KOBRA PROJECT - BMW Z3 based body conversion kit - Page 12

y cymro · #**221** 21st February 2014, 19:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Axel

sorry, I didn't want to offend anyone and his great work here...it was just an idea

Hi Axel. I'm sure no one took offence, and your idea to alter the windscreen could make the car look better. But it would be a huge amount of work which wouldn't make sense if starting with a Z3. You'd probably be better off building a kit car Cobra, but of course, that's a much harder task than a conversion such as this.
Keep the ideas coming ;-)

y cymro · #**222** 21st February 2014, 22:40

Note how high the strut towers are (and ignore the LS1 motor). This illustrates how well Chris has done to get the Cobra wing shape with those mountainous things in the way.

Mister Towed · #**223** 22nd February 2014, 07:44

Looking at the strut towers it could be possible for a builder to lower the bonnet by cutting holes for the struts to poke through and covering them with 'power' bulges. It's now common practice on Sammio/Ribble bonnets to add bulges and scoops for clearance over stuff that's underneath to get the bonnet to sit where it looks best -

Scottie22 · #**224** 22nd February 2014, 16:09

Praise be to the lowered! Towered!

y cymro · #**225** 22nd February 2014, 21:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister Towed

Looking at the strut towers it could be possible for a builder to lower the bonnet by cutting holes for the struts to poke through and covering them with 'power' bulges. It's now common practice on Sammio/Ribble bonnets to add bulges and scoops for clearance over stuff that's underneath to get the bonnet to sit where it looks

Well they certainly all look good

y cymro · #**226** 22nd February 2014, 21:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottie22

Praise be to the lowered! Towered!

Amen to that, brother Scottie

y cymro · #**227** 22nd February 2014, 21:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by y cymro

Note how high the strut towers are. This illustrates how well Chris has done to get the Cobra wing shape with those mountainous things in the way.

I even wondered about cutting 40mm from the strut towers to give clearance and rewelding them ( a mate's a coded welder) then fitting -40mm lowered spring to still have reasonable suspension movement.

DSG4ME · #**228** 23rd February 2014, 08:46

I think that if you start to modify strut towers and cutting here and there it will no longer be a quick and easy bolt-on body kit like it was intended.

What makes the front seem much higher than a standard Cobra is the distance between the top of the wing and the edge of the wheelarch.

Several things can bee done to adress this small problem.

Lowering the suspension to the max. especially at the front end, adding very large wheels and a deeper front valance/lip spoiler will make the car look totally diferent.
I´m sure Chris has already thought about this and will do it when he thinks is the right moment.

Another thing to take into account (and many dont realise) is the colour of the car. A white car does not look the same as a dark car. (Its the same as when some women wear black to look slimmer). If this Kobra was painted dark blue or black it would look totally different.

Tribute Automotive · #**229** 23rd February 2014, 09:35

DSG4ME · #**230** 23rd February 2014, 10:09

Now, that looks completely different.

Good work Chris.

y cymro · #**231** 23rd February 2014, 10:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSG4ME

I think that if you start to modify strut towers and cutting here and there it will no longer be a quick and easy bolt-on body kit like it was intended.

My point isn't about keeping this an easy build as Chris always indeed, but to start a debate to find ways to lessen the height of the front wing/wheel arch so as to lower the bonnet and wing line.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSG4ME

What makes the front seem much higher than a standard Cobra is the distance between the top of the wing and the edge of the wheelarch

That's what I'm banging on about! It is well documented that the thinner is this distance, the sportier the car looks. I believe that Kobra will benefit from this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSG4ME

Another thing to take into account (and many dont realise) is the colour of the car. A white car does not look the same as a dark car. (Its the same as when some women wear black to look slimmer). If this Kobra was painted dark blue or black it would look totally different.

You're back to the obvious now - which is why manufacturers have always used this method, and why a simple pinstripe can make such a difference to the look of a vehicle (or a building for that matter). You could fool the brain into thinking the car looks more 'cobra-like' by painting it in the often used colours of metallic blue with a white stripe, but this leaves the issue unresolved.

Mister Towed · #**232** 23rd February 2014, 11:13

Much better with the chin spoiler, it fills the gap under the nose which is what didn't look quite right to me. Well done, I can see that selling well.

Oh, and almost forgot to ask, can you get Halibrand replicas that'll fit the Z3?

Tribute Automotive · #**233** 23rd February 2014, 14:58

An eBay question has just prompted this reply, which preempts the next stage of the project to be shown on this tread soon:

We are still working on the internal parts, the priority was to get the outer skin finished first which dictates the shape of the other parts. The sills/lower front wing panels will be fitted first, a simple bolt on process using the original BMW fixings. Next there will be a GRP mounting panel around the existing Z3 boot opening which will be fixed to the car prior to the outer skin being bolted to the existing bmw captive fixing holes in the door shuts plus some additional new fixing location points. Next the bonnet/front end section, with its internal steel frame, will simply bolt to the existing Z3 hinges and use the BMW latches in their original locations.

WorldClassAccident · #**234** 23rd February 2014, 16:03

If you upgrade the engine a bit it will take peoples eyes off the wheel/bonnet spacing

Mister Towed · #**235** 23rd February 2014, 17:10

So, why exactly does it need two rows of karioke mikes?

WorldClassAccident · #**236** 23rd February 2014, 18:12

They are tennis ball holders

Scottie22 · #**237** 23rd February 2014, 18:41

I think you are right, if you look really closely you can actually see the balls themselves. :-)

WorldClassAccident · #**238** 23rd February 2014, 19:06

True - They were tennis balls
False - They fire out the front three at a time when you rev the engine

zagmad · #**239** 24th February 2014, 11:52

multi functon, like a swiss army knife, nice.

naw · #**240** 24th February 2014, 14:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by WorldClassAccident

If you upgrade the engine a bit it will take peoples eyes off the wheel/bonnet spacing

I can't stop looking at the chin spoiler - I mean it's an outrageous and unnecessary styling addition that completely changes the nature of the car. The rest of the styling I think is quite subtle - especially that little bonnet decal.

Actually, no. This reminds me more of the Robot ("Number 5") from the movie Short circuit bursting from the bonnet like the chest-burster from Alien