Disastrous First Drive - V8 Alpina B7: Project Chicago: Part 7 

Can we just take a moment to appreciate how he toke the time to talk to the bicycle guy? He appeared at the worst possible moment and he had the streangth and patience to speak to him. I’m sure if there is a guy who can find and fix that engine it’s you.

Take some comfort in the fact that at the exact moment you confirmed a noise. That a genuine subscriber had spotted the car, probably chased to catch up and wanted to give his heartfelt thanks for the content you produce. It won’t change the outcome, whatever that will be, but it’s a sign of how much we all enjoy your efforts and great things are sure to come with your channel. Humility and Passion 👌🏻

I feel so connected to this channel that when I saw the failure it was literally the same feeling as if my car broke :(

Wow, that cyclist had some bad timing, I don't know if I could have even spoken to him in that situation. I saw some comments about Sreten not being nice enough, but we need to look at the situation which is just horrible and Sreten still found some time to talk to him. What a fantastic guy! Hope that he resolves the knocking issue after all those hours spent on this machine.

Sreten: "Man, I am really enjoying this car. I think I might actually keep it!" Alpina: "you sure about that?"

Don’t feel bad Sreten - cars break, and at least we get a lot more episodes of project Chicago coming our way :)

Absolute worst time for a fan encounter, but you handled it so respectfully! Love the content

As a BMW owner living in the US of A - I personally love seeing the "home land" of Germany. Beautiful country land for those beautiful restored BMW's to cruise through.

Oh wow. Quite unexpected outcome considering how thorough was the rebuild. Can't wait to see what went wrong inside the engine. And of course, you'll fix it!

48:20 "Oh, oh... we have a Knock" This is merch gold just waiting to happen.

That's some awful luck, it was running so good! Can't wait to see the teardown and failure analysis. Hopefully it's something simple like a chain guide.

I have done a few YT videos of repairs and man I have to give you props sir. I can totally appreciate the work required to just move the camera around let alone do the repairs....especially under the car work - even on a lift. Funny too, the first stop I made when I bought my 2007 300C was to get the windows tinted and I live in Michigan where it is "somewhat" illegal...at least the shade I had installed on the front side windows anyway....but I love the look. I have been pulled over a few times, but they just warned me and I was on my way. Definitely a personal preference. I was writing my comments as I watched the video and man brother...I felt your pain when you heard that knock. By some of the thumbnails I saw the repairs look pretty extensive too. What a fricking bummer. As you know....sh*t happens. Not very comforting I know. Hopefully it's not too expensive to repair but I am guessing it was a lot of work. Crap !!!

Ah yes Rodknock on a bmw is just a mild complication, just laugh it off and rebuild it again

What an emotional roller-coaster this project is! 😄

Alpina Sponsor our man here !!

I had such high hopes for this. You assembled that engine like it was a swiss timepiece.

I have my fingers crossed its something minor. I will just say that this is kind of the definition of BMW ownership, just when you think you have it all sorted out, it decides to kick you in the ass. Good luck Sreten!

Sreten you are the absolute GOAT of RU-vid, best channel on here by far

Sreten, I am terribly sorry for what hapened and hope it is easily fixable, because you went above and beyond with that engine build...It hapened to me in July 1999 when after a long month of rebuilding a Renault engine (sleeving the block, refinishing the valves and the cranckshaft, changing the cylinders' rings, etc..), a nasty noise (tak tak tak tak...) gutted me right after the start because the engine was not well lubricated (the oil pan bottom was not straight and too close to the oil pump which led to an oil starvation: the pump had trouble sucking the oil and sending it to the top of the negine) which led afterwars to a bad compression and difficult cold starts...I ended up selling that car for a major loss....we learn from our mistakes...! Can't wait for the next episode! We are with you with our hearts!

This has became my favorite RU-vid channel and every video is worth the wait!! Thank you Sreten for making our weeks!!!!

For me it doesn’t sound like a rodknock, it misses the typical high pitch pinging, it sounds more like a tipping piston. Btw: poor viewer that spotted you, he was soo happy to meet you, and he got you in such a bad situation

Pro-Tip: “Reinstall” the wood screw in the oil pan and that sound will go away…

so crazy the bike shows up almost identical time as the alpina disaster. well handled my friend

Watching you work tirelessly on your projects is amazing . The complexity of the tasks you undertake make me appreciate my bicycle so much ! Thank you.

I have never experienced so much pain from watching YT. I truly felt sick at the end after such a beautiful test ride. It hurts all the way to Sweden. I really really hope for an easy solution. Best wishes to the best car channel on YT.

that final drive was beautiful but the anticipation of the engine failure made me anxious :O

Thanks for the honesty. That´s why, this is the best car revival channel out there!

Here after the Maserati Quattroporte's disappointing outcome after all the work you'd done, you'll get through this Sreten!

48:54 really cool encounter. You know you made it when a lycra wearing cyclist loves your videos!

That was brilliant, you’re getting famous Sreten and with the fame come people approaching you at the worst moments possible. Good luck with the Alpina I hope it’s nothing too serious :)

This guy knows how to fix the mechanics, how to detail, even how to take of the tint. He knows everything...

You did an amazing rebuild. Hopefully it’s nothing too expensive. I will definitely be watching as you fix the issue.

Wow, project Chicago just got approved for season 2! I guess now is a good time to join your Patreon Sreten!!

The thing I often remind myself when working on projects - *If it was easy, everybody would do it!* If it was _easy,_ everybody would have a cool car. But they don't. So don't lose heart, Sreten (though I know you won't). You can do it. You _will_ do it. We believe in you!

What an absolute gentle man in how he spoke to that fan during that moment. Shows a truly decent and nice guy. Fingers crossed the engine isn't dead. Been watching for over a year now and thoroughly enjoy every video. Chin up fella. Simon from UK

I absolutely love this car. It's aged so well and just looks like a beast. At least we get more episodes now anyway! Chin up mate

good timing on meeting a fan 😂

I feel you, not the car the given effort and outcome hurts. I am sure it will be on track in no time.

This has been a great series. Problems solved by your patience and experience are great to see. Keep the vids coming.

I am sorry that this has happened , I was so excited when you took it out for the first time . Hopefully it’s just something loose and nothing expansive .

I am so sorry for all this, Sreten. I was expecting this episode since this series began. I am even more sorry to see that this happened literally 200m from my house. Not the way i wanted to see my village in your videos...

Just knowing that something will go horribly wrong made this video really painful to watch. I'm hoping it won't be too expensive

This was a great episode!! We saw how cheerful you were at the start putting the car back together, to how disappointed you were at the end. Totally translating to how life is. But Streten, this is life and I'm sure you will ultimately tame this beast!

Can' wait for another episode. Your series gave me courage to start working on my car. You show clearly that with some research determination and enthusiasm you really can do anything.

Awesome clip of the mighty Alpina. Love the fanboy cyclist at the end

Alpina engineers now be like: "told ya.." Very sorry for you Sreten. Fingers crossed you'll fix it. FOR SURE.

You are amazing! Some of the real people on RU-vid. The set back will make you stronger. Thank you for the great contents.

Absolutely beat series I've ever watched.. you're making me love BMW all over again. Thank you Sreten

That’s heartbreaking, feeling so sorry for you Sreten. Special after all that time and effort you have put into this engine.

I feel you Sreten, my E34 was out of the shop (after being there for _a few months_) with a new (used) block and it started knocking after like 60kms... The frustration is immense and in this situation, I can't imagine how you felt. Almost feels like a metaphorical stab in the back. Hope you're doing good and the problem isn't too troublesome!

someone please give Oscar to this gentleman for tint removal with steamer) as for engine issue: look from the other point of view - this is a chance to show extra content to your subscribers. we are all sure there is no any problem you can solve. i discover something new for me in every single episode. thanks for this tricks and tips! good luck, man!

I gotta say, it got really steamy in the back seats 😉 Awesome vids Bro

Up until the end, I hoped that the '"disastrous" part of the title was just some teaser of sorts... I guess not. Prolonging the "Project Chicago" saga is the positive side from all this. I really like the stuff you do!

Sounds like guide rails, it is going to be ok. Just another day of a mechanic. Keep it cool sir!

Absolutely gutted for you! Like most people, I've been hooked on each and every episode of this build - that look on your face when you pulled over and revved the car - was heart-wrenching. We're all rooting for you and we know you can fix it!

My heart just sank, been following this build and love watching how meticulous you are with all your builds...

When I rebuilt my N54 "and i have noted this on a few S65 too" every stock rod bolt had a different Torque removal ranging from 12 to 70 ft lbs and the factory stretch was very different from bolt to bolt, the stock TTY rod cap bolts suck. Also the aluminum oil pump bolts where weak, stretching under load and heat letting oil to leak from the block mating surface to pump back in to the pan (oil starvation). The milled matting surface was also very bad from pump to block these things combined are prob why a lot of BMWs have bearing and cam ledge issues. I replaced all the aluminum bolts with stainless steel rods and bolts never had one problem since.

I've had an e36 with an m42 engine in the past,it started knocking like crazy and I was ready to pull the engine out and replace it with a bigger one,but one of my friend's told me to fire it up without the accessories belt just in case and what do you know.. the knocking went away. Turns out my water pump bearing was basically eating it self. Replaced the water pump,and the engine works perfectly fine again. So i hope you get that lucky too!

The amount of effort you put in fixing this car is just insane! Great video!

Keep at it Sreten. This is what happens for us all and to see you solve the problem just makes it more real.

Let's go, back from the holidays for couple of days and already blessing us with 50 min of video.

As a fellow mechanic, the "i need 3 hands now" got me dead! hahaha, good job man!

Man this kinda reminds me of the emotional rollercoaster we went on with the E30 when you finally perfected it then took it for a test drive (I won't give any spoilers in case any of your new viewers haven't watched it yet). I was definitely more invested in the B7 though (as you are I'm sure both financially and effort-wise). Hey on a positive note, at least you will be able to continue to provide more content on the B7! Good luck mate.

Best RU-vidr by an absolute country mile. Yes, the projects you choose make this channel, but your response to impending disaster is extraordinary and your workmanship is 1st class.

I had a similar sounding knock, it was the AC compressor. Start by pulling the accessory belt and see if goes away.

Omg! 😱 I was so happy to see you finally driving this beauty, but the end of the video literally make me cry! 😭 waiting for a next video from you, stay strong! 💪🏻

The music in this episode was a real step up. I'm impressed and hope to hear more!

Your dedication to perfection is something what stays, cars coming and going ...

Hey don’t feel bad, you have done an amazing job, cheer up 🙌🏻

We are all with you in this, try keeping your spirits up. ❤️

Sending you good vibes Sreten; I could absolutely feel your pain the second I heard the noise in the video. Stay strong my dude, hopefully there's a simple explanation. Taking the time to talk to that cyclist at that difficult moment was the nicest thing I've seen in a long time.

I love how relentless you are , you are the embodiment of a BMW enthusiast. We don't care what it takes we'll keep going until it's perfect , and enjoy it until something breaks again lol

What an amazing build it was! Hope it’s works out well!

Screaming "Fit! I'm not in the mood for more filing!!" At your parts really hit home with me

I feel sick!!! I feel your pain. You’ve put so much work and done such a good job such a bummer this happened, I hope it’s something minor.

Sreten, gosh, what a buzzkill, you are so thorough. We all know you can fix it, I really wanted you to enjoy this ride. Thank you for all the super videos and your comments are the best.

Man, I feel for you. Your attention to detail when working on the car was incredible and not a corner cut. Let's hope the problem can be sorted without too much pain. This is the BMW life.

So sorry for you :( The car will be great again, will also be very interesting to see what has happened. You were really careful with the assembly so my suspicion is leaning towards a bad part, from a bad batch or something. Very hard to see this as human error. As someone said already, even if this must feel very heavy for you, it does make good content and we are a lot of people cheering for you :)

Appreciate that you share the problems with us... looking forward to diagnosing the problem.

Hope everything will go back in order easily! The whole project makes me really enjoyed from the very beginning to now, the process of entropy reduction is bound to be difficult, great job man!

Best wishes. Hopefully it’s an easy fix. Thank you for the content

wow what an unexpected turn of events, that's such a bummer too, especially since you seem to have done everything right, at least you shut it down right there. better to wait for a truck and find out later than to throw a rod or introduce the valves to the pistons and find out sooner. either way, you'll have to wait for a tow

This is utterly shattering news! The way things have gone for you of late are bad! My heart goes out to you bud! I really hope this is a easy fix and a faulty part not a missed assembly procedure!

All the way from RSA 🇿🇦 . Your channel is the best. Period!

I had the exact same issue with e46 . The noice would even actually go away with enough revs. In the end the con rods were broken up by the unbalanced crankshaft

You can clearly see how excited Streten was throughout the video anticipating the first drive! Fingers crossed for a simple fix!

we are rooting for you. no matter if the car survives or not, this doesn’t take away from your skill in restoring or video presentation. crossing our fingers you can get it back to glory though!!!

Failure is the best teacher. Can’t wait to see how you will resolve this issue. All the best from Kuwait 🇰🇼 🕊

What a cliffhanger! I seriously hope it's fixable and really looking forward to watching you do it.

It is so hard to rebuild the entire engine only to have it fail so quickly. I had pretty much the same thing on an old VW air cooled engine. And even though they aren’t compatible at all, the feeling is. I hope for you it’s a chain or maybe the timing skipped again. Spun bearing would be very disappointing. Especially since you worked so meticulously. Keep it up. You will get there eventually. 💪🏻

So satisfying watching you pull that nasty tint off, looks so much better. Keep pushing dude you’ve done such good work on this car so far 💪🏻

For the tint I personally like the rear windows with a light tint. A lot of cars come standard with it in the US.

wow... was so looking forward to this car being perfect, as this is one of my favorite cars of all time. can't wait to find out what happened.

Take it easy bro, you will fix it. And congrats for that brilliant car!

I swear to god ,l wait for these videos like l use for father Christmas when l was a child . 53 mins it's like 5 min .. Astonishingly informative and superb... They sooo good videos l watching it twice..

This is one of your best videos, I have felt this too as younger with the engines... the disappointment is hand feltable on this.

I had the same experience when i rebuilt my 32 valve cobra engine, everything seemed ok for the first couple of days, then i noticed a unexpected sound like slacked timing chains, all the guides and tensioners were new, pulled the engine back out and started diagnosing found rod and main bearings showing signs that material had gone through them scoring my new crank, all i can say is it realy sucks, but i have faith you will get it fixed you are a persistent individual.

That does not sound like a bottom end knock :) Looking forward to the next episode !

After watching the rebuild of this engine and your attention to detail I could have cried at the end of this video! Not sure what else you could have done, so pleased thing eventually turned out OK😍

I was not expecting that. The engine looked like a work of art going in.