Deed is done!

[Mister Towed]

Used Jag wires are definitely a cheaper option and look just fine on a Z300S, but I'd still prefer the dished look of the AC style from MWS on a 250 -

[Mister Towed]

Originally Posted by smash

They won't fit mate - the only wire wheels that will fit without body mods are bead lace bolt ons.

The problem with those wires you've posted is even though they're 6" width because they're well laced the offset is -10mm which means they stick 50mm further out than stock Z3 alloys before you've accounted for the extra width of the adaptors as Andy found out:

http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/foru...?t=5449&page=2

If you want wires it's bolt ons or arch extensions I'm afraid.

SNG Barratt are Dayton dealers but only for jag wheels - still I've asked for a quote on a set of Jag Dayton direct bolts

Oops, thanks for this, I'm afraid my 'net connection is running slow so I didn't see your input before adding my next post.

I see that Andy was able to extend the arches to compensate at the back while the fronts didn't seem to cause an issue. They were also 7.5" wide and presumably used quite wide tyres (couldn't see a reference to tyre size). If I ever decide to go with wires (once I finally get to build the car!) I'd want to fit the 6" wide MWS AC style or stick with my home-made Dunlopalikes -

[Lucky@LeMans]

I'm hoping the MWS AC Cobra 289 wheels will fit. They look good with the deep dish and will be OK with 195/70 - 15 tyres, very close to original spec.

At only £170 each ( Painted Finish ) they are good value too.

[Nubodi Automotive]

We have just commissioned some shorter splined hubs to fit with E-type 'curly hub' wheels. These will fit under the arches okay. You do have to use shallow head wheel boots though but no big deal.
I only have a photo of the first attempt which stuck out about 2", but you can imagine the revised ones just shorter. Unfortunately they are made by the best hub engineering company in the land, so do not come cheap.
They cost £595 a set of four. Most can only be safe up to 150BHP these will go to 300BHP. It seems a shame to cover them up!

[Nubodi Automotive]

We have just sold a set to a customer who says wheels and paint make a car so cutting corners here is false economy (for him anyway).

[Nubodi Automotive]

Just for your interest one of our other customers has provided a tyre comparison chart. The one at the bottom is the standard BMW wheel fitted to the front and back of the car for reference.

[smash]

Tgats great and looks like a cheaper option but it does reinforce my point as you can see from photo they are bead lace wheels so no dishing which the guys above think they're capable of getting. You can't have dishing.

[Nubodi Automotive]

This is his car so you can gauge the gap under the arches with standard wheels and tyres

[Lucky@LeMans]

How much narrower are the narrow Z3 cars , would that be enough to get it all under the arch ?

[y cymro]

There's a good discussion here on one of the other SWB build threads (I don't think it was Geoff's).
I seem to remember the narrow cars are about 25mm narrower each side, but a search should find the measurements you need.

[y cymro]

Originally Posted by Nubodi Automotive

Most can only be safe up to 150BHP these will go to 300BHP.

I wonder how much torque 40 year old wires are safe with?

[smash]

I stand corrected! Looks like you can just about get splined wires on without mods although I reserve judgement until I see them on the car with tyres, lol!

The only car with a narrower rear axle is the 1.9 pre face lift - all the others are the same width

[y cymro]

Originally Posted by Nubodi Automotive

Just for your interest one of our other customers has provided a tyre comparison chart.

You might find This tool useful to visualise changes in wheel offset.

This one is good too.

[smash]

Seeing as we're on the subject of wheels (see what I did there) - Mrs Christmas delivered this Nardi style wheel and horn push.



I must admit I had thought I was going to leave the interior entirely stock but I can see that the stock seats (no matter how comfortable and electrically magnificent!) will look wrong so inspired by Nubodi's interior changes I'm looking for different seats.

Quick fix are OMP Silverstone retro buckets



But after a lot of trawling I found these Kirkey retro bucket seats which are very similar in shape to the original 250 seats



But there's then the additional cost of trimming - I did find one set someone had custom trimmed so you get the idea



Then there's also these Shelby Daytona seats but boy do they have a price tag!



Anyone found anything similar to the real thing on a budget?(yeah I know, I know!)

I did wonder about chopping the original seats down and retrimming in order to keep all the electrics and comfort level....

Also just starting work on Veglia 250 style "instrument set" for the Z3 binnacle.

[WorldClassAccident]

The adapter price doesn't look too high. I think mine cost £110 a corner.

Not sure what torque you can put through wires but mine are 1950's from an Aston Martin and have had full throttle acceleration and driven at over 130mph, on a private road obviously, without ill effect

[Lucky@LeMans]

Originally Posted by y cymro

You might find This tool useful to visualise changes in wheel offset.

This one is good too.

That helps a little but the most useful dimension you need is the "back face". Once you know this for your old wheels and the your proposed new wheels you can work out where it will all end up.
I think the problem with the 250 SWB is body line when viewed from above is only a very short distance out from the wheel disc hub. The result is it all sticks out too far when you have the spline adaptors on.

[Lucky@LeMans]

I'm not sure how much work it would be to fit the narrow body axle components but it could help a lot ?

[y cymro]

Originally Posted by Lucky@LeMans

That helps a little but the most useful dimension you need is the "back face". Once you know this for your old wheels and the your proposed new wheels you can work out where it will all end up.

No, it's not. We're discussing wheel poke to ensure wheelarch clearance, and the necessary dimensions are total wheel width (not the J dimension) and the wheel offset.
The back face dimension is required to ascertain whether there's sufficient clearance from the inner rim to suspension components and bodyshell when on lock. Knowing the wheel width and ET dimension it's easy to calculate the backface dimension.

Originally Posted by Lucky@LeMans

I think the problem with the 250 SWB is body line when viewed from above is only a very short distance out from the wheel disc hub. The result is it all sticks out too far when you have the spline adaptors on.

Which is the point made above by WCA, Smash and Mr T, and is why Richard has commissioned special lower offset spline adapters. But even so, you're going to need extended arches or a narrow rear hub conversion of you want to fit wheels with a large offset.

[Mister Towed]

Originally Posted by y cymro

...even so, you're going to need extended arches or a narrow rear hub conversion of you want to fit wheels with a large offset.

...or you could just use a pre-facelift 1.9 donor to start with. After all, in terms of power produced against capacity, it's a far more efficient engine than the 2.8.

Queue WCA...

[smash]

I did actually bid on a out run 1.9 year 2000 Z3 that had had 2.8 engine running gear swap so would've been ideal for SWB - typically I missed the end of the auction!