Saw the Nubodi 250 Kalifornia today and...
 

....was very, very impressed! Not just with the car but also Richard; his attitude and his honesty.

If you've seen the latest edition of Kitcar magazine then you'll have seen the 250 Kalifornia is on the front cover and gets a multi page feature.

Now I'll admit I thought the car looked great in the magazine but if I'm brutally honest some of the photo angles had me wondering about how well the car gelled.

Well, all I can say is the photos DO NOT do the car justice at all because, in real life, as you walk around it, it just looks absolutely right. Even those wire wheels that Andy has been expertly getting rid of via photoshop so I can see if what works in my head might work in real life actually perfectly suit the car. And yes, those controversial twin tail pipes also looked like they should be there - quite Daytona-esque from the side and sound bloody lovely.

The other thing was a couple of the magazine photos for some reason give a suggestion of possible rippling down the side - let me tell you it is beautifully straight in real life and I'd urge anyone considering taking on a build to go see it in the flesh.

I was unsure about the car on my journey there - I was 100% sure on the journey back. It's a done deal - just got to locate a donor.

Also now torn between storm grey metallic with black powder coated chrome, very much following along Danny's Kobra style or black and keeping the chrome (although I know there is a world of pain awaiting in terms of prep for painting black!)

I'd also say considering copying the design of the internal hinge mount for the boot because the clean lines you get courtesy of the internal hinges are so nice.

So for me, well worth the 3.5 hour round trip from Southend. Looking forward to dealing with Richard in the near future :)

Glad to hear that Richard could help you out and that you approved of the swb in the flesh. It looked great when Richard and Kim brought it back "home" to the workshop where it was born for a visit a couple of weeks ago:

http://i1046.photobucket.com/albums/...psq2is7l1o.jpg
http://i1046.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3k0mzdbr.jpg
http://i1046.photobucket.com/albums/...psgml576st.jpg
http://i1046.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0enytci7.jpg

It always seems to be the case with cars we have designed that people always comment on the fact they "look better in the flesh". I haven't seen the magazine feature yet, gone are the days of complimentary copies for manufacturers or even the courtesy of a proof before publishing it seems...

I didn't put the internal boot hinge set up into production as I felt the rear could do with a little more chrome detail on a large expanse of bodywork, but I am sure we/Richard can provide what you require. I look forward to receiving an order via Nubodi for your kit.

Hi Chris - you've done an excellent job with the kit - all the hours of burning the candle (is there any wax or are you just burning a wick from all angles!) have really paid off. I've been bigging up Nubodi and of course it is you who created it - I think their work to create the demonstrator from the prototype has really done you proud.

Check your PM's re: article

The external hinge thing is not a criticism (my old AK cobra had them) just an OCD thing of mine - yes if we can work that into the order somehow that'd be great. It's just a case of sourcing a donor first and I've set my sights on a 3.0 rather than 2.8 then I'll whack a deposit across.

I love that grill surround, is it metal? If so, who makes them...

I personally think the car looks fantastic but is let down a great deal with the z3 dash. What hapend to the prototype that was in the black coupe?

Have you noticed the tractor has the same 'inboard on the grille' set up for the driving lights.

Maybe it's a Tribute, too.

to Gary: the Grill is supplied with the kit and is made of GRP with aluminium slats...

Hi Smash,
Great feedback re the Nubodi finished Kali.
I've read the KitCar article and the pictures look good. My only issue is what appears to be an inconsistent gap line along the top of the sills, did this look better in the flesh? Also the trailing edge of the bonnet against the door. All other gaps look superb.

Andy - yes the sill gap was greater on the passenger side but remember this was the prototype and Nubodi built this to a tight time scale. There are a few things they will do differently on the next build from what's been learned.

If you look at Mobilerobbie's black coupe you'll see no issues with the sill gap and of course they're the same part so I guess it's just down to time available in prep. The clam had also been modified in development which also had an effect.

I did talk to Richard about the gap between the leading edge of the door and the clam and he was very open about it - basically because the front opens as clam and swings in such a way it needs the gap to stop it nipping the top of the door. But as Richard said to me, do you go with larger gaps all round to match (definite no!), do you try and taper the gap which would look odd? There may be a solution that looks marginally better but remember what the car is and the low costs of the kit.

I guess you could do the TVR trick and curve the leading edge of the door skin in!

It's the price you pay for such unrestricted access to the engine bay when the whole front comes up - and access really is fantastic.

On a black car it will be less noticeable but you can see the same gap on Robbies car.

I did a very short walk around vid of the car which I'll try and stick on youtube. Remember the demo car is stock ride height - excuse my Essex twang!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZvzwxJ9uXg

looks amazing now it's finished properly!!

Smash: could you post the full article on here??

Zip file here - http://www.mediafire.com/download/g1...C-Sep-2015.zip

Re the doors, a few years ago I built a Banham BAT which had the same idea of placing a skin over an original door. in order to get acceptable door gaps the hinge had to be modified. The idea was to move the pivot point as close to the door skin as possible. This was done by cutting and welding pieces into the hinge itself. It was a bit trial and error but in the end the gaps were equal all round and the doors opened ok without fouling. With unmodified hinges you needed a gap about as thick as your thumb to get the doors open ( land rover tolerances).

Thanks for posting the vid and the article.
I guess we're into the finer points of tribute vs replica with the panel gap issue.
The pics in the article do highlight them- it will be interesting to see how the various ensuing builds tackle them.
I've been spending a lot of time on the panel gaps and wheel arches on my Z300S to get it to look right as a car, regardless of any Maserati styling cues. I don't intend to put any replica Maser badges on it although I'm happy for it to be perceived as one when seen in traffic.
It all comes back to the basic question- what do you want to do?

nice work on this car, BUT: how in gods name can you fit VAN tyres to a car like this....
I think its not even allowed (for sure not overhere) the tyres are rated to 100 MPH I suppose....
You can get proper V-rated tyres in height 60 that drive SOO much better....
This might look better filling up the arches, but i prefer a bit lowered and proper wheels so you can use the cars drivability to the max...

If drivability is your greatest concern then I would steer well clear of a Z3 in the first place. I think that the tyres look period correct which is probably what they wanted to achieve and they are available as V rated so this should be of no concern to you.

have you ever driven a Z3M 3.2 yourself???
I based my 250 GT on that basis and can tell you it drives very fast and handles nicely on fast circuits....

Yes I have, the chassis lets it down badly as it simply isn't stiff enough. Even the 2.8 will show up this limitation when pressed hard enough. The Z3 is no performance car and I would not even contemplate buying one if pure driving pleasure was my aim however treat it as a pretty (once converted to SWB) GT style car and it isn't bad at all.

I fitted car tyres but with high side walls and soft compound.

The result was to reduce the absolute handling, especially around corners, and an increase in the absolute fun.

My Merc is also a convertible but seems a lot stiffer and with a lot more power it seems to handle a whole lot better than the 2.8 Z3 did with the original set up.

There seemed little point in chasing the performance and handling of a Kleemann SLK S8, especially with a Z3 as a base.

If you can't beat them, change the rules.

I decided to go for soft tall tyres so it turns, settles the tyres and then accelerates riding the torque rather than wringing out the power.

If you are track racing your Z3 based 'anything' then brace bars at the front and rear, extra welding on the rear suspension to stop it getting it ripped off, rubber band tyres. That should help you stay somewhere near the back of a 1 Series BMW if you are a good driver.

Basically, choose what you want from your car and sod the rest of them.