Your car really looks great. It's well over 2 years since the project started, but as they say "The worst part of a project is waiting. The best part is having something worth waiting for".

Very profound... they also say that "the first 80% of a project takes 80% of the time and the other 20% of the project takes the other 80% of the time".

That's why I found it most cost effective (in time and money) to have Chris and Dan do the body swap for my Z300S. Yes the total project drags on because I haven't had it painted yet but at least I can drive it every day.

Ferrari / Tribute badging
 

Geoff, if you want to go that way, you can get "F" or prancing horse badges for wheel hubs or body from many sources on Ebay (all of them illegal Chinese copies?). Alternatively, Chris and Dan, could you produce window stickers saying something like "250GTO/Z3 designed by Tribute Automotive" or a replacement roundel for the redundant tax pocket?

Looks brilliant - you must be very pleased!

Evening , have in the last week purchased the following ,
Sound Deadening, Bonnet Pins and Rubber Channelling , OK not the most exciting items ,
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1713545721...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3012376123...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1116859859...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Not quite sure why I bought 10m! , but it is a lot cheaper as its not marketed for cars .
Have installed the bonnet pins and the action feels spot on , if its not raining tomorrow then I will make a start on the channelling . Was at Tatton Park on Sat and met somebody (sorry can not remember your user name) who reads Madabout (Tribute Section) , and my only purchase was 2 Chrome racing style mirrors which are actually usable (using Convex glass) , cheers Geoff .

Hi Geoff,
It was good to speak to you the other day, I hope you're getting on well with the car. I'll be interested to know your opinion of the bonnet pins when fitted as it seemed you'd initially bought the same rubbish ones as I did.

I'd also like to know your opinion on the sound deadening stickiness when you fit some to the roof.

Cheers, Bob.

Afternoon I have just reinstalled the AC fan (yesterday) , I reused the standard BMW fan but with the shroud removed , then tie wrapped the fan onto the bracket in the first photo , the second photo shows the position of my fan ,the fan was clear of the grill but was hit by the lower edge of the bonnet when it was closed , I ended up cutting out approx. 2cms from the lower edge of the bonnet , the third photo shows the cut out which is not to easy to see , this photo was taken with the bonnet in the open position , the fan and the air con are working , Geoff .
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/DSCF1594.jpg
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/DSCF1595.jpg
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/DSCF1596.jpg

Afternoon Geoff.
This pull through tie kit may be a solution for attaching the fan to the radiator

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motors...hrough-tie-kit

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...41AF9D324B.jpg

Steve

Morning Bob the bonnet pins are quality , although the area at the top that you press to release the pin is small and does take some pressure , saying that they do fix the bonnet firmly .
Ref the sound deadening it is not self adhesive so I bought a spray glue from the same company , this did not work very well so I`ve know tried a different spray glue from B&Q .
If anybody wants a couple of square metres of the sound deadening please get in touch , thanks Geoff .

Good evening just before collecting my SWB from Chris I bought a set of E Type wires , the reason was if I did not like the look of my car with the Minilites I would have a plan B , well the Minilites look right to me so I am selling the Wires . There are 5 and I have had the tyres that were on them removed and donated to a car builder on Dorset! if any body on here wants them before they go on Ebay please message me , be aware of the rust and condition as per the photos , after £90 for the 5 , thanks Geoff .
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/DSCF1580.jpg
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/DSCF1583.jpg
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/DSCF1588.jpg
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/DSCF1584.jpg
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/DSCF1587.jpg

Hi I'm watching progress with interest, I tried the fan adjustments at front, as showed in your pictures and also trimmed 2cm from bottom of section as it would be behind the no plate. It still doesn't fit.....grrrr. So maybe I have a slightly longer car, will see if land rover smaller fan will bebetter. Cheers

it should fit, and i must say, i do not like to use tiewraps....
Does not sound/look good....
I used the Original brackets for the powersteering cooler and normal fittings also on the fan....
In my opinion it does not look professional to use ties....

Evening Eric ref the AC fan it is certainly a tight fit , my fan is tight up against the rad but there is clearance (just) , is there adjustment to allow the bonnet to sit slightly further forward? your car is looking good , cheers Geoff .

Thanks for posting the details of the slots in the vents

The details take forever, I have spent about 6 full days re shaping the back section to make it symmetrical around the hood and creating a decent lip for the boot seal which has a channel for the water to rundown when fitted, I may still need a couple of days to reform the lower edge at the bottom so that the tub is not stressed when fitted due to the bottom left hand mounting glassfibre being twisted.

It does however fit perfectly now and I don't have the issue Nubodi had with the sill or door bonnet gaps

My AC fan has the grill removed and is mounted as per the z3 with no issues, I took more than 2 centimetres off the lip though

Attachment 2819

Attachment 2820

Attachment 2821

wire wheels
 

Hi Geoff,
I would love to fit wire wheels on the 275GTB/Z3 that I am working on but I have no idea about adapter plates. Did you have something in mind already?
George

Good morning George , there is a company in the West Midlands (Orson Equipment) who can supply everything you need http://www.orsonequipment.co.uk/spli..._adaptors.html , I did visit them and actually placed an order but then decided that with the hub adaptor the track would be to wide! from memory WCA bought his from them , you may want to speak to Nick(WCA) for his opinion , the wires do look good but I am more than happy with the Minilites .
I also have a set (Driver/Passenger) glass (rare item)from a Z3 coupe which has a different shape at the rear if your interested? all the best with your build , Geoff .

Z3 Side glass
 

Hi Geoff,
Thanks for the offer of the Z3 Coupe glass but close inspection of photos shows that the it has a top edge which rises to the rear and it would not fit under my 275 roof line. It made me think, however, and I am now looking at putting an extra piece of perspex to the rear of the side window to fill up the space to the 275 window opening. It would need some kind of rubber or clear silicone trim to make it wind proof. They do it with the soft top so it must be possible.
George

Good evening new door cards made and fitted to door temporarily with tec bolts to check positioning ,

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/DSCF1605.jpg

Also made and fitted a new rear parcel shelf mainly out of 9mm ply , will know use 6mm ply covered with vinyl to finish ,

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/DSCF1606.jpg ,

as you can probably tell I am not a Joiner/Carpenter but until you try! Geoff .

Looks good Geoff. I will be going along similar lines.

I've found the space in the bottom of the door so useful that I'll work some sort of glove box into the door trim.

Cheers, Bob.

This car is beautiful. I'm amazed at what was achieved in a dusty workshop with some rotten bits of wood, glassfibre and an old BMW and a large dollop of skill and craftmanship.

One thing that seems missing is I would like to see is this car with a chrome trim around the windscreen and rear screen, I think that would finish the exterior perfectly. None of the builds so far have this and it seems missing to me.

Good afternoon Wasz I have the trim ready for the rear screen but as it will be removed for the spray work it is not worth installing the chrome strip , I have not made a final decision on the front yet , thanks Geoff .

Chrome trim
 

Hmmm. Does anyone know how to produce a one off chrome trim, 'cos I have got to do it?

Something like this...

http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/...psrge2cut4.jpg

There is plastic chrome stick on type available (I don't know if 'round corners' are available) - I think Car builder Solutions (and others) sell it.
I guess it might be possible (though difficult) to make something out of GRP making a female mould by routing wood, varnishing it and using 'metal powder' gelcoat pigment - a lot of work!
Thin stainless (or better still chromed brass) would be ideal, and could be bent to some extent?

There are clip on / stick on chrome trims available for the Z3 so they should be a good starting point .

For the rear you can use the original MGB GT trim....

what trims are you in need of
The 3m self adhesive chrome strip can be applied and will make quite tight corners.

or for larger areas chrome vinyl wrap which can be gently heated around more complex shapes.

So you could make a wooden trim and apply chrome vinyl to it

You could make quarter bumpers this way

Chrome trim
 

Wow! Thanks guys!

so, would having a spare windscreen to use as part of a mould be the way to go

It would be an easy way to make sure the curvature is correct

Audio ?
 

Did your car have the mid-range speakers behind the seats ?
Are you planning to re site them ?
Might they be thin enough to fit in either of the wooden boards ?

Could some of the plastic fascia around the corner by the door be retained ?

Good evening , I will not be having a radio so no speakers will be installed , the plastic trim under the dash in front of each door will be replaced by carpet , thanks Geoff .

Geoff - if you are covering the wooden door cards, have you considered a horizontal split about 1/3rd down the door panel towards the back. This will mean the bottom of the door car will be closer fittin that the top part.

Hard to describe but if you look at the pictures of my door you should hopefully see what I mean.

It has the effect of making it look like a fitted panel rather than a sheet of wood bolted to the door. Purely cosmetic but I was surprised by the visual difference

Thanks Nick will investigate , spent this afternoon installing a headlining and two pieces of trim , know I now why people have gone for the convertible version of the 250 swb (joke), what a difficult job , the *correct* method is to apply the glue to both surfaces and then fit! at this point there is zero chance of adjustment , my method was to apply the glue just to a small part of one surface press that part into place then apply more glue to the next section on just one surface and so on . The headlining was bought from Martrim in Sanbach and comes from a 1.5m wide roll 1m length would be £10 , I spent a total of £15 on the headlining and £10 for the glue , if doesn`t fall of overnight then that's finally a job completed , Geoff .

Hmm, I know the difficulty with the headlining, having fitted it to my Quantum and nearly being overcome by the glue! - a dash out of the garage for air was the emergency action I had to take. BTW my headlining is a sort of 'fuzzy felt', what is yours?

There is the option of a sprayed on flocking . Gives a nice even finish but is a bit messy to apply . It could be done before the roof section is fitted , upside down on the floor.

there is only 1 correct way, and that is glueing it in BEFORE you place the kit...

Fuzzy felt is probably a good description and even though I didn`t use the one correct method it hasn`t fallen off yet , Geoff .

Check out floc-king.co.uk based in Nottingham. They offer a professional flocking service and I'm sure they could do headlining , the do all sorts of car trim and it looks spot on !

Good morning after a number of attempts this is my version of a cut down Z3 centre console ready to be fitted , Geoff .

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/DSCF1597.jpg

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/DSCF1598.jpg

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...9/DSCF1618.jpg