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-   -   Mister Towed's SWB 250GT SEFAC build. (https://madabout-kitcars.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5343)

Mister Towed 19th March 2015 16:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by redratbike (Post 64658)

Cheers Redrat, was already watching the seitenblinkers but hadn't seen the Fulvia ones, which have now ended. :(

Will definitely be adding a pair of original coffin style side repeaters, it's those little details that make the illusion believable. :thumb:

Mister Towed 19th March 2015 19:16

Inspired by Redratbike's post I did a bit of surfing and found a cheaper alternative to the oem seitenblinkers, the Autobianchi equivalent -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nos-Autobi...item3ce624659f

They don't look as if they'll be quite the same quality as those from Germany, but they're not far off and will look the part, so at less than half the price, £31 delivered, I couldn't resist ordering a pair for the parts shelf.

They're coming from Greece and are new, old stock. Great vfm, Vive la crisis economique! :)

redratbike 19th March 2015 23:25

Just found you another set of lancia items..doh too late

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LANCIA-FUL...item5d5690927e

swifty 21st March 2015 11:32

Looking forward to following this build Mr T, are you looking to sell the sammio or starting a classic collection.

Mister Towed 21st March 2015 12:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by swifty (Post 64722)
Looking forward to following this build Mr T, are you looking to sell the sammio or starting a classic collection.

Cheers Swifty, I won't be selling the Spyder any time soon - I suggested I might do to my wife but she's put her foot down and told me to keep it - so I guess it's the start of a pseudo-classic collection.

Ultimately I'd like to use the SWB as a tow car for the Spyder (it gets a bit blustery on the motorway), but that may not be possible - there may not be a big enough weight differential and I might not be able to safely adapt a (detachable) tow bar for the extra length of the SWB body.

The sticking point for me at the moment is my finances - I'll definitely have the cash for this project in January 2017 as I get a lump sum with my retirement package, but there's something in the pipeline that means it's 90% certain that I'll be able to proceed later this spring or summer.

At the moment I'm just taking the opportunity to accumulate the parts necessary to get on with it quickly when I can afford to buy the kit.

I'm watching both Geoff and Bob's (kebab) threads with a great deal of interest as I can't believe how good the SWB is starting to look.

More later. :eusa_dance:

Scottie22 21st March 2015 13:03

You are following the same route I took Mr T, way before I got my body shell, I started buying all the knick-nacks and bits I knew I would need later.
It pays off as a bargains can be had there and then, as if you wait for the shell, the bargains have gone.
I'm sure your car will be stunning and I look forward to seeing your build.

Good luck with it.

Mister Towed 22nd March 2015 14:45

Little bit of progress on two of the wheels yesterday and today. They came from Germany with a coat of black paint sprayed over whatever was stuck to them, which turned out to include a fair bit of rust -

http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/...psxueouaoy.jpg

After a couple of hours elbow grease with a sanding sponge I marked up and drilled 5.5mm holes between the existing ones before degreasing and giving them a couple of coats of silver smoothrite. The overall effect is quite pleasing as they now have something of the look of Dunlop racing alloys for just over twenty quid each. Bargain.

Before and after shots -

http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/...pspertmrye.jpg

http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/...pst1whs1gr.jpg

I've also bought a couple of badges on ebay so I'll take some pics of the bits and bobs as they arrive.

Total spent so far: £282.89

Total hours put into project: 8

More later. :)

Scottie22 22nd March 2015 17:53

Wheels look good Mr T!

Don't know if you have these, but you would need two sets to
really make the wheels look perfect.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DUNLOP-Jag...item5d24b79df3

Mister Towed 22nd March 2015 19:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottie22 (Post 64766)
Wheels look good Mr T!

Don't know if you have these, but you would need two sets to
really make the wheels look perfect.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DUNLOP-Jag...item5d24b79df3

Ahh yes, the infamous Dunlop patent stickers. I say infamous because late fifties classic Jags have been marked down in concours d'elegance events because they shouldn't have them.

Dunlop only stuck them on while the patent was pending, which was apparently around 1953-4. Once they got their patent they no longer needed to protect their copyright by labelling the wheels.

So I'll give them a miss as this is supposed to be a '59 to '61 car. :nerd:

hurnleft 22nd March 2015 20:18

Mr T,
I'd had a similar idea to you regarding the stickers, but decided to use Campagolo ones as they are an Italian brand.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CAMPAGNOLO...item5d254f7a92


The extra holes look great but I fear if I tried they could be all over the place.

I love the style of your seats but having driven down from Norwich to Dorchester in total comfort, I'll be getting a quote to have the original seats retrimmed in something more appropriate than the horrible beige plucked ostrich finish.

Cheers, Bob.

Mister Towed 22nd March 2015 20:59

Good luck getting your seats trimmed Bob. I can recommend Brockwell brothers in King's Lynn if you can't find anyone out Norwich way. Proper old school craftsmen and they don't charge the earth.

Will have a think about the wheel branding - 'I say, ding dong' have a massive range of such things.

Scottie22 22nd March 2015 21:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister Towed (Post 64774)
Ahh yes, the infamous Dunlop patent stickers. I say infamous because late fifties classic Jags have been marked down in concours d'elegance events because they shouldn't have them.

Dunlop only stuck them on while the patent was pending, which was apparently around 1953-4. Once they got their patent they no longer needed to protect their copyright by labelling the wheels.

So I'll give them a miss as this is supposed to be a '59 to '61 car. :nerd:

Mmmmmm! Now there's something I did not know.

However, it would appear that all 16 original XKSS's had them, and I believe they were produced in 1955, so perhaps the patent was not granted until that year.

My car is intended as a 55 car, so I will leave my stickers on.

I don't think concours judges will ever be giving my car the once over, , so I should be okay in that department!

jones 22nd March 2015 23:00

Love those wheels, what a bargain. The additional holes such a simple touch - albeit time consuming I guess.

redratbike 22nd March 2015 23:07

Wow the holes really change the look ...

Mister Towed 23rd March 2015 07:33

Thanks guys, the additional holes were worth the effort (and a couple of broken drill bits).

It took about three hours per wheel. They needed quite a bit of sanding and the steel between the holes is about 7mm thick. Drilling each 2mm pilot hole took around 3 to 4 minutes, but the 4mm and 5.5mm bits then powered through in around a minute each.

They look close enough to the original Dunlops to fool most people - the main giveaway is that mine have 20 holes while Dunlops have 15.

When you look at the price of replicas - Image Wheels Billet 46 alloys, for example (gorgeous though they undoubtedly are) come in at £309 + vat each. That's £1,483.20 plus delivery for four compared to £100 all in for my 'home made' alternative.

You pays your money, you takes your choice...

£370.80 each -
http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9rgb7fh9.jpg

£25.00 each -
http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/...pst1whs1gr.jpg

http://www.imagewheels.co.uk/pages/prices_billet.html

Mister Towed 23rd March 2015 10:32

Just to answer a couple of pm's publicly, the wheels I got were fixed price buy-it-now on ebay.

I've just done a bit of surfing - couldn't find any more E34 sets for sale, but there are a couple of E39 sets that have an ET of 18, and actually have the right number of holes (15) -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2617967770...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2516027225...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

BTW, I can't guarantee that these will fit the 250 as I haven't tried them myself yet. Based on Tribute's wheel information thread I think they'll fit, but please do your own research before purchase.

On another matter, I'd be interested to know how much clearance there is available to fit taller tyres.

The Z3 'standard' tyre sizes all seem to have a diameter of between 63 and 64cm, while I'm thinking of going with 185/80/15 Vreidestein Sprint Classics (an original SWB tyre size), which are 67.7cm across.

This means that the 185/15's will be around 20mm closer to anything that might foul them, anyone know if there's more than a 20mm gap between the standard Z3 tyres and the chassis, suspension or bodywork?

Scottie22 23rd March 2015 10:42

Hey Mr Towed, talking about saving cash on wheels, look how much you would have lost if you had gone ahead and bought these!!

If you had only bought four to save money, it would total (with Vat) a massive £7680! And that's without carriage!

Who pays this kind of price for wheels??

[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps7usbsyng.jpg[/IMG]

Mister Towed 23rd March 2015 10:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister Towed (Post 64790)
Just to answer a couple of pm's publicly, the wheels I got were fixed price buy-it-now on ebay.

I've just done a bit of surfing - couldn't find any more E34 sets for sale, but there are a couple of E39 sets that have an ET of 18, and actually have the right number of holes (15) -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2617967770...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2516027225...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

BTW, I can't guarantee that these will fit the 250 as I haven't tried them myself yet. Based on Tribute's wheel information thread I think they'll fit, but please do your own research before purchase.

On another matter, I'd be interested to know how much clearance there is available to fit taller tyres.

The Z3 'standard' tyre sizes all seem to have a diameter of between 63 and 64cm, while I'm thinking of going with 185/80/15 Vreidestein Sprint Classics (an original SWB tyre size), which are 67.7cm across.

This means that the 185/15's will be around 20mm closer to anything that might foul them, anyone know if there's more than a 20mm gap between the standard Z3 tyres and the chassis, suspension or bodywork?

Just found this interesting link -

http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/gta-...eels-7x14.html

So, Campagnolo branded wheels they might well become...

I know what you mean about the chicken-skin seats. BMW did (still do?) some bloody awful colour combinations inside their cars, the bounds of which are only limited by the lack of taste of the person ordering the car new, which appears to be unlimited.

Never really been a fan of BMW's or their owners for some reason. :argue:

P.S. Not sure how I managed to quote myself, I'm not usually quite that vain, I meant to quote Bob's (Hurnleft) link to the Campagnolo stickers above.

Mister Towed 23rd March 2015 10:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottie22 (Post 64791)
Hey Mr Towed, talking about saving cash on wheels, look how much you would have lost if you had gone ahead and bought these!!

If you had only bought four to save money, it would total (with Vat) a massive £7680! And that's without carriage!

Who pays this kind of price for wheels??

[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps7usbsyng.jpg[/IMG]

Jay Leno? Chris Evans? Bill Gates? Who knows...

Mister Towed 23rd March 2015 12:36

This just arrived -

http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/...pszhew4abr.jpg

http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/...pslmgbnu1u.jpg

NOS genuine wheel centre cap, which will be modified to become a feature of the steering hub. It even came in a branded plastic bag.


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