2003 Alpine on Imola Build Thread

[Rokoz]

Love the progress!

Which short shifter did you go with when you had the car converted to 6 spd?

I went with a Autosolutions SSK - I believe it's the autocross one. I got it for 200 bucks on FB Marketplace.

It's a bit much for my taste, the one of my F80 is much more my taste. I may eventually swap it out for a less intense AS kit

[Loopyspec]

Love the progress!

Which short shifter did you go with when you had the car converted to 6 spd?

[Rokoz]

Added a set of OEM Euro Headers, a Supersprint Resonated X-pipe, Rogue Engineering Power Pulleys and SAP delete.


I did have the headers professional cerakoted before installed them with some fresh copper nuts and a few studs that came out. Luckily, I only had 3 come out with the nuts.


Topped it off with a tune from HTE - the car properly rips now!

[Rokoz]

A few updates from the fall before I get into the the fun over-winter stuff...

Nothing better than a fresh OEM windshield - The one on the car was not original and was brutally scratched by a wiper at some point.



Also took a few minutes to tackle the SMG pedal modification to get rid of the kick down button and add some new corner lights along with some chrome turn signal bulbs.

[Rokoz]

Another big update - I can finally sleep peacefully! Shoutout to Gt4 for the help with the rod bearing job on my car.

Original bearings were replaced around 36k under the recall. They don't seem to be TOO bad

The motor mounts made all the difference. The car is so much smoother with the new ones - both of the original mounts were quite cracked and dry but the original passenger side mount is significantly shorter than the driver side.

[0-60motorsports]

Some pretty minor updates this time around - finally had the car up on a lift and went through all of the suspension components. Found the passenger side FCAB was cracked which checked out with some of the sloppiness I was feeling up front. Replaced the FCAB - super easy DIY just make sure you have a 2 or 3 jaw puller to avoid headaches.

Replaced my nasty gas cap and pot filler gasket - this took about 10 minutes, it's super easy. Won't be long before every piece of rubber on the car has been turned over

Lastly, as part of a more fun update later (Bavsound) I stuffed a few tennis balls in the rear deck

Nice updates.

[Loopyspec]

Love the build! I am also a fellow New Englander and hope to see/meet you at meets in the future.

[Rokoz]

Some pretty minor updates this time around - finally had the car up on a lift and went through all of the suspension components. Found the passenger side FCAB was cracked which checked out with some of the sloppiness I was feeling up front. Replaced the FCAB - super easy DIY just make sure you have a 2 or 3 jaw puller to avoid headaches.

Replaced my nasty gas cap and pot filler gasket - this took about 10 minutes, it's super easy. Won't be long before every piece of rubber on the car has been turned over

Lastly, as part of a more fun update later (Bavsound) I stuffed a few tennis balls in the rear deck

[Rokoz]

Sorted out a few little things that have made me sad since I bought the car this Spring.

Don't ask me how or why, but the trim on the edge of the popout windows was glossy and peeling. I couldn't tell if it was wrapped at one point, if it was painted, or if the plastic was just beat to hell and delaminating. Regardless, I scooped up a pair of rear windows from a part out because it was significantly cheaper than just buying that trim piece.



With the window out - it was time to knock out a few other rough items. I replaced the lower rubber seal and refinished the window fittings (These are only 50 bucks for the pair, but I have so many other things to do that refinishing them with some sandpaper, etching primer, and SEM trim black was a better option for now)



And finally, our finished product!

[Rokoz]

Had to have a bit more fun with some cosmetic updates - replaced my tired steering wheel with one from a popular refinisher on eBay/Facebook. Also waiting a few months for Euro mirror glass to come in from Turner Motorsport. My glass wasn't broken until I removed it but it certainly had some corrosion going on both mirrors.


Once the car was converted, I found the armrest often in the way. The condition of my center console made the decision to switch to the euro console easy, I also happened to score brand new cuplolders and a coin tray on facebook for $30.
Took the opportunity to address some of the tired piece in the interior and had Coby wheel make up a couple shift boots along with the E-brake handle.

[Rokoz]

Another round of updates! This time a pretty fun set of cosmetic ones

It took me about 3 months to find a good condition and complete set of LCI tail lights, my stock tail lights were very sun faded. Snagged this set of eBay - took the opportunity to get rid of all of the dirt buildup. I tend to find this everywhere I go. Also snagged a set of side markets from FCP, holy cow I did not realize HOW yellow these were until the new ones appeared.


More importantly - I got a set of bi-xenons from Gt4 in exchange for my halogen lights. He has an awesome project to make a super lightweight M3. Rebuilt the headlights with a new set of lens gaskets, lens, and the hood to headlight gasket. I still need to decide if I'm going to go crazy and get the bi-xenon functionality working or use them as a set of regular Xenons.

[0-60motorsports]

Beautiful combo. Coming along really nicely.

[Rokoz]

Nice, I had Wile MotorSport do a ton of work on my car last year. Great guys to deal with. Car is looking good, love the Alpine on Imola!

Thanks! Yes, I'd definitely recommend him to folks in New England. Hopefully the rest of the work I'll tackle myself but if not I wouldn't think twice about going back that's for sure

[Acarv_426]

Next up is a HUGE set of transformations - most importantly, the SMG to 6MT conversion!

I just want to give Wile Motorsports a shout out - Jake and his team were so fantastic throughout the process. I live 3 hours away from their shop and he even met me on a Saturday so I could pick up the car without having to burn a day of vacation time. The car is absolutely flawless, all of the features work as they should including cruise, mirror tilt, and my parking sensors. They also threw in a few parts I had purchased for the swap including the CDV delete clutch line from Rogue, a manual intake manifold, and Rogue transmission bushings. The car drove 3 and a half hours home without a hiccup.


When I got the car car home, I spent time knocking out the valve adjustment and valve cover gasket. My valves were relatively in spec, I only had to replace 2 shims but my valve cover gasket was leaking pretty badly on the side of the block.

Lastly, I happened to check Facebook Marketplace and came across a sunroof cassette with a black shade just across the border into Canada. Hopped in the car and scooped it up for just over 100 bucks. No more stuck sunroof! With the headliner already out to fix the sunroof, I decided it was time to tackle the minor sag I had with a good friend of mine. I used the BM134 from Veteranco that many recommended here - the material is a fantastic match for the OEM headliner and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, they stopped selling the pillar materials so I'm likely stuck buying new pillars which will absolutely hurt my wallet

Nice, I had Wile MotorSport do a ton of work on my car last year. Great guys to deal with. Car is looking good, love the Alpine on Imola!

[Rokoz]

Next up is a HUGE set of transformations - most importantly, the SMG to 6MT conversion!

I just want to give Wile Motorsports a shout out - Jake and his team were so fantastic throughout the process. I live 3 hours away from their shop and he even met me on a Saturday so I could pick up the car without having to burn a day of vacation time. The car is absolutely flawless, all of the features work as they should including cruise, mirror tilt, and my parking sensors. They also threw in a few parts I had purchased for the swap including the CDV delete clutch line from Rogue, a manual intake manifold, and Rogue transmission bushings. The car drove 3 and a half hours home without a hiccup.


When I got the car car home, I spent time knocking out the valve adjustment and valve cover gasket. My valves were relatively in spec, I only had to replace 2 shims but my valve cover gasket was leaking pretty badly on the side of the block.

Lastly, I happened to check Facebook Marketplace and came across a sunroof cassette with a black shade just across the border into Canada. Hopped in the car and scooped it up for just over 100 bucks. No more stuck sunroof! With the headliner already out to fix the sunroof, I decided it was time to tackle the minor sag I had with a good friend of mine. I used the BM134 from Veteranco that many recommended here - the material is a fantastic match for the OEM headliner and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, they stopped selling the pillar materials so I'm likely stuck buying new pillars which will absolutely hurt my wallet