Rebody Oh no. It's not another 507 Rebody. Oh yes it is!

[Duncodin]

Here you go @Duncodin. The bolts go through the door edges as show here. I got the tip from another coupe builder. The rivet nuts are in the door as the image shows. Its rough on the inside at the moment but who cares as you can't see it. I have the rivet nuts countersunk more than shows here so they are flush.

The bolts look better than the image. When the doors are painted and the bolts polished up they will look good imo. I'm going tonrun some black or chrome L shape trim to cover the gap between door and skin. They gaps close more than shown here as just lose fitting for now

My idea for the doors was to bolt 'L' brackets to the door. Problem with that idea is that the door gap at the back edge is quite close and skin is quite thin so not enough meat to recess the screw head.

So I cut a small sheet of GRP and bonded it to the inside to make the skin thicker at that point

Head sits below the surface.

Once that's smoothed over I'll find a little rubber disk to stick over the screw head. Should look fine once it's painted with easy access to get the door skin off and work on the handle when necessary.

I've prepared for 6 brackets per door but after 6 on the driver's side I decided that was overkill so passenger side is only 4. Feels really solid though.

 

[Duncodin]

I paid my little 'fakerrari' a visit today to give my seal of approval before the final stages of prep and then paint (and to pay the bodyshop quite a lot of money).
They have addressed all of the issues with the bodywork and have overcome a couple much better than I thought they could TBH.
It looks a complete mess now, but as the old saying goes "you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs".

View attachment 335895

Your car really is going to look nice. @Pond Shut lines etc are just right.

I'm sure all the stress will have been worth it when it's done

I'm doing mine just a little bit cheaper.

Rattle Can Sunday. (Is that a real day? It should be) Shake, Shake,

Laying it on real thick. Give it a week or so then I'll flatten it with wet&dry then polish and jobs a good n.

Front clam shell - including tea and biscuits - £50 quid all in.

Actually I just wanted to check out the flat spots on the wings. Can't beat a shine for seeing dings.

I didn't fill the flat spot as others have done.

I couldn't help but think the glitch was not actually the flat spots but in highspots either side of the flat - So I sanded the highspots instead. I think it's (almost) OK. I say 'Almost' because there are still a couple of flat bits but I think that's more likely me going at the mould lines. Mould lines on the front wings really were deep.

I will bite the bullet and take it to the body shop eventually. But still have plans to make more body mods. Still not happy with the grill or the bonnet and I'd really like to chop the sides and curl them under rather than the 'slab sided' look that kinda grinds my gears now.

Then, one day, when I can't find anything else to mod I will take it the body shop.

What do these blow jobs cost nowadays?

 

[Pond]

What do these blow jobs cost nowadays?

I can't remember! It's been a while.
However; my bodyshop said 'paint only' (ie quick prep, primer, base coat and lacquer) would be around £3,000 and they are not particularly expensive from what I've seen.

Problem is if they find it needs more work, they will be reluctant to just spray it, as it won't look good and bodyshops' reputations are all about the end product.

It's the labour that costs the money, and prepping and painting a car is hugely labour intensive, as you well know. Even more so when they have to do it with the body on.

 

[DaveP]

I paid north of £3k for my kobra. One thing I did was rattle can it matt black for the summer. Try and get any bubbles out of the grp and gel coat before going to the body shop.

I miss it in its ratty look. Made me less worried about road rash

 

[Pond]

One issue I can see with painting it yourself and then getting it professionally done later, is that you will hide any problems there may be with the GRP.

I sanded, filled and sanded back all my mould lines, but my bodyshop (who only do GRP and are somewhat experienced) said I needn't have bothered as they took all those areas down much further and then built them back up. He did say why but I can't remember TBH. It was something to do with weak areas to craze or crack in future IIRC.

 

[DaveP]

Agreed on that. Mine was in black for 6-7 months so that I could drive it over the summer. When it was time to go to the body shop I had to sand off all the rattle can paint as it would interact negatively with their products. I had the choice of paying them or do it myself. I chose the cheaper but took all bloody week option.
After it went to the body shop they still took off a large amount of surface material to get their primers down. They also fettled with some of the transitions around the boot aperture.
Mine is red but a formula settle upon by the painter. I wanted (bmw) mini chili red as I like that shade. He didn't agree and changed it up. I was more than happy with the result. Have him a huge when I collected it.

 

[Duncodin]

One issue I can see with painting it yourself and then getting it professionally done later, is that you will hide any problems there may be with the GRP.

By the time I get to the body shop I will have done my own adjustments to pretty much every panel on the car so it's highly likely they'll need to machine the paint back to bare grp just so they can see what they're dealing with. Also they'll want to avoid any compatibility issues with my 1K aerosol paint so will take it all off anyway.

And having just said that it does sound expensive doesn't it. Looks like I'll be painting it meself.

 

[Zephyr]

And having just said that it does sound expensive doesn't it. Looks like I'll be painting it meself.

think twice before doing that.
i had a fibreglass bonnet once, thought I could do it but failed miserably. Thicker areas of it somehow looked more shiny, even after two coats of primer. Ended up doing four coats of paint but was not satisfied, still colour seemed different there, so I rotary sanded it, primer, and painted with a roller, two very thick coats of paint. Let is flash and bake under tne sun for a week and then rotary buffed it.
looked ok-is so I wet sanded and rotary buffed again…
Then the colour did not match exactly the rest of the car.
Decided to “carbon” wrap it and it was great, but finally sold it because it was clunking and vibrating over rough roads.
And it was an expensive one, not some knock off from ebay or such.

 

[10stb]

I haven't experienced any adverse reactions.....yet.

I ended up having to build up the the tops of both front wings to get rid of the flat spot. 20mm on one side and 15mm on the other. Think this is the reason that my bonnet is so heavy. I still need to wet flat it with 2000/3000 in some areas and then 2 stage polish but most people don't notice.

I went with the original Arctic Silver which I was advised against as silver is a difficult colour to spray for an novice.

How hard could it be. I'd just been on a weeks car spraying training course and had bought all the gear .

It turned out pretty well for a home garage job with no shade variations.

Only time will tell if it holds up

 

[Duncodin]

Making a piece of trim for my low profile bonnet bulge.

Found a strip of aluminium. Can't remember where it came from. Hope I don't need it. Chopped it up

Quite a bit of grinding later it almost fits.

More rubbing reqiired but it'll look s'thing like that.

 

[Duncodin]

There is no 507 style moulding. I'm gonna make my own. Taking the Tribute Ferrero 250 dash as the base and chopping it up. The important bit is the back where it mounts flush against the original Z3 de-mister panel so it mounts solid to the Z3 frame. The rest is GRP that I feel reasonably happy chopping and shaping to do what I want.

The Series 1 507 had quite a narrow dash board

If I squint at the Tribute Ferrero 250 dash, with it's two binnacles over the speedo and rev counter I can imagine those binnacles chopped down and merged into one. Then the wide oval recess in the centre of the 250 dash where the little ferrero gauges go. Fill that in and cover with an Aluminium panel for the period radio and a few knobs.

Here's a picture of @Pond's dash that I've chopped up and stuck back together - Remember - Squint - Squint a lot .

The 507 has the clock in the middle. I remember seeing somewhere - can't remember where, a small gauge split down the middle with fuel on one side and water temp on the other. I was planning on looking for that and putting it in the middle in place of the clock. I was planning on simple period gauges not specifically 507-like. Rang ETB last week and spoke to John to ask about the Ferrero gauges for DNA because they have all the ignition, brake, direction indicator LEDs build in - But now he's gone quiet, to look, he says, at 507 style speedo/tacho - Not what I wanted but I'll see what he comes up with. He said he'll come back to me this week

Thing I don't like about the original 507 is that the speedo/tacho is very low down behind the wheel. For rebody on a z3 they do need to be higher I think more like they are on the F.R.E 250 so my mock up picture won't be far off I think.

End result should look a little like the series 1 507 dash as in the top picture.

 

[Pond]

End result should look a little like the series 1 507 dash as in the top picture.

Looking at the 507 dash and making something like it for the Z3 is gonna be tough IMO. One obvious problem is the steering column covers. You need something on the Z3, as there is a massive ignition assembly (unless you cut that out) and the indicator/ wiper switches which I presume you ain't gonna delete.

Another issue is going to be the crash bar. It is going to get in the way of everything unless you can pull your new dash in front of it, including all gauges..

It's tricky enough with a dash that was supposedly made for the Z3, so I wouldn't even like to consider making one from scratch.

 

[Duncodin]

Looking at the 507 dash and making something like it for the Z3 is gonna be tough IMO. One obvious problem is the steering column covers. You need something on the Z3, as there is a massive ignition assembly (unless you cut that out) and the indicator/ wiper switches which I presume you ain't gonna delete.

Another issue is going to be the crash bar. It is going to get in the way of everything unless you can pull your new dash in front of it, including all gauges..

It's tricky enough with a dash that was supposedly made for the Z3, so I wouldn't even like to consider making one from scratch.

Did you read my post? I didn't say make from scratch. I said taking YOUR 250 dash, or the one from Tribute, made for the Z3, and adjusting the facia.

 

[DaveP]

Hi, perhaps speak to Ian @ classic coach works too. He has dash options for the various 250s and zgt and Kobra. A mix and match with various components could work. And he loves a dash and wiring etb dials

 

[DaveP]

My kobra dash is nice and flat. You could place a binnacle in front of it maybe. I also kept the existing heater controls in place. Please ignore the terrible dash covering. I've never done one before , or ever again.

 

[10stb]

The dash etc was something that I was going to look at a later date

 

[Duncodin]

The dash etc was something that I was going to look at a later date

I was thinking I'd never do the dash. But now it's bugging me a bit.

 

[Dxbolton]

I like my two tone dash with the extended leather option. No way I could go through the stress of chasing wires all over the place now.
So few people know what the original dash looks like, I don’t have an issue.

 

[Pond]

View attachment 340929
I like my two tone dash with the extended leather option. No way I could go through the stress of chasing wires all over the place now.
So few people know what the original dash looks like, I don’t have an issue.

Sorry but that picture looks just the interior of a Z3 (cos it is). I know everyone is different but I just don't understand; why go to all the trouble (and expense) of changing a car to look like something else but it looking the same as it started on the inside.
I know it's up to the individual to do whatever they like, but I just don't get it and don't think I ever will.
To my mind this 'changing' a car to 'be' something else has to be all or nothing, or what is the point?

 

[DaveP]

But in the end. They are all Z3s underneath whatever we do to them. Always will be but as long as we understand and accept that then it doesn't matter.

I like everyone's Rebody attempts on here because they end up to be what we wanted and pretty unique cars.

Different strokes for different blokes.