The Beating Heart Goes Back In - Supercharged Alpina B7: Project Chicago: Part 5

In this episode, we set about reinstalling the freshly rebuilt V8 engine back in the Alpina B7. Not an easy task this, but part by part and we are getting closer to the first start!
Max, BMW parts - oembimmerparts...
Aqua (vapor) blasting cabinet - www.vaporblast...
You can support me on Patreon! - / m539restorations
T-Shirts, hoodies & mugs - teespring.com/...
Follow me on Instagram - / m539_restorations
Find Liqui Moly oil and additives for your car - www.liqui-moly...
BendPak lifts - www.bendpak.com/
Luuk, BendPak & Quickjack Europe - liftmotive.com/
Massive thanks to Radu from RT Design Studio for making new merch happen! - www.rt.md/
Email: [e-mail]

[@janwynants]

That slow, unstoppable, gradual descend into madness when refitting parts....I felt that so hard 😅

[@BlahBlah-np2fp]

we've all been there xD

[@alexbrown1995]

@@BlahBlah-np2fp You ain't kidding!!

[@RZRBLAZ]

The worst is getting hurt and having to power through the pain and bleeding to wrap up.

[@obihornchen6508]

@@RZRBLAZ What's even worse imho is when you break some small thing that can't be bought separately, so you either have to buy some bigger, (much) more expensive part or resort to some crappy fix ^^

[@YungEagle3k]

@@obihornchen6508 the one small thing that has to be there or nothing else will function

[@rolly5009]

“I’ve worked on it 7 days straight” Reminds me of the good old days I did these sort of jobs on my old car, in the episode makes it look straight forward but trust me it’s so much work along with all the problems associated with putting it all back together. Bravo 👏🏻 Best car channel on here in my humble opinion.

[@miketurin5233]

Streten can do this in 45 minutes. 😆 He’s amazing.

[@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge]

The most fun part is when your "project" car is your only car and you calculate yourself that it will take 3 days tops, then it turns into 7 days and you need the car to be done immediately...

[@rolly5009]

@@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge yes that’s when the fun and games begin and it’s your only mode of transport, I don’t know about you guys but I was always buying bargain cars because I was short of money with the view to fixing the problems myself…..😂 what a false economic story they turned out 👍🏻

[@rolly5009]

@@miketurin5233 he wishes he could do it in 45mins 😅

[@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge]

@@rolly5009 I'm just poor in an already poor country and hate newer vehicles, so I just buy 30-40 year old garbage and somehow make it work. Hell hard to believe Sreten and me are from the same geographical area, in most of his videos I just go "Why did you replace that? It was fine!"

[@McMaster1500]

Absolutely amazing. You do real high quality work. Impressive.

[@DeadEndRestorations]

This engine looks better than the day it left the factory! From never owning an engine stand to rebuilding a massive Alpina V8 - congratulations on one of the biggest learning experiences of your life!

[@Detuj]

İf i had a person like you who is an real artist in the job , i definetely wouldnt sell my e60 bmw

[@jeep7612]

@@DeadEndRestorations pp

[@o0julek0o]

Imagine walking past this workshop. And from behind the closed doors, you hear "SCHNELLAAAA!!!", *maniacal laughter* and 'bow chiki wow wow'. You'd think they're holding some mental patient in there.

[@p00pie]

"APPLY A LITTLE FOGGING OIL FOR MEN" *walking turns into running*

[@ferhatguen]

hahhahaha shit this got me xD

[@irishwristwatch3616]

Discovered this channel recently, absolutely brilliant find, seriously impressive stuff

[@mobiledevto]

Your life is just beginning.

[@BlahBlah-np2fp]

So jealous xD

[@RichDasix]

Oh boy did you found a gem! Button up for the ride!😉

[@MitchZero9]

Yeah mate, worth watching the lot of his previous episodes, even on cars that have already come and gone. He loves his blasting cabinet 🤣 I have no interest in BMWs, but Streten makes BMWs fucking awesome. G'day from Aus.

[@anthonywoo1503]

I wasted so much time on the channel and I am just keep wasting. Be aware!

[@ShannonRMcKenzie]

I'll state it again - far and away the best channel on KZbin. The quality of the work and attention to detail is second to none here. Can't wait to hear this beauty roar to life very soon

[@Knightrider3343]

So true. Is he going to sell the car after he's finished it?

[@erezklein5769]

Fantastic channel! i can recommend Waldo's world, Different spice.

[@arabaciadamlar]

Just come home from work and stumble up on this video, brilliant.

[@azizkeremkarabulut]

vay noyan abi seni buralarda görmek

[@gembalaartoni]

same here

[@ALINUED]

vay arac piyasasinin saplayici doktoru da tesrif etmis hojam nasilsiniz golfu kime sapladiniz en son

[@shtopfl5247]

same haha😄

[@airman4life626]

I’m an aircraft mechanic and Ive overhauled some complicated engines but this engine is on some next level shit. Kudos to you bro. I always watch your videos from beginning to the end.

[@pbazarnik]

This is like peak ICE. From here we are going electric

[@jamesrobles76]

How you do all this work is insane. You are an entire service department in 1 man lol. Insane work! Keep killing it!!

[@TheFreddyfloyd]

as a e60 owner, if this thing starts with no error codes, I'll do a double backflip. love your work and videos

[@ChrisKsan]

Don't forget you said it here! It has been written! Better start working on those flips! :))

[@Steven-fq2dc]

We want that on video!!!!!!!

[@petepenn1]

Time to get a trampoline or swimming pool so you can survive to see the Autobahn high speed run! We will give you 1000's of likes if you do it Live!

[@lovellmills7959]

Kind sir it's double backflip time!!

[@urlordSANDMAN]

@@lovellmills7959 current events may have delayed the double backflip haha!

[@giokavt]

It's 03:49 in Georgia, Tbilisi and I've just finished watching this episode. Thank you Sreten for these magnificent journeys. Big fan of you. Keep going and of course Keep it classy, Keep it OEM

[@jorgemachaveli9367]

Its nice to see that Sreten is followed in my former homeland, even at 03:49! Proper way of doing the job must spread over the world! Greetings from Bilbao, Spain. გაგიმარჯოს ძმაო

[@giokavt]

@@jorgemachaveli9367 Cheers from your homeland, best luck in your life. წარმატებები ძმაო შენს გზაზე

[@andreasu.3546]

@@giokavt Georgian language must have the most beautiful scripts of all. You even have a letter that looks liken an ice cream cone, what could be cooler.

[@tazomelikishvili201]

06:10 😊🖐🏻 tbilisi …

[@Sheiza]

Man of Culture!

[@aaronpreddy35]

"This day needs to end ASAP" had me in tears. I'll be using that line front now.

[@DashDrones]

Thank you dude, Monday was looking bleak, then I got my M539 early access email. I'm in happy weekend mode again 🤣🥳🎉😂

[@brandonsimonson6098]

As a bmw tech. Watching you struggle with the intercooler and cursing everything. Brought me joy. That is me every day.

[@ButtKickersReviews]

“Fogging oil for men” and “carbon fiber towel” get me everytime 😅

[@Joshua-kq8uh]

What does „fogging oil for men“ actually stand for?

[@fisshuman]

dont forget "oil dip$shit" hahahahah

[@cracknigr6065]

@@Joshua-kq8uh Just fogging oil. But because of the nice spritzing and also smell that comes with using it it can remind you of eau de cologne, hence the 'for man' addition :)

[@DashDrones]

The 80s synth electro background tracks are so underrated...

[@ef20syxalag]

Honestly, work can wait. I need my coffee and a freshly baked M539 Restorations video, maybe with a lovely strawberry on top. In fact, I wish all my Mondays started like this.

[@mattpolhamus9194]

That intercooler struggle was real, thanks for including. Too many KZbins skip over the frustrations, thanks Sreten!!

[@PolishBrothersPB]

Just speechless how you can get into so many little troubles and still make jokes while working, much love from Poland!

[@Driver2397]

Sreten I am in awe of your patience technical skills and knowledge of these older bmws. Just watching you work fills me joy.

[@OriginalgEd]

Superb episode and amazing work as always. "A bracket that Nik Blackhurst would be proud of" - hysterical!

[@mntrader2]

Have to get this guy to 1,000,000 subscribers. The best videos on KZbin!!!!

[@jimtaylor431]

I hope someone from Alpina is watching this, given how they berated you when you enquired about the rebuild of the motor. Never underestimate a determined man in his shed! Awesome content as always, Sreten!

[@Maxxwell-07]

Ofcourse they are watching.

[@ChrisKsan]

Still needs to start and perform. Otherwise they will just dismiss him "Meh, cute. You sort of put it back together but failed to... This is why we said it is best to let us handle such a rebuild.".

[@clonetrooper576]

they are watching closely, Alpina Corporate told him they cannot officially endorse this because he is not a certified technician, but I can bet the techs are watching in amazement

[@bystander1489]

@@clonetrooper576 I'd say there laughing now

[@clonetrooper576]

@@bystander1489 wasnt his fault tho, was the sleever guy.

[@KyleSturgeon]

Vapor blaster amazes me every time you use it. What a great piece of equipment.

[@plunder1956]

I'm AMAZED at your patience with this process. The Alpina layout is as complex, abstruse and bloody minded as any installation I've seen. I am surprised your fingers are still attached after all that. You really need a second mechanic to spot the hang ups for you, It's not a one person job.

[@mambalynio]

If all mechanics worked like you, you could not have this passion anymore! Best from the rest!

[@kylefleming1412]

That vapor blasting cabinet works so well that things come out of there looking like they were painted.

[@mrc7478]

Does it work on wives?

[@seanpaul3050]

They won’t stay like that for long unless lacquered. The aluminum will tarnish when it reacts with the atmosphere and water in the air. Then back to a dark grey colour.

[@janvanderwal2744]

@@mrc7478 yes it does, the problem is your wife is to big or the cabinet is to small, but otherwise it should work.

[@cliffbarr1993]

It takes a lot to sit and watch a video for an hour. M539 videos, I do it with no problem. Excellent.

[@FootToPedal]

Unbelievable work with this whole project so far Sreten, extremely impressive and I always love your passion for these older BMW products. Alpinas in particular are something very special, will be one heck of a car once all this work is done. Keep it up!

[@NemesisEG]

Alpina B7. The breakfast of champions! When the M539 video appears that's my evening sorted and everything else gets cancelled!

[@Danydaniello]

Another great episode, I love how patrons/subscribers community is growing and provides help whenever possible :)

[@Gapson76]

this is by faaar the most intuitive and by far the best automotive restoration channel on youtube right now. keep on the good work. Greetings from Slovenia

[@M3satisfaction]

27:48 I´m very confident that you shouldnt "gut and tight" mount the knocking sensors. They usually have specific Nm and cant work/making problems if you dont do that. Great Video so far tho.

[@matteightytwo]

Same here. Usually it's 25nm, apparently it matters because it's a little microphone

[@matteightytwo]

Same here. Usually it's 25nm, apparently it matters because it's a little microphone

[@M539Restorations]

I couldn't find the torque spec at that moment, but I did now, it's 21 Nm. I've done them in the past by hand, normally have a good feeling for that and know when to stop and not over-torque them, but granted, better to torque them to spec so I'll revisit them. Thanks for the heads up :)

[@capnmoench4246]

I came here to say exactly this. Good work on everything else, minus missing some torques. Like the alternator bracket. They are prone to failure anyways, I always torque everything so no doubts exist. The standard torque for all the bolts are about the same for E32, E38, E65/66. I go by head size or comparable shank if a reduced head bolt. 10MM (M6) = 10NM, 13MM (M8) = 22NM, 16MM (M10)= 47NM. Love the channel. Funny I wrench on my three 7-series most days (because they are needy girls) and still come back for more on this channel when a new video pops up. It never gets boring. I am concerned though that I too have started saying "carbon fiber towels" in my head now.

[@rockheadregolith8325]

This man is meticulous and extremely personable. Love this series!

[@andrewmillion315]

In a strange way, it was pleasing to see that the inter cooler was frustrating. Your patience and attention to detail is something that I really admire, but it was nice to see you are human too. 👍😊

[@Ryawa_Shpoora]

Sreten, you are not a mechanic! You are truly a master of your profession. It is such a pleasure watching you coming through obstacles with humour and not giving up despite the pain. Thank you for sharing your time and energy. Sve dobro i samo nastavi tako dalje! Navijamo za tebe i benđole!

[@pagaabel1132]

Been watching your progress from the start and you never disappoint. Always looking forward for a new upload. Sold my diesel e61 and bought e39 2.8 with factory M goodies, same color as yours and no sunroof 👍 working on my car more professionaly and no halfway solutions no more, you're a great inspiration and a perfect guide in the BMW world. What a legend.

[@dorinpop673]

Love your music Straten!!!Make's a 50 years old guy enjoying your videos!!!

[@jamesg6792]

Awesome job Sreten. Very meticulous and your work quality is off the charts. You and the Car Ninja are my favorite BMW mechanics to watch. Keep up the good work.

[@Gromble1991]

Your videos are like a therapy for men after a long day at work. You are awesome!

[@DirkvanderMeulen-official]

As always: As soon as the M539 bell rings on my phone for a new video, I immediately drop everything and watch it right away! Again, great job and can't wait for the next one.

[@cannonyan5820]

The music in your vids is one of the reasons why I love this channel. It takes me back to the decade I was born in, and those 80s films! Very fitting to this channel too!

[@doodles113]

41:53 laughing out really loud here..... :) I can´t wait to see this engine running!!!!

[@hamz3d759]

I amaze how you single handedly put back that gigantic engine back

[@BkSMedia]

Nothing better on a Monday evening, than listening to the sounds of Sreten wrenching away or screaming like a girl 😂

[@Nind-yu4sz]

Another brilliant episode. What a brilliant bunch of subscribers who have helped with vital equipment refubs. Can't wait for the next episode.

[@HotlyButteredToast]

Love your work man, and the random Project Binky references! Keep it going dude.

[@Joe_CT]

Amazing work. Love watching a guy who has OCD as bad as me!

[@violinmiata]

“And now the old dip $hit” I started laughing so hard that I had to wipe tears off of my screen 😂

[@jayswin2]

When I was growing up it was all about fast and cool looking cars. In never dreamed that when I was 45 I would get so much enjoyment from watching a video somebody building an engine. A big beautiful expensive engine being built by a very clever and very likeable dude👍 I love your channel and your presentation style. Thank you for all your hard work

[@mikaeljonsson4686]

There is an amazing amount of talent, knowledge and patient that goes into this rebuild... You da' man, Sreten!😊👍

[@Victorinot]

Dude, this is the cleanest work I've ever seen in my life... Surgeon!

[@FrldyZX87]

Incredible progress! Also, the shop looks great. So clean and organized! 🤩👍

[@tiagocoelho7415]

Your lines while bolting an engine are gold

[@albertsteyn2505]

Your disassembly planning is clearly excellent. .. This must be one of the most intense rebuilds I have ever seen. I love your attention to detail. Can't wait to see the next episode!

[@sammukangu3133]

This channel is therapy for me love from kenya 🇰🇪

[@carguygibby]

Sreten, The whole Project Chicago build gets more epic with every episode. Keep up the great work, can't wait to see it run!

[@RedBatteryHead]

Great job. So much random stuff around those engine to forget about. And it all plays a part.

[@TeemuThe1]

You just made my week with a new video! 🤩 Absolutely awesome work, as always!

[@aBc-123-XyZ]

Not a auto mechanic,but appreciate the hard work put into the rebuild of cars and engines. Watched it 2x already. 😎✌

[@BestMotorWerks]

Your work mate is on another level..very carefully and with much love.. keep going.. Nice to see a guy restore BMW's

[@leomazaba8909]

I would literally trust u with my life. All your work is phenomenal and inspires me to not give up on my E46

[@eugenealymov2723]

Superb as always. What a complex engine this is. Really looking forward to see it start.

[@aguedoflorencejrjalin3742]

it's a BIG WOW. very carefully and professionally done. this is the reason why i love this blog. keep it up

[@eugenenichols8538]

Man do I look forward to watching me some M539, great episode as always!!!

[@alanarnesen6929]

You have the best neighbors! Mine just scowl at me every time I start my car.

[@ValladolidArde]

Loved this video! Thanks so much. Please be careful tightening knock sensors as they are piezoelectric mics with internal glass structures that break if you overtighten them, they mostly run 15-18Nm. Had a huge problem with a car once that had this problem, last mechanic had overtightened the sensor that destroyed it and gave erratic reading that threw the car into limp mode.

[@-_Jelly]

I've never seen anyone trying to mount engine by themselves! Your patience is on another level

[@Rick-hp6fu]

I can say that I've done this a couple of times in my driveway back in the day. Awkwardly laying under the car in between the legs of the cherry picker, slowly turning the handle to lower the boom while guiding the engine onto the engine mounts. Slow process but very satisfying when it's all done. Much younger when I did that. At 50 years old, I don't envision myself doing that now. But seeing Streten do it makes me wish I could have a project car to do this to.

[@fenastray]

That was an impressive display of knowledge and dedication. Thanks for another great video.

[@paulvarrieur976]

Time to invest in an engine table and drop the engine and front suspension together. Great great video. You are my hero for saving this car.

[@matthewbrooks5072]

That was some complex reassembly! Plenty of respect from me, keep up the good work :)

[@lostthe80s]

so easy to sit right the way through these videos - just great to watch

[@LenShorkey]

Terrific start to the week! Keep up the good work. THANK YOU!

[@laweenalbotany1734]

He makes it seem so easy .... but we all know how much effort and work it takes ... my respect 🙏 from kurdistan region of Iraq

[@B7stuff]

Amazing attention to detail as always Sreten! Makes me want to completely disassembly my own B7 - just so I can follow along your rebuild videos and look to see if I too have a nail in my oil pan! :)

[@psychic_records]

Best channel in the history of channels. Thank you for another superb video

[@JohnSmith-oh9ux]

Splendid! Thumbs up! 13:20 we all have this kind of "never used before" tool :) 3,5 years w/o use but when you need it... you have it ^^

[@OfficialSIRTRAPRELOADED]

The best next feeling to this is when your dad has also a tool from 10, 20+ years laying around that was never used but now that you've needed it it was always there :D

[@mclouj]

Watching that vapor blasting is so damn satisfying.

[@jimmyzhu2851]

As always can’t wait for the next one, this is definitely a therapy for me

[@Reggaejames]

Can we all appreciate that Sreten is single-handedly lowering a 200k plus engine while positioning it with his other hand? And he didn't smash a single component! Hats off to the master.

[@torygyberg8837]

Such excellent work as usual! PS, tell your thumb I said to get well soon :D

[@ChrisKsan]

Been watching this channel for a long time and while watching this video, I've remembered for some reason all those service shops where for less than a 5th of what you do they behave and treat it like it's some sort of rocket science only the gods of engineering can master. "Pffff.... For this operation a whole division of specialised engineers is needed and that's why we are doing our best with our entire team to properly handle this task. This is a very serious and complex operation, it's no easy thing." Meanwhile in my mind "I know a guy on KZbin who does cars and engine rebuilds for breakfast, what are you on about that air filter?!".

[@erqadezz]

Profesional as always! Have a good holidays man, you deserve it!

[@Swift_Studios]

Man, if I had a work ethic like you, I would be able to get so much work done.

[@MrAppletree318is]

Another brilliant episode, so much love for this channel!

[@ARH957]

Sreten, this is outstanding work. Rebuilding this engine is a monumental task! Even though you must have taken 55 million pictures it is easily possible to mess up. The way you organise things and your discipline while you work is outstanding! And yes as someone commented watching your vids is a therapy.

[@fabianmatthes7377]

i guess im not gonna go to bed now

[@helicoto]

My thoughts exactly… 😂

[@TheLantYT]

Hearing your torque wrench click is the reason I get out of bed in the morning 😌

[@camerorm]

That’s a lot of work right there. I was going to say it’s optimistic to get her started in one episode. Massive respect on all your efforts for this project. The whole intercooler, ac compressor, radiator, transmission cooler assembly must have been designed by a psychopath engineer. Jesus!

[@hoainamho6759]

I really love the way you're doing on this project is shine and clean.

[@UbiquitousDIY]

Bedtime is overrated!!!

[@azizhachimi8744]

This not mechanis anymore, this is ART! Sreten, the work you are doing is worthy of a Netflix series and M539 Restorations is by far the BEST automotive channel on KZbin, period: we like Hoovie's garage, the car wizard, Samcrac, and all the others, but your channel, Sreten, is on a different league...No DIY'er comes even close to your level of know how, meticulousness and perfcetion! NB: Hatts off to you for putting that B7 engine by yourself!!!

[@hasanmohammed5302]

You fulfil my OCD urge to install and clean the parts insanely well!

[@R2D2trashcan]

Vapor blasting things to new will never get old 😀

[@OkaMammedli]

Master piece job! Best car repair and service video's on KZbin ever

[@warummussmeinnameangegeben6502]

That one comment about waiting to crush some lines.. had to swap the transmission on my Volvo a few weeks ago. We wondered why the trans was so difficult to push into place (had to do it from the bottom) - turns out the harness for the O2 sensors was between one bolt eyelet and the block. I almost cried a bit - all wires were smashed and we had to loosen the trans again.

[@aserta]

4:34 from air conditioning oriented shops, you can buy kits of multiples of various sizes of silicone caps. They are excellent for capping lines. The caps service both female and male ends. And because they are silicone, a quick rinse with some soapy water will make them reusable. You'll probably live out of that box for many years. I've bought mine circa 2009 and i still use it today. So much better than dealing with tape that may or may not glue, may fall off and then you have to figure if it's worth cleaning or not etc.

[@TREXdudi]

Top mechanical Chanel on KZbin, hands down 👏

[@chir0pter]

that bead blasting cabinet really works wonders.

[@SmokeySingh101]

Love all the episodes on this one too many people sleep on how good looking the E65 was