Finished 250SWB Cabrio - Z3 2.8 Based

[MisterP007]

Thought a few pics of the finished 250SWB might grace the beauty parlour:

 

[TaffDaddy]

That's an amazing transformation. Very impressive

 

[MisterP007]

Thanks @TaffDaddy not too shabby for being built in my barn and a first-time spray job for me! Here is the original car:

 

[mwpe]

Beatiful job, just needs a V12 under the bonnet.

 

[MisterP007]

Beatiful job, just needs a V12 under the bonnet.

Got 1/2 a V12 already, will need to save up for the other 1/2!

 

[Paul Rice]

Really terrific, you've done the impossible and improved on perfection.

 

[mwpe]

If you can't have a V12, you can't beat a straight 6.

 

[Nodzed]

Fantastic

 

[AleNod]

That really looks impressive !

 

[Z Victor 1]

Another fine build, it's the attention to detail that makes the difference with these kits. There's a coupe version for sale on fb marketplace, but under the skin and the interior it's just a rough job. No comparison to your excellent standard of work, superb.

 

[MisterP007]

Another fine build, it's the attention to detail that makes the difference with these kits. There's a coupe version for sale on fb marketplace, but under the skin and the interior it's just a rough job. No comparison to your excellent standard of work, superb.

Four choices with these:

1. The £6.5k version:

• The base kit is just shy of £5k
• Base Car £2k for an OK ish machine
• £1k for odds and sods
• Paint it yourself
• Leave the Z3 interior in place
• Zero mechanical work/upgrades
• 4 or 5 decent weekends work
• The time, storage and patience to sell £1.5k of Z3 leftovers on ebay

This gives you a basic Fauxrarri with poorly fitting panels, a 1990's interior and borderline MOT underpinnings. Probably still a lot of fun but not for me thanks.

2. The £13.5-£15K Version (mine):

For this one you need to have the skills and anal attention to detail to avoid excessive costs.

• Base kit £5k
• Base car £3-4k
• £3k for fittings, odds & sods
• A good 50-60 hours of research looking for the right parts at the right price, I saved upwards of £2k by constant price/supplier comparison and negotiation
• A good workshop
• £1.5k for paint, abrasives, a decent gun and compressor
• £3k on the interior and 100 hours even when trimming it yourself (£1200-1500 for the instruments alone)
• 200 hours to do spend on the exterior it (mainly on getting the panels to fit correctly and paint prep
• The time, storage and patience to sell £1.5-2k of Z3 leftovers on ebay (taken a year so far and up to £2200 of parts sold, makes a difference)

3. The £25.5-26.5k Version

This one if you want a decent car but do not have the skills

• Base Kit £5k
• Base car £5-6k
• £5k for fittings, odds & sods (because you do not have the time or inclination to research cost savings)
• £4k for a paint job
• £6.5k on the interior (£4k paint job, £1.2k instruments, £1.3k on dashboard plus wiring everything up)
• No facility or patience to sell Z3 leftovers

4. The £35-40k Version

• Buy a turnkey version from the build agents

Some of these I have seen are nowhere near as good a build as mine or @jaguartvr and other builds on this forum and others. The build agent does not have the "emotional" investment in the car a self-builder does.

"Horses for Courses", I think my route is best, but then I would, wouldn't I. Plus I either had or learned the skills needed. I was a Carpenter in a previous life and a lot of the thinking, measuring, cutting and fitting skills transfer well to car bodywork, and the interior fit particularly. For the leather the Cechaflo YouTube channel was invaluable.

I taught myself to spray by using up £60-70 of materials and cutting back, spraying, cutting back again (about 20 times) an old Mercedes ML bonnet I had lying around (big panel). A YouTube channel called Paint Society is a brilliant resource for this and their Strapline helps put things in perspective "Don't overthink it, it's just paint".

Last but not least the zroadster.org forum and all of you folks helped massively, thanks.

 

[jaguartvr]

Base kit price is for the Tribute kit, almost double for the California kit

 

[MisterP007]

Base kit price is for the Tribute kit, almost double for the California kit

Forgot to mention that bit, cheers Steve

 

[jaguartvr]

You have got to get rid of that horrible yellow number plate.

CHERISHED NUMBER PLATE -PTU 973B - PT PTU CREWE ROLLS ROYCE BENTLEY 1964 PTU | eBay

We provide a full service, from your initial enquiry to the completed cherished number plate transfer to your vehicle. We are also a recognised DVLA Number Plate Supplier 13844. To complete the transfer to your vehicle we will require the following.

www.ebay.co.uk

£200 including the transfer fee which you can now do online. Although you will join the naughty boys club, I have had black and silver plates fitted to mine since I built and have never had a tug. So long as they are clear and not miss spaced they arn't bothered. Keep a pair of yellow plates in the boot for MOT's. The amount of "car buffs" who have been heard saying "it's original because it was registered in 1964" has surprised me. Everyone knows that you can't put a newer plate on an older car but not many people are aware that you can put an older plate on a newer car. Worth fitting just to throw the "anoraks" off.

Reversing light/fog light

Nothing screams "kit car" more than bolt on fog and reversing lights.

Alfa Romeo 105 SeriesAlfa Romeo 105 Series GT/GTV Reversing Light Unit | eBay

Reversing light complete unit with lens and rubber backing to fit all 1300-1750 GT/GTVs. PICK UP OPTION. © VeloceSport. See more. You might also like.

www.ebay.co.uk

The Alfa reversing light was also fitted to Daytona's and Dino's as well as a few others. The fitting is sloped so should fit the 250 as well.

I glued a LED brake/tail light to the rear of the Lucas reflector, sand down the front of the LED bulb and glue to the rear of the reflector after tou have removed the foil. Wire up the brake and tail light together to make it extra bright.

For my reversing light I fitted 25w/25w 12v motorcycle bulb to my indicators, this gives me a 25w indicators and when it is put into reverse both indicators light up with 25w in both sides, plenty bright enough for reversing lights, you just have to live with amber reversing lights.

On the California, I would fit the Alfa reversing light and fit a brake/tail LED bulb to the reflector in the lower section of the MGB lens.

 

[MisterP007]

You have got to get rid of that horrible yellow number plate.

CHERISHED NUMBER PLATE -PTU 973B - PT PTU CREWE ROLLS ROYCE BENTLEY 1964 PTU | eBay

We provide a full service, from your initial enquiry to the completed cherished number plate transfer to your vehicle. We are also a recognised DVLA Number Plate Supplier 13844. To complete the transfer to your vehicle we will require the following.

www.ebay.co.uk

£200 including the transfer fee which you can now do online. Although you will join the naughty boys club, I have had black and silver plates fitted to mine since I built and have never had a tug. So long as they are clear and not miss spaced they arn't bothered. Keep a pair of yellow plates in the boot for MOT's. The amount of "car buffs" who have been heard saying "it's original because it was registered in 1964" has surprised me. Everyone knows that you can't put a newer plate on an older car but not many people are aware that you can put an older plate on a newer car. Worth fitting just to throw the "anoraks" off.

Reversing light/fog light

Nothing screams "kit car" more than bolt on fog and reversing lights.

Alfa Romeo 105 SeriesAlfa Romeo 105 Series GT/GTV Reversing Light Unit | eBay

Reversing light complete unit with lens and rubber backing to fit all 1300-1750 GT/GTVs. PICK UP OPTION. © VeloceSport. See more. You might also like.

www.ebay.co.uk

The Alfa reversing light was also fitted to Daytona's and Dino's as well as a few others. The fitting is sloped so should fit the 250 as well.

I glued a LED brake/tail light to the rear of the Lucas reflector, sand down the front of the LED bulb and glue to the rear of the reflector after tou have removed the foil. Wire up the brake and tail light together to make it extra bright.

For my reversing light I fitted 25w/25w 12v motorcycle bulb to my indicators, this gives me a 25w indicators and when it is put into reverse both indicators light up with 25w in both sides, plenty bright enough for reversing lights, you just have to live with amber reversing lights.

On the California, I would fit the Alfa reversing light and fit a brake/tail LED bulb to the reflector in the lower section of the MGB lens.

I know what you mean about the yellow plates, and I do intend to change the reg to A/B plates on both cars at some point next year. What I am unlikely to do is, change to black plates (the fuzz around here have bugger all to do but pull motorists) much as i would like to.

I saw your write up around the LED bulb in the reflector a while back but too much fiddling for me. The Alpha reversing light looks smart, although I have to confess I actually like the bolt-on 1970's WIPAC style ones.

The extra LED reversing light question was because where we live is absolutely pitch black, add in some rain and crappy 60's mirrors and the result will be reversing into something (probably my other Fauxrarri!). I am willing to sacrifice the initial look underneath the rear end for the fact that it may stay looking that way, rather than being wrapped around my other cars.

I think, I will try an LED bulb in the WIPAC first, if no good then I will try a couple of small bolt-on LED arrays tucked a long way under the car. I really need the extra light.

Thanks for all the info as always Steve.

Oh, by the way, how is the illumination/loom length on the Grassbank stuff now?

 

[jaguartvr]

You need an age-related or dateless number plate to get away with black and silver plates otherwise you are asking for trouble. Another advantage is that the black and silver number plates don't show up on some of the supermarket parking systems.

Could you fit 2 bulbs in the wipac? You could run both lights with clear lenses and a white LED bulb in both and an extra red LED in one for the fog?

I was hoping Gary might have got the rebody section up and running so I didn't have to keep posting on your thread, but,

Spent a cold day on my knees outside, I managed to get the 3 PCB plugs to drop down below the steering column but there is no way that there is enough room to fit the PCB under the dash above the driver's feet. I think my dash is shallower than yours so back to plan B.
I have glassed up the demist vent so it is much shallower so the PCB will fit above the dash behind the crash bar, at least I hope it will fit.
The 5 small instruments have been returned with 3 of the tails increased to 250mm but 2 of them have been left untouched and are only 25mm long. Obviously, the maximum you can move them from the dash is determined by the shortest wire, the main loom section has been extended so I am hoping that this will give me the room that I need. Speedo and rev counter leads are still only 25mm long so again I'm hoping the longer dash loom will save the day.
If you look at the picture of the back of the speedo and rev counter you can see how many fiddly holes there are for the bulbs. You need to be able to have plenty of room to get them fitted. The bulbs are on a decent length loom but no connectors. It would have been much easier to fit the bulbs on the bench and then just connect a couple of connectors, we will see.

I know you have fitted a plate for your speedo and rev counter so you can fit the instruments to the plate and then screw the plate to the dash, I want to try and avoid this so I will be attempting to wire the 2 instruments through the mounting holes, push them into position and then try snd fit the mounting bracket by reaching blindly behind the dash, will it work? 50/50 at the moment. This problem is down to my dash design, not the instruments.

Access determined by shortest leads so only 25mm

17 bulbs to fit, made to drive you mad

 

[bertiejaffa]

Looks amazing - well done

 

[MisterP007]

Looks amazing - well done

Thanks a lot.

 

[Mr H]

Utterly gorgeous

 

[MisterP007]

Utterly gorgeous

Thanks very much