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Richard and his expert team have been preparing my car for paint, I dropped it off a few weeks ago and its now ready for the spray booth.
Thanks to the nubodi team for keeping me updated with pictures and progress. The gaps on the doors were really really bad, like 3 fingers bad, however the team have worked some magic and the result looks excellent.
I can't praise ray2: these guys enough, I am sure they will be really successful and the Stoneleigh event will be mega for them.
I want a really shiny silver and decided to go for brushed aluminium for a different effect. Can't wait to see the result!
Also the door fixing has been modified so the outer-skin can be removed after paint, so really pleased with that. Here's some pictures:
Glad to see it's really moving on now and I like the brushed aluminium finish plan for the paintwork.
Looking forward to seeing it finished, there should be quite a few 250's completed in the first half of this year by the look of it.
The method I have seen for the "brushed" look is simply to run a scotch brite pad back and forth quite heavily to brush the painted surface. Then clear coat over the top to seal it. See YouTube
There was an issue with the paint. I came out plain matt silver so there is a technician coming from the paint company to diagnose the problem and correct the procedure.
This thread has highlighted just how much work (and skill) goes into making these wonderful, finished cars.
One of the great things about these cars is the individuality of so many aspects and features.
Is there any progress on the paint?
Well its been a while, I promise to post an update when it is back with me. For sure. The elves are hard at work and I am sure it will be worth the wait.
Patience please.......good things come to those who wait.
I planned to put up some cost info at the end of the build but would be happy to share the following with you now. It might help others.
The Z3 I bought was a 2002 3.0i msport and the body work was in fair/good condition (see pictures below). The car had very little use in the 2 years before I bought it and had 75k miles on the clock. The car was metallic blue. I paid £3,280.00 for the car (May 2015).
After stripping it I had a big pile of unwanted parts so used ebay to list and sell them. Here is a list of all the parts I sold and the amount I cleared on each after all fees (ebay, P&P and paypal where applicable).
BMW Fire ex £28.67
Steering wheel £40.00
Mirror Mount £7.58
Stereo £39.20
Passenger wing, rear bumper, boot £135.00
OSF wing front £39.99
NSF wing front £10.00
3rd brake light £47.86
Door handle surrounds £7.35
Sills £43.10
Drivers side rear wing £45.00
Onboard CPU £34.54
Bonnet (had some big scratches) £100.00
Side grills £29.93
Wing mirrors £225.00
Front bumper £225.00
Wheels and tyres (excellent condition with lots of tread) £500.00
Grills front £30.52
Rear lamps £160.04
Front lamps £154.00
Hoops £75.00
Wind deflector £60.00
So I recouped around £2k of the original cost of the car! which was much more than I expected
I mainly listed the parts on ebay as collection only and cash on collection. When people came to pick up I did the 'up-sell' (I am a saleman by trade!) and most people went away with other parts that I had listed, which made it much easier to get rid of everything
I hope it helps those who are stripping this year!eace:
Thanks Andy, just stripped the panels off mine today so gives me a good idea of what to aim for price wise. saying that mine doesn't look as pristine as yours so will pitch them lower as I need the space and would like them gone quickly. Can't complain as it was a cheap car to begin with.
Thanks Andy, just stripped the panels off mine today so gives me a good idea of what to aim for price wise. saying that mine don't look as pristine as yours so will pitch them lower as I need the space and would like them gone quickly. Can't complain as it was a cheap car to begin with.
No worries, your thread prompted me to stick this info up!, want to help others where I can as I got lots of help from this forum during my build lane:
Thanks also for sharing the list. It puts into perspective what the purchase of a Z3 final cost is once you sell the parts. £2k was very impressive indeed.
Does the £80 for the bonnet include shipping to Italy?
I think I'm going to cut up all the parts and take them to the dump!
EBay does seem to attract them
Ha ha I had lots of inquiries from Italy, in fact my hoops went there and cost a fortune to dispatch due to the weight, but the buyer was happy to pay for shipping.
Fantastic for me, as a novice to get this detailed information. All the time it helps to know what trade offs might be available and what to look for as a donor. Consequently, lower net costs on the donor makes a more adventurous approach to the build possible. Two weeks ago, I would not have dreamed of mixing or getting customised parts. This forum is great, and the generous sharing of information a tremendous help.
12728851_10153947741176170_4391785107971235228_n by eric holm, on Flickr
12715719_10153943659946170_4211137031458915827_n by eric holm, on Flickr
12672176_10153947741246170_6805823043109281714_o by eric holm, on Flickr
12705358_10153943729451170_3168241477052449644_n by eric holm, on Flickr
12687964_10153947741321170_4118766251467388151_n by eric holm, on Flickr
12733569_10153947741381170_8711856436010838311_n by eric holm, on Flickr 
ray2: these guys enough, I am sure they will be really successful and the Stoneleigh event will be mega for them. 
20160318_144412 by eric holm, on Flickr
20160318_144405 by eric holm, on Flickr
20160318_144353 by eric holm, on Flickr
20160318_144332 by eric holm, on Flickr
20160316_134107 by eric holm, on Flickr
20160316_134054 by eric holm, on Flickr
20160316_134037 by eric holm, on Flickr
20160310_171522 by eric holm, on Flickr
20160310_171354 by eric holm, on Flickr
20160310_130524 by eric holm, on Flickr 
DSCN3785 by eric holm, on Flickr
DSCN3786 by eric holm, on Flickr
DSCN3793 by eric holm, on Flickr
DSCN3805 by eric holm, on Flickr
DSCN3799 by eric holm, on Flickr 
