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I've been trying different wheels this morning.
Here's my findings.
1st picture is how the standard alloy sits in the rear arch.
Jaguar 15" wire wheel, balanced in as would need longer bolts.
American 15" wire wheel, one of a set of 4 which may be for sale. Ideal for 'rat look' car. Again, balanced as longer studs needed.
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17" BMW steels.
A nice fit under the arch in my opinion as they have the same outside offset as the alloys. I'll use these with some new tyres as my rear ones will be too wide.
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Outside offset and overall width on the front is the same as the alloys.
Not sure what to do about spinners yet as the wheels are a snug fit on the hubs so there may not be room to fit a tower in between.
I've mocked up fitting them to the outside of the wheel and they look good
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It looks as if you are sanding the flash to get it off the moulding- word to the wise- use a file, at right angles to the line of flash, and "flat" on the bodywork.
With a bit of practice, you'll be able to remove the high spots and hardly touch the smooth surfaces either side of the line. It's quicker too because a file cuts the plastic faster than any abrasive paper.
Cue WCA comments about 2nd cuts and b@st@rds no doubt.
I use an Oberg woodworking file- the side for shaping wood is far too coarse but the other side is equivalent to a 2nd cut pattern and works well on plastic and filler. Just need to keep a wire brush handy for cleaning it regularly.
And when it comes to sanding down the filler, check out the "It's Diy time" Sanding Block from Poundland. The sandpaper purports to be 100 grade but it cuts well and doesn't clog readily. When you've used up the 8 sheets (used to be 10) it comes with, you can cut up some of your favourite grade of wet'n'dry and use that in it.
Thanks for that Ian, I realise I didn't make a very nice job of it.
It will all be sorted properly before it's painted.
I found the moulding flash may it hard to appreciate the nice curve of the boot, so thought I'd have a go. It may not look good but it did what I wanted.
Thanks for that Ian,...It will all be sorted properly before it's painted.
Of course it will. It's just that I remember the Brightwheel Viper cobra replicas- you could specify a gel coat finish with the flash lines polished away- and that's how they did it- careful filing first followed by rotary polishing.
I went to look at an Aristocat before I bought this car. The finish was as you describe and was very good. For me though it still had a plastic look if you know what I mean.
The wire wheel without a tyre in the picture below is for sale as part of a set of 4. They are 15", Jaguar/Chevy stud pattern and all in need of a blast and paint but at £50 the set they may be of use to someone. I'm in Norwich, Norfolk and on 01603 408021.
And when it comes to sanding down the filler, check out the "It's Diy time" Sanding Block from Poundland. The sandpaper purports to be 100 grade but it cuts well and doesn't clog readily. When you've used up the 8 sheets (used to be 10) it comes with, you can cut up some of your favourite grade of wet'n'dry and use that in it.
I can recommend Poundlnd for parts too the vents on my 250c are meshed with their gutter mesh ideal for small vants and cheaper than the sheets sold by CBS etc. Could not find a use for the clips though but have kept them anyway just in case never throw anything away!
Pound land sometimes have some really good quality foam sanding blocks the wet and dry type, in a shrink wrap of about 12. And sometimes they are shockingly poor.I also got a wallpaper scraper with a Stanley knife type blade about 3" long its a tremendously useful tool. Ed.
These Revolution 5 spokes belong to a mate (and he won't sell them) I just offered one up to get an idea what they look like.
If I ever see another set I may have to buy them as being split rims, the offsets can be altered.
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And when it comes to sanding down the filler, check out the "It's Diy time" Sanding Block from Poundland. The sandpaper purports to be 100 grade but it cuts well and doesn't clog readily. When you've used up the 8 sheets (used to be 10) it comes with, you can cut up some of your favourite grade of wet'n'dry and use that in it.
Without stating which on the packaging- some packs contain 100 grade and some contain 240 grade sandpaper. The latter clogs too readily for my liking when smoothing filler or undercoat.
Although pressure of work has meant the car looks just the same at the moment, things are happening.
Major embarrassment last week when I pulled out of the drive to go to a little local hot rod show. The car died straddling the road, but with mates rods around we made a very interesting road block. A temporary fix to the broken battery cable with some tinfoil to jam it on the battery, and we were away.
A new cable and battery have now sorted the problem. Not exciting stuff but you've got to get the basics right.
New suspension adjustable coil over kit is here and will be fitted soon.
Wheels are sorted. I'm settled on the 17" steels. We've worked a way to bolt the (shortened) towers on and I'll get some better spinners.
Chris will sort the new door skins/locks/grille at Stoneleigh. I'll can to use the car a lot more once I can lock it.
I taxed the car on line this morning and although my paperwork for the kit conversion hasn't come back from DVLA yet, I see it's now registered as a BMW Italia 250. I'll almost certainly forget the BMW bit when anyone asks what the car is.
The little bits to stop the seat shunting forward on braking have arrived. I'll fit them when the interior gets sorted at some future date.
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As I buy and sell auto jumble for my living, I'm always on the look out for nice little bits for my project cars. A couple of pairs of these interior handles where in this weeks buys and I'll keep a pair in my "things to possibly use when I do the interior" pile along with some nice perspex sun visors and old style interior light. All these are from a Rover P3, I think.
I sent off-
The completed form with a mention of what I'd like to be renamed ( Inspired by an Italian Ferrari 250 )
Pictures of before, stripped and after.
Current Log Book and MOT
Ebay receipt showing the sale of all the old parts (£275 for the lot)
A mention in the notes that additional parts had been bought secondhand at auto jumbles (hence no receipts)
Just over 2 weeks and it was done. Excellent.
Invoice from Chris
Hmmm. I am still waiting for them to change the description of mine from a BMW Z300S Replica to a BMW Z300S Barchetta. At least the last bloke I spoke to understood that there wasn't a previous Z300S for me to replicate which was a start
My local tyre dealer has put a scrap tyre, of the same size as my original front ones, onto one of my 17" steels so later this week I'll try it on the front and back to see how it looks (my rear alloys were 9", the steels are 7 1/2")
I'll post photos of the results so all can like / discount the idea from their projects.
I'm pleased with the lower look but will now have to take large speed humps over one edge. Hitting them full on, even at low speed, did cause a nasty scrapping noise. Oh well, no pain no gain.
Please can you state what is written on the front and rear wheels regarding the ET, the rear 17 x 9" style 18 wheels were fitted to 5 series e39 cars and have an ET of 26, the z3 was fitted with 17 x 8.5" rears with an ET of 41
