(lack of) progress
 

Ill health has taken me out of action for a week but I will be stitching the front half together next week, checking for clearances and working out attachment points. I will put up some photos when I can.

Sorry to hear about the ill health, hope you are feeling somewhat better. I look forward to seeing your updates as and when possible.

Adapting the door frame
 

I have been guided by Tribute Automotive's thread on Geoff's 250 GTO and wondered if it would be easier to remove the Z3 door skin before adding a new fibreglass skin. I have managed to cut out the area around the door handle and leave all the mechanism in place except for the plastic outer handle which would foul the new skin. I then pop riveted an extension plate to the handle pivot so that I can use a replica push button handle mounted higher up.
Turning my attention to the glass and bearing in mind that the 275 glass is flat whereas the Z3 is curved in both directions I wanted to see if flat glass could be accommodated within the Z3 door carcass. The two problems are first to move the bottom of the guide out sufficiently to get it to line up with the top of the Z3 screen and second to match the curvature of the quarter light. At the moment I don't think that is possible. On the other hand if I go for curved glass, the problem then becomes how to match the 275 roof line. Hmmm (thinks).

Flat door glass
 

This photo shows a piece of 2.5mm acrylic plastic left over from glazing the garden shed held in place by the standard curved guides (and a piece of steel bar to stop it sagging). You should be able see how it is tight on the inner frame of the door at the middle but free at the ends. I will have to confirm if a curved rear guide will work when I fit the door into the new door aperture and hope I can get away with curvature in one plane only with thicker polycarbonate. The steel U profile will be used to replace the standard rear guide and to make up a full frame to match the 275 door aperture.

Just a thought as I have done a fair bit of messing recently with window motors, the glass in my dads pilote motor home is flat the motor died and pilote wanted hundreds so a trail round a scrappies and transit looked promising stripped it out but transit is cables pullies and outer channel does the support, the type I wanted was the self contained upright steel profile motor at the bottom, pulley top and bottom and the glass holder slider runs up the profile the upright is curved for curved glass much more than you would think on a lot of cars, anyway what we settled on was fiat multipla almost flat only 4 connectors and stoutly engineered so we could fabricate a fixing plate job done works well and £35 inc new switch, the Doblo is similar but slightly more shaped , have a look at some pics on eBay it may just give you options, following on from this I have used a rear Peugeot 307 estate one straightened out by standing on it to raise my LCD TV out of the work top in my folding camper restoration. Ed.

First fit of complete nose section
 

I'm back in action now and have bonded the panels together and put the whole nose section on to the car to check for clearance and fixing points. These two photos show the decision I made to have the bonnet lifting from the rear in the same way that the Z3 does. So the 275 engine cover will be bonded in place and the wing will be cut in a continuation of the line across the front and round the head light, down to the edge of the wheel arch with the angles all worked out to give clearance for the action of the Z3 hinges. The rear edge of the bonnet needs to be lifted slightly to give the right line and a splash will be taken from the Z3 bonnet to give the correct profile around the windscreen.

That's a really elegant cut and shut of the kit, the nose looks quite high - will it sit any lower? looking good!

275GTB/Z3 nose
 

It is a problem. The front has to clear the radiator at the top, which on my 2.8 incorporates air conditioning and at the bottom it rests on the standard plastic under tray. My car is also fitted with the smaller option 16" wheels which will make a slight difference if you use 17". Also, the rear edge needs to be set slightly higher to get the line right.

Major Hiccup
 

Tragedy!!! I have just come out of hospital after suffering a brain seizure, which means I have had to surrender my driving licence for a year. So I will also have difficulty getting to my little workshop which is a mile and a half away and not on a bus route.
The rest of the problem is that my recent memory has been wiped and I will even have to read through my own postings to find out what I have been doing and what remains to be done. Don't hold your breath!
George

Hiccup
 

George,

Sorry to hear about your health hiccup and trust you recover ok in the weeks ahead.

If it is of any help I can send over some more of the photos I took.

All the best, Kidge

Photos
 

Thanks Kidge, I may take you up on that later but just at the moment I am having to absorb a lot of new (old) information.

Refresher
 

Here is a review of how things are looking:Attachment 2519

Attachment 2520[/ATTACH]

Looking good!!

I have copied this reply from another thread.

"I "lurk" here on the forum but read along a lot of the tribute threads and of course George's 275 thread. I felt compelled to respond here as this is something I'm personally working on... as my user name might suggest.

This is a tricky car to do as a tribute instead of a replica. The visual proportions of the original car are much different from any modern car and the iconic bubble windshield and low slung body exaggerate its looks even further. In my opinion the coupe lends itself well as a tribute on the z3 donor because the roof/greenhouse can balance the changed proportions of the front; however, I'm not sure it will work well as a convertible without changing the proportions significantly. For the NART spyder the rear would have to be substantially shortened and the spoiler less pronounced to balance with the long nose but short area between the wheel arch and door/a pillar. The 250 SWB convertible and coupe work great on the z3 because the front does not have covered headlights and is much more stubby. I think what George and tribute will turn out will both look phenomenal still and I'm anxious to see the work in progress. Sorry if I'm veering off the original topic!"

275 NART, you have summed up the problem very well - it is what I have referred to as "configuration". The nose is very long, the distance from the door to the rear arch is very short and the roof is very low compared to modern cars. I have used the Z3 as a donor, following Tribute Automotive's lead as all the panels simply unbolt but it is difficult to maintain the characteristic style of the 275 and that would be further lost with the NART back end. It would be great if there existed a ready made chassis of the right proportions but the cost of making a bespoke one is beyond the means of most people on this forum and then there is the cost of making that beautiful screen.

Kit 275GTB, i have checked out this thread as you recommended and its very interesting. I do hope this project is a success. But most important is that I am very sorry to hear about your health problems. I do hope you make a speedy recovery.

As 275 Nart has mentioned, the biggest difference is the curved windscreen which could not be replicated. Some other parts would have to be shortened but you are not trying to make an exact replica. Its a Tribute.

Here I have done a photoshop so you can see the main differences between a Z3 Nart Spyder "lookalike" and the real thing.




http://oi57.tinypic.com/257iukm.jpg

Brilliant! The only detail I would change is the door handle.

Hi George
Prompted by a recommendation on the Tribute forum I've just read all of this thread. I hope you're recovering from your recent illness as best as can be expected. It was quite a shock to read about it here, so it must of been a heck of a shock for you to go through.
I think what you've done so far is fantastic. Was the original shell for sale on eBay a while ago? I remember a 275 for sale about a year or so ago and was keen to take a punt but it disappeared from sale.
Anyway, best of luck and I'm really impressed with progress you've made so far.
Steve

This does look quite good! I had my doubts about the spyder on a z3. Alfa door handles and a wing mirror and it's set!

Hi Steve,
Thanks for your good wishes. Yes, I sold my first effort of a 275GTB4 on a shortened Ferrari 400 chassis to a guy in Italy last year.
275NART, thanks for the info about the door handles. I will see if I can locate a pair somewhere. I am gradually putting together a collection of accessories.
Your skill with Photoshop far exceeds mine!
George