Update
 

I spoke to Chris and we are agreed that using the z3 vents in the dash is clumsy, and will go for Scimitar round ones instead. The cut and shut of panels and subsequent remodelling was scheduled for sometime in January, and this will commence on time. The top is tied to the 275 windows rework per Welsh Kiwi. Then that needs to be melded with a different rear.

I have the wheels and tyres so that Chris can tailor the panels to suit. Gone for the Calibre ones per Andy's build. This is an everyday car and think they will be more practical. I have got the adjustable coil overs to fit also.

Hopefully another update at the end of the month, and during February, some pics of the buck in progress.

My new shed is up and about ready - just needs weather treatment and the door put on. Then I can fill it with garage junk and free up space for a workshop area in the garage, next to the car port. Unbelievably, this project is kicking into gear. Hooray.:flypig:

Exciting times. :cool:

Really looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

Good luck, Paul. :)

When I said the shed was about ready......
It said in the instructions that you need to spend as long treating it as you do building it. It is one of these log cabin types, with more substantial boards than your regular shed. I prepared the base before Christmas, and did the assembly last weekend. 2 hours to sort the parts and read instructions, 6 man hours to put the thing up. But it took 4 hours more to put the floor in and i have spent about the total of that lot treating with insecticide and weather treatment. Just got to glue the membrane on the roof over the weekend. It will be worth it though, as i can then use the car port and part of the garage as a workshop. Paul, I have renewed admiration for your weather dodging build after only a week of faffing on with the shed.

Barber - If it makes you feel any better...

I built our Summerhouse in May and still got soaked during the 'groundworks' as it just wouldn't stop raining. :rolleyes:

This was the state of the ground just before I started my concrete base.

http://www.tritalk.co.uk/forums/userpix/1224_sh12_1.jpg

Good luck, Paul. :)

Good luck - it will be worth it.

Here's mine before

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8187/...52451e39_n.jpg20140922_101118 by WCA!, on Flickr

During
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7729/...9fc58869_n.jpg20140928_174305 by WCA!, on Flickr

After
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1652/...03757808_n.jpg20150515_195114 by WCA!, on Flickr

MX5 based Zagato
 

I am committed to the Z3 based car that Chris is working on, else I would have been tempted by this.

http://i67.tinypic.com/bg1agx.jpg

https://jalopnik.com/i-somehow-like-...ole-1822603912

Very nice barber I can see why! I am sure though the z3 dimensions and chris’s Magic will bring you what you desire!

How’s your donor going? Mine is starting to give me a few niggles, rear shock mounts blew the other day so I am getting plenty of mech time sorting things out! Cheers.

Hi,

A few niggles also. Still not resolved the power drain. I thought I had, so didn't go through the whole diagnostic process. I plan to check all the fuses for draw today. It has been parked outside, and the rag top is struggling a bit. I plan to swap out the suspension for coil overs next week. I have them ready. I hope to collect my dash next week, and drop the wheels off for Chris.

We'll have to be patient re the reworked top. I'd rather it was right, and a bit late than the alternative.

Definitely worth the wait I agree. Was in contact with Chris today so hoping a few days of work will spurn some progress. On the drain issue have you checked, changed the battery? I chased a drain for weeks going for what was the “google search” likelihood’s only to find out the battery had been abused and wouldnt hold a charge for more than a few days. A good CCA test may be worth it if not already checked. Good luck!

Simpson stuff is fantastic quality but definitely not Tribute prices....interesting how the model development has almost been running parallel with the SWB and now Zagato

Smash, I think that they read this forum an pick up levels of interest from over there. ;-) There were quite a few positive comments on the Zagmad thread when he had a good basis on the MX5.

As stated previously, the Zagmad model sparked my interest, along with a whole load of other Zagato marque designs. I can say for definite that the Zagato idea was derived completely separately from both Simpson, and the Evanta, which I didn't see until Gary posted it on this thread. (It is lovely too).

Got to say, the Zagato is a beautiful car.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4667/...be6b6e59_b.jpgDU6Xgm2XkAAX4D1 by couerdelion2013, on Flickr

Saw that on a twitter account I follow - @jamesc511 well worth a follow.

Sadly, I don't do twitter (what with Facebook, snapchat, whatsapp etc) I can't face any more passwords, but the car looks good. :juggle:

I like the Simpson products having has an Italia kit, superb quality. But after all the effort he has made on his Zagato, the front windscreen is appalling, it just looks so wrong against the shallow side windows.
Can't wait to see the Tribute version in soft top form as the problem won't exist.
And why oh why would you base it on an MX5 when there are so many Z3's (or Z4's)available?

I am guessing that there are a lot more MX5s than Z3s in the USA. But you are right, starting from scratch, why wouldn't you go for the Z4?

I asked Chris about Z4 for the Zagato when we were kicking the possibilities around, but it was too much incremental work at this time.

The Z4 has a very high section between the rear window and the boot lid. This is part of the shell so cannot be removed. On the coupe Zagato it wouldn't be a problem but I don't think there is an attractive workaround on the convertible.
Plenty of Z3's still available at reasonable prices.
I think a Z3 Zagato convertible on a Z3 will be a real winner.
If it uses the original doors without resorting to door skin panels it will make it much easier and cheaper to build. You can always weld a plate over the existing door handle and fit a Mini style handle or live with the existing door handle.

It's based on the gen 3 MX5 - a far more capable car than the Z3 ever was to be fair. You could have a 2 year old base car...

I agree about the roofline though

Zagato
 

can do this, very expensive too.Attachment 4897

I think that the DB4 Zagato is much prettier than the DB5 that so many rave about - (mostly because of the Bond connection).

That's the winner! How much? 😊

Tell us more please

Form my friends shop in North Carolina. Uses aftermarket Corvette chassis.
Body extended 5 inches at the cowl. Very accurate body like the 2VEV car.
Original windscreen, etc. Beginning at $70,000 and at least a year wait.
Very doubtful if it would pass the required IVA though.

Nothing much of interest going on. I am cleaning, stripping and treating MBG seat frames. Not very stimulating, but I aim to spray them black this week sometime. There are loads of videos on re-furbishing these, so I'll maybe just put a couple of progress pics up for interest.

I also hope to collect my dashboard this coming week or the week after.

The 275 roofline being modified for Welsh Kiwi is the start point for my roof, and the back cannot be done until we have the roof. The front will use something like the narrow 250SWB as a start, but there is a lot of work to do on the nose.

Barber - There are some nice photos/ideas here:
https://www.goodwood.com/grrc/event-...record-at-fos/

Seat Refurbishment - The Paint Booth
 

Here is the spray paint booth, a large carton:
http://i65.tinypic.com/2vd1xc2.jpg

and here is the product:
http://i64.tinypic.com/25h1nhf.jpg

It will all be covered in foam and seat covers, so not a lot of finesse in cleaning the frames, just a wire brush to get the rust off, and anti rust treatment, before a couple of coats of paint.

Zagato Roadsters
 

Following on from Jagtvr's comments about wanting one of these, I wondered what it would look like. Apart from the BMW and AM AR1 versions, I cannot find any others.

This is a US kit I think. Obviously a Z3 windscreen would have a bit of an effect, but this gives the gist of it I think.
http://i65.tinypic.com/2itekx.jpg

Very pretty but useless without a roof for me.
If you look at the Evante from the rear, remove the roof and the horrible sticky outy wheel arches and you have the 250swb c rear end which I really like. Just needs to be modified slightly to allow for no door skins and it's almost there.
Must surely make it a very cheap kit!

The way fibreglass materials and steel stock prices have been going up over the last year or so ...doubt if any kits will be cheap for much longer !!

That is a very pretty car by the way ...

Shocked at the price increases here in the USA as well!

I think steel has gone up at 40% overall in the last 12 months , but its not a constant across the board weirdly ..some sections have increased more than others ....a length of 12mm round bar was about £6 a length last year ..bought some a week or so ago ...£15 !!
My frame man is increasing them by £50 as of the next one and my laminators are doing sums to find a way to keep any increase to a minimum !!

My steel stockholders used to submit 30 day quotes to customers ...they won't guarantee past 7 days now ...

I'm not planning an increase so it squeezes me a bit ...

Anyway , sorry to sidetrack your thread ....as you were !!

No problem, they are real issues that affect us all, so need to be aired.

Please delete the above posts before Chris reads them and starts getting ideas!

A bit of a clue
 

http://i63.tinypic.com/5ai6xk.jpg

http://i68.tinypic.com/qz0wmh.jpg

This is from Welshkiwi’s thread and shows the revised 275 roofline. Raising the roof slightly helps with both the window line, as well as the need to insert a rear quarter light for the Z3gato.

If you can imagine a 250SWB coupe rear with the wings sloping down slightly at the back you can begin to get the picture.

I do like the look of that ...and the camp fella in the background seems to be in awe of it too ...... :icon_biggrin:

Looking at the leading edge of the roof. Would it be possible to fit hardtop type catches instead of bonding? (similar say to an MGB)
Would have the advantage of stopping any stress cracks and would also make the whole rear end removable.
If this were to be done would you need the roll cage?

I think the cage gives structural support for the roof. So long as the roll cage is required to do this, I wouldn't expect a significant shift. Roadsters top seems to have come to a halt. The tolerances and rigidity, without building a bomb shelter will probably take quite some time to get right.

The MGB I had with a hard top and it didn't need a roll cage for the hard top. I would think that the BMW is probably more rigid than an old MGB.
Would it matter if there was slight movement at the windscreen join? It would have a rubber strip to allow for movement and weatherproofing.
I can see that a bonded on hard top would need the roll cage to stop any movement and prevent cracks forming.
The roof itself could have a couple of supports glassed in, in the same way as the bonnet has.

My 250 convertible rear end is only bolted on with the bolts at the front of the rear wing in the door apertures. It is meant to be fixed at the bottom of the rear wing with a bolt on either side but to fit them I would have to some strain on the rear clam so have never fixed it here.
It seems to be on very firmly but I'm sure it gives it a little room for movement which hopefully will prevent any stress crack from appearing.

Interesting. How much narrower is the MGB? My NG based on the MG running gear was 36 inches across the front seats panel to panel, the Z3 is 54 inches so quite a big difference.

No idea on the width but if the Z3 hardtop doesn't need a roof brace, why would the Tribute hard top need one?
I would imagine the larger tribute top to be more stable.

Dashboard update
 

Some progress on the buck for the dashboard. The hole left of centre is for a lockable glove box.
http://i65.tinypic.com/f4g2zc.jpg

http://i65.tinypic.com/2cn6u7p.jpg