MadaboutKitcars

Amen to that, brother Scottie

I even wondered about cutting 40mm from the strut towers to give clearance and rewelding them ( a mate's a coded welder) then fitting -40mm lowered spring to still have reasonable suspension movement.

I think that if you start to modify strut towers and cutting here and there it will no longer be a quick and easy bolt-on body kit like it was intended.

What makes the front seem much higher than a standard Cobra is the distance between the top of the wing and the edge of the wheelarch.



Several things can bee done to adress this small problem.

Lowering the suspension to the max. especially at the front end, adding very large wheels and a deeper front valance/lip spoiler will make the car look totally diferent.
I´m sure Chris has already thought about this and will do it when he thinks is the right moment.



Another thing to take into account (and many dont realise) is the colour of the car. A white car does not look the same as a dark car. (Its the same as when some women wear black to look slimmer). If this Kobra was painted dark blue or black it would look totally different.

Now, that looks completely different.

Good work Chris.

My point isn't about keeping this an easy build as Chris always indeed, but to start a debate to find ways to lessen the height of the front wing/wheel arch so as to lower the bonnet and wing line.



That's what I'm banging on about! It is well documented that the thinner is this distance, the sportier the car looks. I believe that Kobra will benefit from this.



You're back to the obvious now - which is why manufacturers have always used this method, and why a simple pinstripe can make such a difference to the look of a vehicle (or a building for that matter). You could fool the brain into thinking the car looks more 'cobra-like' by painting it in the often used colours of metallic blue with a white stripe, but this leaves the issue unresolved.

Much better with the chin spoiler, it fills the gap under the nose which is what didn't look quite right to me. Well done, I can see that selling well.

Oh, and almost forgot to ask, can you get Halibrand replicas that'll fit the Z3?

Fitting the kit

An eBay question has just prompted this reply, which preempts the next stage of the project to be shown on this tread soon:

We are still working on the internal parts, the priority was to get the outer skin finished first which dictates the shape of the other parts. The sills/lower front wing panels will be fitted first, a simple bolt on process using the original BMW fixings. Next there will be a GRP mounting panel around the existing Z3 boot opening which will be fixed to the car prior to the outer skin being bolted to the existing bmw captive fixing holes in the door shuts plus some additional new fixing location points. Next the bonnet/front end section, with its internal steel frame, will simply bolt to the existing Z3 hinges and use the BMW latches in their original locations.

If you upgrade the engine a bit it will take peoples eyes off the wheel/bonnet spacing

So, why exactly does it need two rows of karioke mikes?

They are tennis ball holders

I think you are right, if you look really closely you can actually see the balls themselves. :-)

True - They were tennis balls
False - They fire out the front three at a time when you rev the engine

multi functon, like a swiss army knife, nice.

I can't stop looking at the chin spoiler - I mean it's an outrageous and unnecessary styling addition that completely changes the nature of the car. The rest of the styling I think is quite subtle - especially that little bonnet decal.

Actually, no. This reminds me more of the Robot ("Number 5") from the movie Short circuit bursting from the bonnet like the chest-burster from Alien

The chin spoiler is a standard extra part, I had one the same when i had an mgb in the early 80's. Think they came from the Sebring cars which also had the headlight covers and and bubble arches.
I lost my front spoiler by using it as a snow plow in Switzerland.

Chin Spoiler

The chin spoiler is now constructed and moulding of the body will start tomorrow.

Hello all,

Fantastic looking car, just got better.

I have purchased aZ3, all very exciting now.

Please can i ask, is the car on standard springs? and what is the offset of the front wheels please?

Many thanks in advance.

Lumpy.

Hi Lumpy

Glad to hear about your excitement

The car is on standard springs at present, the owner Richard will be lowering it an inch or two. Wheels are 19", I will check the offset for you on Monday.

Sorry for the delay with the answer, they are 19 x 8.5J wheels with a 35 ET back and front. The arches will accommodate a 10" rim with a similar offset or 8's with a zero ET.

The front end mould is now made



And the first bonnet is out of that mould



The internal steel frame to take the Z3 hinges and latches can be made and bonded in.

Superb!

Looking good! Chris am I right to assume there will be a completed z3 kobra build on display at stoneleigh? Would like to see it in the flesh

As this is going to be a bolt on kit rather than loads of gluing and blending would it not be worth taking the mold from a painted car so that it is almost "paint ready". I'm sure people would be willing to pay a small premium for this level of finish and would result in more sales in the long run.

- What does that mean? I'm hoping that this will just be a case of replacing donor panels with new panels, some (very) simple auto-electrics for the lights, then off to the bodyshop for a spray... Actually, would pre-sprayed panels be an option?