I've just realised that I'm just about finished, the rest of the work is really prep for painting.
Got the kit middle of May and finished middle of September, I have however been away on holiday for 8 weeks in total so the total build time is 2 months. I haven't been rushing and it has all gone together very well.
If anyone is lurking and considering buying one I would suggest you go ahead and buy one. Chris has gone very quiet on the forum, I suspect because he is very busy. If you wait too long you could find that he has gone over the VAT threshold and future kits could attract 20% vat.
You don't need many tools to fit it, the only tool I would advise is a Rivnut tool, good wiring crimps and an angle grinder for fitting and a couple of cheap sanders and a hand held long bed sander. Nuts and bolts can be bought from Ebay very cheaply and normally next day delivery. Being a hoarder I have nuts and bolts everywhere and can quite easily loose most of a day looking for that elusive size. On this build I ordered what I thought I would need beforehand and anything else as I needed it. Everything is stainless, the right size and length, make the build much more enjoyable.
The only part on the whole build that I didn't enjoy was the doors, there does need to be a modification to the moulds to get them to fit better. Everything else is very straight forward and simple. I must say that I was very surprised how well it all fitted together. I kept waiting for something to bite me in the bum but it hasn't happened.
I have been sanding back some of the bodywork over the last couple of weeks when I have been waiting for parts to arrive and again have been surprised how straight the body panels seem to be. I will be driving it over to my painter on the 1st to get him to run his eye over it and to point out areas that I need to address. I am going to try and leave it in his oven for a couple of hours in case there are any air bubbles. I was on the DNA owners club (DNAOC.com) forum and was looking at a post on painting and even the 2fifty had small pinprick air bubbles come to the surface in the oven prior to painting and that is with GRP bodywork that looks perfect and paint ready.
I do know that I have a quite a bit of work on the front and rear door gaps to get them level. When I fitted the bonnet I found the gap a bit too large all the way around so I have cheated and fitted it as well as possible to the left and front, this leaves me the rear and right hand side to work on. I thought it easier to just work on two sides rather than four. It has only meant that the bonnet is off centre by about 3mm so it doesn't show. I have cheated by looking at other builds, when you look carefully you can see where the gaps need a little work. Unfortunately just a couple on mm show but not until after the paint has been put on.
Winter is coming, Z3 prices will be dropping so get your cheque books out, there will never be a better time to buy one, if SWMBO objects just point out the prices that Nubodi and DNA got for their recently finished cars.
|