I'll have to defer to your judgement there as I haven't actually ever driven a BMW of any type.

And you're absolutely right, the character of an engine can make or break a car - I'd far rather drive my wife's Nissan Micra with its rev hungry unburstable 1240cc motor than get back into the XR3i I owned in the eighties with its thrashy CVH, a motor Clarkson described at the time as '...so nasty Moulinex rejected it for its magimix'.

Anyway, it's horses for courses but it'd be a shame to put someone off building one of these cars if all they could afford to insure was a 1.9 and they decided not to bother because of the engine's poor reputation.

Still think the 2.8 is underpowered for its capacity though, especially with a slush box. ;)

So, getting back to topic, I've just taken delivery of (and read the spots off) a copy of 'Octane' from August 2010, which has a 6 page article focusing on the 1961 SEFAC comp/61 spec. 250SWB, chassis number 2689GT -

http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/...psd86a2096.jpg

So, that's the standard I'll be striving to achieve, not an exact replica but an homage to that car inside and out.

I now really can't wait to see a Tribute SWB in paint with a side window solution I like, and I'm also interested to see the price the kit will be offered at so I can clear the budget with my better half.

Really getting itchy fingers as my spanners languish unused in the garage...

Afternoon Mister Towed considering what you have already built , that will be one thread i will be looking forward to , do you want to practise your Silver/Grey spraying skills! on a SWB? Geoff .

Ha ha, afraid I'll have to pass on that, Geoff. It's one thing spraying my own car - if I feck it up I've only myself to blame - but I fear that the stress of trying to get a decent finish on someone else's pride and joy would either kill me or make me do a crap job.

Really looking forward to seeing your car in paint, even if you go with something other than silver. Before you make your final colour choice though, I'll just quote from the afore mentioned Octane article:

"In the California sunlight, the gleaming silver paintwork of 2689 GT shows off the lines to their very best."

Who am I to argue with such journalistic wisdom?

Are you moving as well!

I wouldn't mind if you did a bad job on mine long as it was sealed the body from the elements till the spring then could get it done again. With more money saved for a proper job. Gonna take me a while to save up for a decent paint job. Depending if i get any cash from ppi or a rich relative lends me the cash with no interest. But i don't think my uncle reads this so prob wont happen soon prob take me 10 months to save up for a half good paint job including laquer. Might try the roller approach. :-)

Do it yourself for under £400 including tools -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50L-Air-Co...item5669a0d997

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-Too...item258f45b0c3

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cellulose-...item56579ae628

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Farecla-G3...item43cec6fbfc

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUTOGLYM-S...item2592c344c6

Cellulose is very easy to spray and you can always sell the tools once you've sprayed your car, cutting the cost.

Go on, give it a go. After all, if you're planning to get a pro to spray it again anyway, what have you got to lose? :icon_biggrin:

So a donor like this would be idealhttp://www.gumtree.com/p/bmw/2000-bm...e36/1082297943

Great price - an otherwise decent donor with damaged paint/panels is going to be perfect for conversion - but it lacks two qualifications for me:

for simplicity's sake I want the donor to be the same colour as the car will end up (so that'll be silver), meaning I won't have to respray the engine bay/interior/etc;

I also want it to have a/c to keep the cabin temperature comfortable in summer. After all, it's going to have fairly impractical sliding perspex side windows and a black interior, so it will get uncomfortably stuffy on the Cote D'Azur without it. :)

I don't think I will ever get round to building one of these, but if I did, I would go for for picking a donar in the final colour too, it seems
the perfect solution to a lot of niggles.

Some inspirational/aspirational pictures here, well worth scrolling through -

http://www.supercars.net/Pics?viewPi...=1&pID=1073424

Mister Towed: – Great link. :cool:

Based on recent evidence, is that Scottie22 on the right holding a coat with a red quilted lining?

http://www.supercars.net/gallery/119...90/1024987.jpg

:icon_twisted:

Not sure if you’ve seen this clip, but I imagine this is what the Tribute BBQ will probably look like in a few years times. :icon_wink:

Goodwood Revival 2014 Race Highlights | RAC TT Celebration - YouTube

Finally, Mr T, how long do I have to finish my first build, before you start your second? :rolleyes:

Either way, I am looking forward to reading another one of your build threads. :cool:

Good luck, Paul. :)

Nice clip from Goodwood Paul. The way they drive on the track you'd think they were £200 bangers from the local scrappy, not multi-million pound national treasures.

Not sure when my SWB project will get under way - at the longest it'll be January 2017 - but I could make a start next summer if the circumstances work in my favour (just don't hold your breath).

I doubt it would take me two years to finish the SWB, probably more like six to nine months, and that's mainly because I'll be totally replacing the interior, dash'n'all, as well as the exterior panels.

So, I could be looking at being on the road by Christmas 2015...

A wonderful video of a 250 SWB in action at Spa.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7yrZ-zGxNM

Nice!

Why do some cars only have one heat shield on the exhaust, and what is the perspex screen on the bonnet for?

I quite like the blue no. 7 SWB

Heat shield is on the side of the fuel filler as a protection against spillage.

Perspex on the driver's side is nothing more than a bug deflector.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7yrZ-zGxNM

I quite like the little Alfa passing the modern(ish) Ferrari at the end of the clip

I agree. The Alfa 105 is one of the prettiest cars ever IMHO. Unfortunately, rust was the killer just like with many cars of that period. The one I owned a while back had little holding the upper body to the floorpan. Fine has long as you took it easy over yumps.

Bargain:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-M62-4-...item19f3317c5c

Apologies to all but progress on the SWB is very slow due to the need to catch up with kit orders delayed by SWB development.....