B10 ALPINA sill cover
- Alpina Jim
- ALPINA
- Posts: 1450
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2003 10:34 pm
- Location: Near Portsmouth
Thanks for the suggestion Ali but I tried that a couple of days ago and they went with the interior as a job lot.ali wrote:Drop these guys a message and see if they still have the ones off this B10 breaking near me
Quickbmwparts
Jim
'98 B10 3.2 #174 in Alpina Blue owned since 13th Sept 2002.
'98 B10 3.2 #174 in Alpina Blue owned since 13th Sept 2002.
- Alpina Jim
- ALPINA
- Posts: 1450
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2003 10:34 pm
- Location: Near Portsmouth
Thanks for the suggestion Ali but I tried that a couple of days ago and they went with the interior as a job lot.ali wrote:Drop these guys a message and see if they still have the ones off this B10 breaking near me
Quickbmwparts
Jim
'98 B10 3.2 #174 in Alpina Blue owned since 13th Sept 2002.
'98 B10 3.2 #174 in Alpina Blue owned since 13th Sept 2002.
- Alpina Jim
- ALPINA
- Posts: 1450
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2003 10:34 pm
- Location: Near Portsmouth
Well here is my nice new Alpina sill cover and all for the price of £33.40, not £120 (at main dealer full prices)
A bargain price although I cheated a bit.
As the Alpina insert was still as new, I removed it from the old sill cover by cutting through the glue with a thin nylon cord. This did a good job but was a bit fiddly to do, maybe next time it might be easier to warm up the part first?
I then took my new standard BMW sill cover which cost me £33.40
Unplugged the BMW chrome bits
And I was now ready to fix the old Alpina part into it.
I did this with a very thin double sided tape which worked a treat giving this as the end result
Although both the black sill cover parts were standard BMW parts they were slightly different in that the old one utilised by Alpina did not have the holes and recesses in it for the BMW chrome letters. The Alpina original one had been machined flat and a fraction deeper into the part to accept the Alpina strip, as shown below
This was not a problem for me though as I have used a very thin tape to fix the Alpina part rather than a thick rubbery glue. The end result still looks as original and I have saved two thirds of the cost to spend on more useful parts for my car.
A bargain price although I cheated a bit.
As the Alpina insert was still as new, I removed it from the old sill cover by cutting through the glue with a thin nylon cord. This did a good job but was a bit fiddly to do, maybe next time it might be easier to warm up the part first?
I then took my new standard BMW sill cover which cost me £33.40
Unplugged the BMW chrome bits
And I was now ready to fix the old Alpina part into it.
I did this with a very thin double sided tape which worked a treat giving this as the end result
Although both the black sill cover parts were standard BMW parts they were slightly different in that the old one utilised by Alpina did not have the holes and recesses in it for the BMW chrome letters. The Alpina original one had been machined flat and a fraction deeper into the part to accept the Alpina strip, as shown below
This was not a problem for me though as I have used a very thin tape to fix the Alpina part rather than a thick rubbery glue. The end result still looks as original and I have saved two thirds of the cost to spend on more useful parts for my car.
Jim
'98 B10 3.2 #174 in Alpina Blue owned since 13th Sept 2002.
'98 B10 3.2 #174 in Alpina Blue owned since 13th Sept 2002.
- Alpina Jim
- ALPINA
- Posts: 1450
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2003 10:34 pm
- Location: Near Portsmouth
I sure did Asim, it was a standard E39 part and ready to collect within a couple of days.Metrics wrote:Jim, hats off to you that's a great thought! Nice work.
Did you buy the std cover from BMW?
Having not seen a standard BMW cover I thought it would have had a similar insert as the Alpina one but as I found out that was not the case. It actually made it easier for me as I didn't have to worry about damaging the new sill cover when trying to remove the BMW part.
When I thought I could buy a new Alpina sill cover for about £55 I was ok with that, but when I found out the going rate is about £120 I decided a set of four if needed would cost £480 for a few bits of plastic and rubber and that is when I decided I would rather sacrifice £34.40 having a go first.
Jim
'98 B10 3.2 #174 in Alpina Blue owned since 13th Sept 2002.
'98 B10 3.2 #174 in Alpina Blue owned since 13th Sept 2002.
Nice work Jim and a great idea, the rubbers on two of mine are shot so I will give this a go
Steve C
'98 B10 3.2 #88 (for summer cruising)
'04 Mini Cooper S (commuting/sacrificial shopping trolley target....)
'94 325i Coupe SOLD
'88 Vauxhall Senator 3.0i SOLD
'90 Astra MkII GTE 16V (Turbo conversion) SOLD
'98 B10 3.2 #88 (for summer cruising)
'04 Mini Cooper S (commuting/sacrificial shopping trolley target....)
'94 325i Coupe SOLD
'88 Vauxhall Senator 3.0i SOLD
'90 Astra MkII GTE 16V (Turbo conversion) SOLD
- Alpina Jim
- ALPINA
- Posts: 1450
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2003 10:34 pm
- Location: Near Portsmouth
Go for it Steve, it is easily within your range of capabilities. Just have a go at getting one of the Alpina logo bits off first before ordering a replacement BMW standard cover.Ikule wrote:Nice work Jim and a great idea, the rubbers on two of mine are shot so I will give this a go
As mentioned earlier, I used a thin nylon thread to cut the Alpina part off the old cover. I had to do it with a sawing motion which leaves marks on the old plastic cover which is not a problem, but you have to be careful not to damage the Alpina part that you are removing. Maybe there is a better way of getting it apart?
For info I repaired both of the rear covers on my B10. The black rubber and plastic had only seperated along a short length on those so I refixed them with a bit of superglue. Fortunately the parts have a slightly stepped profile which makes it easier to realign them when sticking them together. Below is a picture of one I have repaired.
My next job is to try the same on the drivers front one which once again has only separated along a short length.
I am still pretty sure that my problems with these sill covers began when I had the doors open for a fair time with the sun beating down on them, in which case i am going to be a bit more careful in the future.
Jim
'98 B10 3.2 #174 in Alpina Blue owned since 13th Sept 2002.
'98 B10 3.2 #174 in Alpina Blue owned since 13th Sept 2002.
- Alpina Jim
- ALPINA
- Posts: 1450
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2003 10:34 pm
- Location: Near Portsmouth
I repaired the last of the top sill covers on my B10 a few weeks ago. It was the drivers side one this time which had split along a small length and once again I repaired it with a bit of super glue.
The part in need of repair
Repair completed and looking ok
How long the repair will last only time will tell, but it is definitely worth a try in my opinion. At least I now have all four covers completely intact again and the total cost so far is about £38 including the super glue.
The part in need of repair
Repair completed and looking ok
How long the repair will last only time will tell, but it is definitely worth a try in my opinion. At least I now have all four covers completely intact again and the total cost so far is about £38 including the super glue.
Jim
'98 B10 3.2 #174 in Alpina Blue owned since 13th Sept 2002.
'98 B10 3.2 #174 in Alpina Blue owned since 13th Sept 2002.
- Alpina Jim
- ALPINA
- Posts: 1450
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2003 10:34 pm
- Location: Near Portsmouth
Arvi wrote:Thats a great DIY well done! I have water ingress on my D3 sill in the Alpina lettering and its a shame I can't do a similar repair. The silver Alpina lettering is coming away from the black gel backing
Thanks. What sort of price are you looking at for replacement D3 covers?
Jim
'98 B10 3.2 #174 in Alpina Blue owned since 13th Sept 2002.
'98 B10 3.2 #174 in Alpina Blue owned since 13th Sept 2002.
Guess what my little over Christmas project is........
2 front sill kick trims (BMW type)......£69.31 incl vat.
Time, possibly lots of swearing and torn skin on fingers........ free
Saving @ £300 - £340 on Alpina cost(by the time all 4 are done).......priceless
Cheers and Merry Christmas Jim
2 front sill kick trims (BMW type)......£69.31 incl vat.
Time, possibly lots of swearing and torn skin on fingers........ free
Saving @ £300 - £340 on Alpina cost(by the time all 4 are done).......priceless
Cheers and Merry Christmas Jim
Steve C
'98 B10 3.2 #88 (for summer cruising)
'04 Mini Cooper S (commuting/sacrificial shopping trolley target....)
'94 325i Coupe SOLD
'88 Vauxhall Senator 3.0i SOLD
'90 Astra MkII GTE 16V (Turbo conversion) SOLD
'98 B10 3.2 #88 (for summer cruising)
'04 Mini Cooper S (commuting/sacrificial shopping trolley target....)
'94 325i Coupe SOLD
'88 Vauxhall Senator 3.0i SOLD
'90 Astra MkII GTE 16V (Turbo conversion) SOLD
- Alpina Jim
- ALPINA
- Posts: 1450
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2003 10:34 pm
- Location: Near Portsmouth