Waiting in anticipation for the progress thread on the Spyder
Rebody Z3 Based Ferrari 250 California Build
- Thread starter MisterP007
- Start date
Do you mean this one for my existing car?
Rebody - Z3 2.8 Based Ferrari 250 Build
Hi all The car is already finished as you can see from the pic in my profile, but I thought I would write up the build every day or two to show I got there (after bruised knuckles, blood, sweat, and tears). so day1. Go and buy a perfectly sound 1998 M52TU28 in Montreal Blue, 108k miles been...
zroadster.org
oooops, did I really mean the California............. 
Got a bit of a move on this evening:
A lot of work to do on adjusting panel gaps.
- Bonnet hinges fixed on
- Bumper mounting bar fixed and adjustable turrets fitted
- Both doors adjusted and temporarily screwed in place
- Front clam adjusted and marked for trimming
- All body gaps marked up for finer adjustment
A lot of work to do on adjusting panel gaps.
Starting to look the part 
Tony.
Tony.
Great skills and ingenuity required and on show here. I’m enjoying seeing the progress 
Very kind of you to say so.Great skills and ingenuity required and on show here. I’m enjoying seeing the progress
There is a fair bit of coffee drinking and head scratching involved!
Sandy
Last edited:
Worked on the car in fits and starts over the weekend as we had a bit of a mad social calendar! including my son's engagement party on Sunday evening.
Pic 2 - N/S Door to Front Clam Gap Before (excuse the blur)
Pic 3 - O/S Door to Front Clam Gap Before
Pic 4 - N/S Door to Front Clam Gap After
Pic 5 O/S Door to Front Clam Gap After
Pic 6 - Bonnet in Place (Sort of)
- Made up the bonnet catch plate, lots of noisy cutting and filing. This is fitted temporarily but will need to come back out to be painted. Pic 1
- Front clam to door gap adjusted after much fiddling about with the height and rake of the front clam bolts. Before and after pics below. Pics 2-5
- Fitted the bonnet. Nice simple looking job, which ended up taking 4-hours, accidentally chipping a lump of gel coat off the bonnet with a hammer and a lot of F'ing and blinding. Ended up taking it off again at 7.30 last night whilst telling it what I thought of it in no uncertain terms! grrrrr.............
- Still got a bit of light fiddling to do to get the swage lines to match but I can sort that with the door panel.
Pic 2 - N/S Door to Front Clam Gap Before (excuse the blur)
Pic 3 - O/S Door to Front Clam Gap Before
Pic 4 - N/S Door to Front Clam Gap After
Pic 5 O/S Door to Front Clam Gap After
Pic 6 - Bonnet in Place (Sort of)
Also went to collect a GRP dashboard (no pics) and look at some bling:
You don't hang around,
great progress made so far, I love chrome wires, reminds me of my TR4 from day's gone by.
great progress made so far, I love chrome wires, reminds me of my TR4 from day's gone by.
I have not bought the bling yet, got a bit to do before that.
jaguartvr
Zorg Guru (I)
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2017
- Points
- 95
pI knew you would enjoy fitting the bonnet, you shouldn't have resorted to the hammer
Do draw a line down the swage line, if you just do short lines it looks ok but a few weeks down the line you realise it's not level. The front clam can look ok but with the full line it can be +/- 20 degrees out. Ask me how I know
Do draw a line down the swage line, if you just do short lines it looks ok but a few weeks down the line you realise it's not level. The front clam can look ok but with the full line it can be +/- 20 degrees out. Ask me how I know
Hi Steve
As you mentioned Brian should receive a Comedy Award for the way he shows how "simple" the bonnet is to fit!
I will be running a line of masking tape down the whole length of the swage line (need this for accurate sanding later anyway) to get the it as straight as possible. I can then see the line from a distance and sight down it.
Watch this space for more swearing at inanimate objects (bonnet mostly).
As you mentioned Brian should receive a Comedy Award for the way he shows how "simple" the bonnet is to fit!
- Hinge plates adjust vertically & front to back.
- Hinges need to be slotted to allow further front-back movement and a little side to side.
- The front clam can move up down and front back.
- Every movement of one item causes a change in one of the others.
I will be running a line of masking tape down the whole length of the swage line (need this for accurate sanding later anyway) to get the it as straight as possible. I can then see the line from a distance and sight down it.
Watch this space for more swearing at inanimate objects (bonnet mostly).
Took one look at the bonnet last night and went out!!!
That bad?
Tony.
Tony.
Just could not be bothered thinking about it.
Just seen this one pop up for sale again:
Guy describes himself as "I have OCD and so have done the car my way". All I can say is the car is lovely but there are immediate details that jump out as being not right.
Nice and cheap though!!!!!
Ferrari 250 California Spyder SWB Recreation | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Ferrari 250 California Spyder SWB Recreation at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!
www.ebay.co.uk
Guy describes himself as "I have OCD and so have done the car my way". All I can say is the car is lovely but there are immediate details that jump out as being not right.
Nice and cheap though!!!!!
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2011
- Points
- 145
No doubt it's a very nice car, but not ninety grand nice.Just seen this one pop up for sale again:
Ferrari 250 California Spyder SWB Recreation | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Ferrari 250 California Spyder SWB Recreation at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!www.ebay.co.uk
Guy describes himself as "I have OCD and so have done the car my way". All I can say is the car is lovely but there are immediate details that jump out as being not right.
Nice and cheap though!!!!!
At the end of the day, it's a kit car based on a £4k donor.
I know, nuts is it not?
They do have a value far in excess of the £4k base car, partly due to the build cost, partly rarity (probably rarer than the original), but more importantly desirability. What someone is willing to pay for a car "is" what it is worth. A really good 250 Cali replica might fetch £50k these days, so I agree, £90k is somewhat mad!
I agree that the "average" kit car build is a pile of xxxx, although it is someone's pride and joy - good on them. These 250's tend to be very well built due to the £16-20000 spend that is needed to get them immaculate, although I have seen some rubbish also. Mine is having all remaining Z3 parts restored/upgraded and will be like a 5-year old car when done. The body/interior will be new.
The way I look at it is to value my build based on what I would pay for a restored MGA/Big Healey (£32-35k). As this is a similar result in my view.
Do you still have your 250SWB? @Pingu
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2011
- Points
- 145
I never had one, and never will have one
.Mine will be even more rare. One of one - aren't they all? I know there will be at least two with the body shape (there may be more, but not many), but definitely only one with the engine / body combination (unless someone else is mad enough to do what I've done).
I think that you can probably add £10k - £20k to the build price estimate for mine. It has cost close to your price estimate BEFORE it gets its new dress.