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It is always hard to tell when you are doing the development work, but I guess the build process is very straight forward?
( Remove bits of BMW, add bits of Tribute + bodywork/paint & donor can be kept running through out. )
In which case, this must be the fastest way of building this type of car, compared to the traditional kits available.
So I hope you have a real big seller on your hands.
Good luck, Paul.
PS
I'll update the sticky photo when the final touches have been added.
It`s looking FANTASTIC ! It looks wider than a 289 but not as aggresive as the 427. A sort of in-between model. You have got another winner there Chris.
How you get a car to this stage in such a short time beats me. After all this hard work you should be thinking of a holiday.
Dont forget to bring out a Mk. 2 Tribute Kobra (modern version with retro looks). I really love these older cars with modern LED lights, chrome wheels, low suspension, etc.
Check out this 67 VW for inspiration:
I have a feeling that with all these new Z3 based kits ( Kobra, Z300S Barchetta, Bertini GT) appearing lately there could be big demand in used Z3´s and a price increase on the secondhand market.
Very nice, is the sill panel and lower rear 1/4 of the front wing a separate panel?
Is the rear section bolted on or blended onto the existing rear wing?
Very nice, is the sill panel and lower rear 1/4 of the front wing a separate panel?
Is the rear section bolted on or blended onto the existing rear wing?
If it is the same as mine, the front lower wing is separate from the sill.
The rear section replaces the rear wing entirely. It bolts in place inside the door shut.
All just bolt off the BMW and bolt on the Tribute bodt
sounds good, much better than all that "stickn''n' gluen'"
The only thing that does not look quite right is the nose, it looks too high, could do with lengthening a little and dropping the headlights a bit.
Sounds like my wife, could you just move that wall 3" to the left!
The only thing that does not look quite right is the nose, it looks too high, could do with lengthening a little and dropping the headlights a bit
It could be the camera lying and producing a distortion due to where the photo was taken from but I also think the front wings look too high and not just because the suspension is too high. I wondered if it's due to the height of the strut tops forcing the line but the original Z3 bonnet top is lower than this. I suppose it's because Chris has stayed true to the original car and replicated the Cobras wing shape. Personally, I think this causes a coke bottle exaggeration to the side view which would be lessened by lowering the top of the front wings.
Screen looks totally wrong pushed back. Do you have any idea how hard and how much work would be needed.
The beauty of this conversion is that it looks relatively easy and straight forward.
If you want to make it hard for yourself go and buy a full kit from the many available and spend years rather than weeks building it.
I am having a hard build at the moment, (because I chose to) and agree with Jag wholeheartedly.
The work involved and engineering required to "move the screen back"
Would be absolutely phenomenal, and totally out of all proportion to the other work needed to actually build the car. I think you either like what you see or look for something you do like.
It's very easy to look at the car and think a little tweak here and a little tweak there, but you need to think about how much work is involved for how much gain. I'm sure with some comments Chris must bang his head on the table, however I'm sure he will agree that constructive critisum is helpfully, especially before he has taken the final mold.
I'm sure there are parts he thinks he can improve on but doesn't think the extra work is worth it.
I'm sure he knows the car looks a bit too high at the front at the moment which is why he is going to be adding to it, he may well get away with it but I think he needs to lower the headlights a little and maybe add a couple of inches in the length in front of the front wheel. A few comments seem to say the same thing so Chris well may decide to have a bit more of a play with it but don't underestimate how much work is involved.
I'd like to see it in paint and in the metal. Some cars just don't look right in photos taken from unflattering angles but really work when you're seeing them with your own eyes.
From what I've seen so far it's a nice blend of old style and new components, it deserves to do well.
sorry, I didn't want to offend anyone and his great work here...it was just an idea
Hi Axel. I'm sure no one took offence, and your idea to alter the windscreen could make the car look better. But it would be a huge amount of work which wouldn't make sense if starting with a Z3. You'd probably be better off building a kit car Cobra, but of course, that's a much harder task than a conversion such as this.
Keep the ideas coming ;-)
Note how high the strut towers are (and ignore the LS1 motor). This illustrates how well Chris has done to get the Cobra wing shape with those mountainous things in the way.
Looking at the strut towers it could be possible for a builder to lower the bonnet by cutting holes for the struts to poke through and covering them with 'power' bulges. It's now common practice on Sammio/Ribble bonnets to add bulges and scoops for clearance over stuff that's underneath to get the bonnet to sit where it looks best -
Looking at the strut towers it could be possible for a builder to lower the bonnet by cutting holes for the struts to poke through and covering them with 'power' bulges. It's now common practice on Sammio/Ribble bonnets to add bulges and scoops for clearance over stuff that's underneath to get the bonnet to sit where it looks
