My first build: Kobra

[clinkadink]

My first post, although been admiring all the fascinating work on here for a couple of years now. It amazes me at the patience, passion and skill that exists in this forum.

Building a car has always been a dream of mine. Conventional kit cars, whilst my goal, is a lot of work, and I think a step too far for my limited skill set (and garage!). That's where I want to be some day, but when I saw the Kobra kit, it seemed like a great way to enter the world of kit cars.

I met with Richard Noon, Nubodi, in late 2016, where I saw the Kobra kit for the first time. Soon after, I had bought myself a BMW Z3 2.0L, 2000, off eBay for £700, and the kit was delivered (November 2016). In hind sight, I should have waited to Spring 2017 - but I was a 'kid in a sweet shop'.



The Z3 had lacquer pealing in several places, hence the price I guess. Other than that, it was mechanically sound and even came with an MOT.

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I made a start on removing the panels ...



I have a double garage, but it has the usual family bikes, lawnmower, bits and bobs crammed into it. It has 2 separate garage doors with a pillar in between. I quickly realised how much of a pain this was. Bottom line, I had little space.

Remove the rear wings. I was impressed by the condition underneath.



Boot, lights and bumper removed ...



Here you can see the space I had to work with. Need a bigger garage!



Finally the front stripped. To get the garage door to close, the front of the car touches the front bench. Not ideal.

[clinkadink]

Make a start on the new body now, starting with the side wings. I wanted the classic look, with AC Cobra louvred vents, so I remove the section and prep.



Vent panel removed ...

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More prep to remove the seams.



Starting to take shape ...



Fitted to the car ...

[Paul L]

clinkadink - Welcome to the forum.

Looking forward to you filling us in on all the work you have done.

Without giving the game away too much, are you finished now?

Good luck, Paul.

PS
Did you really say my double garage is too small?

[clinkadink]

Originally Posted by Paul L

clinkadink - Welcome to the forum.

Looking forward to you filling us in on all the work you have done.

Without giving the game away too much, are you finished now?

Good luck, Paul.

PS
Did you really say my double garage is too small?

Thanks Paul. No, not finished yet. But the bulk of the work has been completed. I should have added the build to the forum in 'real time'. Although, like Netflix, folks can now 'binge watch' a build without waiting weeks

Lol - yes, double garage is small. I even floored out the garage attic half way through the build and chucked a load of stuff up there. Still not enough space to swing a cat.

[clinkadink]

The Z3 mirrors are mounted towards the middle of the door. Yet the original cobra they mounted a lot further forward. I removed the mirrors and filled the holes.



I am using U-Pol B fibre glass filler (mainly) and body filler for the fine stuff. My skills are starting to be tested



Certainly past the point of no return ...



Repeat on the drivers side ...

[clinkadink]

Paul, thanks for feedback. I will keep trying with the spraying, but maybe start on my son's bike next time

I can't wait for the phone call saying "Your car is ready to collect". Seven days and counting. Once done, i'll update the build thread (in real time!).

[kon]

Very nice work indeed.
one tip I read/saw with using a budget compressor for spraying, is to use an appropriate sized gun. I think it might have been MCM who said to get one of the little guns used for small details, as it gives a good spray pattern with cheap compressors. it might take a while to spray with the small coverage it does, but for a DIY job that doesnt always matter.
I look forward to seeing the results from the pro paint job

[Mick O'Malley]

Originally Posted by clinkadink

I can't wait for the phone call saying "Your car is ready to collect"

I know this feeling so well: I also know that holding my breath isn't an option....

10/10 for grasping the nettle and having a go yourself, it looked a lot better than anything I could have done, that's for sure! I also loved binge reading your build. Once in a while I look back through my Monaco thread and despair at my feebleness when I see some of my huge 'commitment gaps'. Your car is an absolute credit to you and I look forward to seeing it in the flesh.

Regards, Mick

[Lucky@LeMans]

Nice build, well done ! Like you said with a bit more practice your paint skills will improve, it is a big learning curve !

Like your choice of wheels, not many have been fitted with wires. With some chunky wide tyres they look good on a K/Cobra. Only advise would be to get them spaced in the arches correctly.

Looking forward to the finished photos.

[IanA]

Nicely done and very brave to try a metallic first time round.
The first car I sprayed (outside) was my Lotus Seven S1. The compressor was powered by a washing machine motor, still in its Hoover chassis and the collector was a fire extinguisher body. I used an electric gun for the hi-build primer.
I put enough top coat on to be able to polish it down to a rather good finish and was very pleased with it.
My Z300S was sprayed professionally about 9 months ago and I've done nothing to it except wash it v-e-r-y carefully. No runs and no drips. My mistake was not inspecting the primer coat before the top finish and sorting the few imperfections which were down to my prep of the grp body but only I know where they are!!!

[WorldClassAccident]

Apparently the spray painting is all about having enough CFM from the compressor rather than the tank volume.

I just ordered a 9.6CFM with spray gun from SGS Engineering - or rather thought I did until a different compressor turned up with a nail gun. About to shout angry things at SGS when I double checked my order. I must have clicked on the wrong picture without realising it. SGS were very nice and agreed to swap for the correct one if I send it back to them.

[clinkadink]

A bit of both as I recall, otherwise you'll stopping every other panel and waiting for the pressure to restore.

Mine is this one from Machine Mart.

It has 14.5 CFM which is at the low end of the acceptable 'spray painting' range. I read somewhere to spray paint a car, the compressor would need to output between 14-18 CFM.

[clinkadink]

SGS have done me proud, a lot my kit is from them. Even my 50L compressor (which was swapped for my current 100L one).

[clinkadink]

Cheers Kon. Good tip about the little gun. Wish I knew that at the time, would saved a small fortune

[Barber]

Great work, and thanks for posting up the progress, the "binge" approach works too. Fingers crossed that the paint job is as good as you wish for.

[clinkadink]

Cheers Barber. I am not sure which is more effort, update as you go, or spend a day updating at once

I am confident the paint job will be good. He's done work for me in the past, and does a cracking job. That said, I haven't had a full respray done with him before, but I am hopeful

[clinkadink]

Thanks Mick, this did make me smile. With 15 kit cars under your belt, I think 'feebleness' is the last way to describe yourself. Well done you.

Just looking at your Monaco thread now. Impressive stuff. I will be keeping an eye on the thread from now on.

Incidentally, for my next build, I am toying with the A352 or the 250 SWB coupe.

Cheers,
Chris.

[clinkadink]

Cheers Lucky. I will keep trying, especially now I have the kit and quite a bit left of unused paint.

When you say spaced in the arch, are you referring to wheel spacers or something else?