last 10 years only done 1,200 due to being in storage.

The sound is something else that's for sure!

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buzyg
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Post by buzyg » Sat May 27, 2017 8:16 pm

That should be fun. :driving: Never been good enough with a spanner to go for a TVR. I'm sure the rewards will be worth the pain. :wink: Enjoy. :thumbsup:
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Rich-hill
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Alpina Replacement

Post by Rich-hill » Sat May 27, 2017 10:06 pm

buzyg wrote: Sat May 27, 2017 8:16 pm That should be fun. :driving: Never been good enough with a spanner to go for a TVR. I'm sure the rewards will be worth the pain. :wink: Enjoy. :thumbsup:
I'm not either but willing to learn.
There is so much to learn and so much help out there too. The driving experience is pretty epic too!

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Mad Professor
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Alpina Replacement

Post by Mad Professor » Sat May 27, 2017 10:15 pm

Been there done that -really depends how you like your theatre -with lots of things falling off all the time and not working -then TVR is def way to go .Both of my TVR's were terrible money pits and spent more time in the garage than on the road .Would I like another TVR -yes for sure :o
Best of luck and enjoy .
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Mad Professor
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Alpina Replacement

Post by Mad Professor » Sat May 27, 2017 10:20 pm

Having said all of that i still think the Griff is one of the most gorgeous cars ever made -i would truly love to own a big valve precat Grif fbut prices are plain silly .
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Past history : ,Z4MR ,Cat HPC evo , XKR , Eunos VR , Eunos VS, Westie S8 ,TVR S2 , S54 Z3MR, SL500 , TVR Wedge 4.6 , Cat Xflow , Saab 900 Turbo ,Cat VXE ,Cat BDR, Cat Twincam , Elan S3 , Haldane Healey, Lancia HF turbo

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TR4man
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Post by TR4man » Sat May 27, 2017 11:03 pm

Hi Rich

I think I've seen your car recently on the Facebook site. I own a very similar looking Chimaera although mine is one of the last 100 with the faired in lights and Tuscan seats. Brilliant cars and as you say full of theatre. :thumbsup:



[IMG]http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j207/ ... 4dt2s2.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j207/ ... ivb0sh.jpg[/IMG]
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Rich-hill
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Alpina Replacement

Post by Rich-hill » Sat May 27, 2017 11:45 pm

buzyg wrote: Sat May 27, 2017 8:16 pm That should be fun. :driving: Never been good enough with a spanner to go for a TVR. I'm sure the rewards will be worth the pain. :wink: Enjoy. :thumbsup:

Rich-hill
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Alpina Replacement

Post by Rich-hill » Mon May 29, 2017 11:36 am

I'm not great with a spanner but I will learn I'm sure.

I've found any little niggles I've had have easily been sorted and pretty inexpensive too

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Post by griffnut » Tue May 30, 2017 10:07 am

Great choice of a week-end toy. You'll definitely now have more "smiles per miles", these cars an addiction. A TVR saying is Once driven Forever Smitten!

The Griffith is a totally different vehicle to drive - especially the 4.3 that has not got the rear Anti-Roll bar. Either Griff/Chim are enjoyable cars to own, but proper maintenance is important.

Enjoy.

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Alpina Replacement

Post by Rich-hill » Tue May 30, 2017 12:13 pm

griffnut wrote: Tue May 30, 2017 10:07 am Great choice of a week-end toy. You'll definitely now have more "smiles per miles", these cars an addiction. A TVR saying is Once driven Forever Smitten!

The Griffith is a totally different vehicle to drive - especially the 4.3 that has not got the rear Anti-Roll bar. Either Griff/Chim are enjoyable cars to own, but proper maintenance is important.

Enjoy.

I've had some quirks already - but easy enough to fix.

I've loved driving it so far, certainly has theatre too.

The car has only covered 39,000 miles, and had an engine rebuild in 2005 when the milage was 35,000. Its been part of a collection since

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