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I can live the Z3 interior if its all black. Beige needs to be ripped out and thrown straight in the bin ! A nice wood rimmed steering wheel is enough for me although I did do seats and door cards along with removal of the plastic bits between the seats on my 275 convertible. I only did that because there was a long wait for the body kit to be supplied !
I know what you mean, BMW spent millions developing the interior and people rip it out and fit seats designed 70 years ago for an MGB. Sheer madness and nowhere near as comfortable, but they do look good!
Completely disagree with "nowhere near as comfortable" and having had a set fitted for the last 12m actually have personal experience . PS sorry Ian for thread hijack , Geoff .
No problem. I had some cobra style seats made for the Z300S- custom leather/colour and all. I need a round tuit in order to fit them. I've just taken the passenger seat out to dry the undercarpet foam a bit and the electrics don't look the same as the TFS. The yellow socket is not used and there's a "module" under the seat with different plugs. It's an MY2000 car and their electrics were a bit different for some reason. The ABS is not the usual type either.
No problem. I had some cobra style seats made for the Z300S- custom leather/colour and all. I need a round tuit in order to fit them. I've just taken the passenger seat out to dry the undercarpet foam a bit and the electrics don't look the same as the TFS. The yellow socket is not used and there's a "module" under the seat with different plugs. It's an MY2000 car and their electrics were a bit different for some reason. The ABS is not the usual type either.
Every Z3 i have built with the foam was wet , perhaps thats how they build them!!! Geoff .
Not as stupid as it sounds, I have 5 z3's on the drive and they all have varying amounts of water in the front floorpans, unlike older cars there is quite a bit of electrics under the floor.
The way the foam is bonded to the underside of the front carpets, you won't realise you have a problem until it is about 3" deep.
Not as stupid as it sounds, I have 5 z3's on the drive and they all have varying amounts of water in the front floorpans, unlike older cars there is quite a bit of electrics under the floor.
The way the foam is bonded to the underside of the front carpets, you won't realise you have a problem until it is about 3" deep.
!/2" drain holes are featured in my Audi A6 floor too !
Surely to go authentic Italian the holes should be jagged and rusty rather than neat and drilled?
I remember a friend sticking his foot through the floor of a fiat 127 when he slipped from standing on the seat - he was loading a roof rack or something. His foot went through and his leg was then trapped by the bent, rusty metal like a man trap. We were on the floor laughing for ages before anyone actually bothered to help him.
A mate at uni had an Austin 1100 with a Fred Flintstone floor.
In the Z300S I ran a fan heater and dehumidifier in the passenger footwell for about a week and got 400ml out which I thought wasn't too bad but yes- I do worry about all of the wiring under there. Especially having had the rotted battery cable on my TFS (under the driver's seat) where the insulation had been breached.
I MOTed the TFS yesterday for the second time. All was going fairly well until the emissions test where it comprehensively failed at everything!!! Then the tester reset his rig and it passed when we ran though the process for a second time.
The item I'd worried about was the headlight aim. I've recently replaced the front shocks and taken the opportunity to shorten the springs to drop the front of the car slightly. I removed about 10cm of each spring and wished I'd taken off a bit more. Having ditched the authentic but hopeless tripod lights and replaced them with a standard 7" type along with Nightbreaker 200 bulbs, I'd also adjusted them against a garage door to get them in a reasonable position. No problem at all now.
I left the car there and came home on buses while they replaced the rest of the front suspension (using a kit I'd supplied) and two rear tyres that I'd had stored. (Avon WV7 winter tyres) I got a call to say that one of the support brackets for the anti-roll bar bushes had broken so I ordered one on eBay. I expected all of the parts that could be fitted to be on the car but when I collected it, they hadn't refitted the complete anti-roll bar with its new drop links- we put it in the boot!!! When the bracket arrives it shouldn't take too long to refit it all. The idea of having them do it was so that I didn't have to grovel in the gravel struggling to get the taper joints apart.
The ARB was easy to refit and I took the opportunity to fit all new bolts, washers and Nyloc nuts.
Next job is new discs and pads on the front. I'm considering drilled discs to replace the standard ones.
The ARB was easy to refit and I took the opportunity to fit all new bolts, washers and Nyloc nuts.
Next job is new discs and pads on the front. I'm considering drilled discs to replace the standard ones.
If your brakes work ok why bother? IMHO the pad material is the most important factor.
I don't know what make/spec the current pads are. It seemed obvious to upgrade whilst replacing the discs. My Z300S has dimpled discs which I'd assumed were standard.
I don't know what make/spec the current pads are. It seemed obvious to upgrade whilst replacing the discs. My Z300S has dimpled discs which I'd assumed were standard.
And there lies the difficulty - what info can we get about pads? What is marketing 'hype' and what is possibly downright dangerous (unknown brand?)
Some buy 'racing pads' thinking they are better - but are they suitable for the road? - they may not be very effective at all unless really racing so the discs are almost red (clearly not on the road). So softer ones are better for the road, but would quickly fail on the track.
I tend to buy brands I recognise, and the last pads I bought were Ferodo, from a recognised source. A late friend bought some 'never heard of them' brand from his local motor shop and if he did a couple of stops from 50 MPH they faded badly (no good from residents of Milton Keynes) He challenged the shop and they said 'we'll test them in our MOT bay' and of course deemed them to be good, missing the point entirely. I guess the drilled discs are to enhance cooling, but being drilled introduces other (albeit small) dangers. I'd suggest any benefit is marginal for the extra cost, and better spent on good pads (back to our unknown though )
I've used PAGID pads on a few cars and have no complaints. I've heard that Hawk pads (where available in size) are a good compromise as they provide race-like performance but require much less heat to operate effectively on the road.
As good a recommendation as any. Especially from an automatic gearbox car driver.
I'm surprised at how little I use the brakes except when bedding in new pads when they get hot quite quickly.
Brakes, tyres, oil etc etc just buy a familiar brand at the best price you can find, you're unlikely to see the benefit of spending over and above unless you are intending to drive at the limits or track days regularly.
Weymouth Bike & Classic Car Night is held every Thursday evening from the first Thursday of April to the last Thursday in September on The Esplanade, Weymouth.
That's April 6th to September 28th in 2023.
The fun starts at 6pm and all bikes, American, Classic and performance cars are welcome.
Charity donation expected: 3UKP for cars, 2UKP for bikes.
I took the TFS to the Malvern Show on Friday then went home on Saturday to attend to the cats we're looking after and returned in my Jago. A total of 260 miles in open cars in superb weather.
I took the TFS to the Malvern Show on Friday then went home on Saturday to attend to the cats we're looking after and returned in my Jago. A total of 260 miles in open cars in superb weather.
That explains it ! I saw your car from the road on Friday ( didn't know it was yours Ian ), then couldn't find it Saturday morning when I went to the show ! Have you got any more photos of this one Ian, don't think I've seen any on here apart from a couple just after completion .
50s Specials Show - Cotswold Wildlife Park - Burford, Oxon.
The 2023 50s Specials Show at Cotswold Wildlife Park is on Sunday 13 August. Remember to tell them at the entrance that you're there for the car show and the driver gets in free. The rest of the park is accessible.
Entry for anyone other than the driver has to be booked via the Cotswold Wildlife Park e-ticket booking page here:
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