MadaboutKitcars

Waiting until the New Year (or the new sills from Tribute) before doing any more changes. Just enjoying the car and the attention.

I am an attention whore after all ;-)

I have removed the cardbord and tape fromt he sills so it is back to the holey look. mainly because the cardboard was about to fall off anyway.

Te side repeaters are to be replaced with Ford Transit Connect side repeaters which are small and round. Please decide and tell me where to place them, the options are at the top or bottom of the rear of the front wing. Bottom is current plan.

Exhaust will stay in place as I love the sparks over bumpy forest roads. I reckon the side sills need to be fitted before any decisions are made.

So far I have been told it is a TVR (most common guess), Triumph/MG, Alfa and Lancia.

I have also been asked if I am pretending to be a Ferrari. When I said "No, it is a BMW Z300 Barchetta" the bloke apologised and said he didnt recognise it without tthe normal white and blue colours. Puzzled me but made me smile.

Was he talking about the BMW badge?

They are also Ford Puma...... Available in clear or amber (I don't know which are used on which though)

[i]Was he talking about the BMW badge?[i] - I guessed the reference to the colours, it was the fact that he claimed to recognise the Z300 Barchetta once I had told him that puzzled me. ;-)

I had a colleague back in the early eighties who poured thousands of pounds and thousands of hours into converting a Cortina into a unique pickup. He'd almost finished when Ford announced the P100, which looked just like his. Perhaps someone in the Hochlaus is spying on your project and planning something...

Still thinking about the comparison picture. Not sure if the hole below the light add anything.

Thoughts please?



Also thinking of sharpening up the rear arch. I was wondering if I could get hold of a section of rear wing from a Cobra or similar and simply bond it over the top of what is there to give more definition and the vent at the front would hide the different profiles. I will try to draw it but my skills with MS Paint are limited...

Better with holes, which should be a bit bigger imho.

Edited picture to scale up the hole

Better.

Try ot a little bigger - like the original - and centre it between the mouth and the headlamp

It is positioned about the same place. Look at other pictures. The original has more pouting lips or more sticky out nose, whichever way you think of it.

Maybe so, but try centering it

Inside edge of the hole is in line with the inside of the headlamp in both cars (in my eyes at least).

Try rotating it in your mind the look front on.

The front grille on the original is wider which might be what is missing.

bearing in mind the bm might be wider its prob the right size but on a wider car. headlights look right aloowing for the headlights being 7inch onthe original. the holes look fine as they are. holes are optional. thought the deviant would give you some clues as what could be done and not as a definite should do. thats the fun of kits and trying things out. maybe a black piece of card board cut in a circle placed with blue tack could give you an idea of the holes. stand back and admire(or not as the case maybe). same with chrome strips or card cut thin sprayed silver. thin card is flexible good for lining up.

Zagmad - you are exactly right. At this point I am trying different ideas before committing to anything. The cardboard covers I made for the sills convinced me to get some proper sill covers. The chrome strips around the rear lights looked wrong. The cut up cd for a badge convinced me to add a badge to the final design.

All of these bits have now been removed while I enjoy the car and try to save my pennies to pay to get them done properly.

I may try faking the holes in the front. My biggest concern is that they are the hardest to undo if I decide they do look wrong.

I am only using the picture you linked me with as a guide. I also refer to all the pictures on page 2 (I think) of this thread that found when trawling the net before.

At the moment my car looks very nice but quite delicate. I am looking for ways to butch it up a bit. I reckon the biggest difference will be getting it painted properly as that will really bring out the curves.

At the moment im trying to find some chrome trim to go on the glass in the doors. It sits on the glass and needs to be thin enough to go into the door when it goes down. Bit of a challenge as i like to see what im buying first but all that's changed with internet shopping. And most of the manufacturers are up north. Also windscreen trim in the right profile thickness to work with existing rubber surround.

I got some from the local Halfords. It is just a stick on strip for less than £10 and you can get it is varying widths from about 4mm - 1cm wide from memory. It is a D shape profile.

When you say you want chr0me to go on the glass but also thin enough to go into the doors, do you mean along the edge of the glass? That will be only a couple of mm and will be a challenge. Also it will keep getting lifted as the door rubbers scrape the egde of the glass. Possibly better painted?

I saw a full chrome surround for my windscreen on a Z3 the other day and thought "Great, saves me wrapping mine" and everything was good until I googled it and saw the prices!

My achievement today?

I got the car in my garage!!!

It doesn't sound much but it did involve moving 4 bike, 2 dining tables, 9 wheels (4 alloys, 4 wires and a space saver), 2 sets of shelving along with everything on them plus the sauna.

The result is the car crammed in between everything else but with the heater on and the dehumidifier blowing hopefully it will be warm and dry enough to do some interior work.

I am not planning too much at this point but refitting the door panels with new panel clips will stop them flapping when I shut the doors. I think it will be able to carpet over some of the centre console rather than actually removing it all.

It it a single piece from the dashboard to the bit between the seats and I want to keep some of the front end of it. I was originally going to cut it in half but think I can possibly get away with just covering it. Now the car is inside I don't have to wait for the weather every time I want to try something.



There may be some pictures of the interior in the next few days.

Previously I have removed the nasty plastic from behind the seats


and fitted the temparay carpet


Now I thgought I would try the nasty plastic between the seats


Unfortunately it is a single piece which connects to the bit of the central console I want to keep. Note, no joins


So get the car carpet onto a convenient cutting table


Lots of cut - try - cut - try


Looks quite neat from some angles


Less so from others


This is unfinished business


Possibly do the whole section when it is done in leather


All temporary so don't get your knickers in a twist yet please. Also stopped part way through as I was getting frustrated and didn't want to cock it up.

Hopefully I will be able to use the bit I end up with after the current round of cutting as a template for a better and neater cut job.

This will still be temporary until the new year when I hope to have a few pennies to spend on the car again. Until then I shall sit, relax and enjoy a Crafty Hen or two (3 for a Fiver at Tesco!)

I like that. I wonder how a manual gearchange boot would look like on your auto stick?

manual gearchange boot would look like on your auto stick - I like that idea. I will keep my eye out for one to try

The gear lever from the Mk1 Triumph 2000 would be ideal: chrome stem with a spherical black knob. Very classic looking. I have a spare Triumph 1300 (chrome) stem if it'd be of any help? Only postage cost, though it'd have to be after Christmas I'm afraid.

Lrc - I will check what the electrics with the button on my knob does. Might just strip off the plastic cladding and se what is underneath. Will mail you if I want your

Cheers
[Edit]
The button on the knob lifts a rod that stops you going out of park or from drive to reverse without pressing it in. Purely mechanical but kind of handy.

I might get a leather knob for the auto and also fit a gaiter from the manual. It will work in exactly the same way as it does at the moment but look like a manual.

Mods

Of course you must realise that you now you are in motion, you can't stop there, the modern handbrake lever lets it down now!

Suggest a Morris minor one (as a cheap alternative to a MK2 jag one) :-)

Hand brake and steering wheel are waiting for the money fairy in the new year