MadaboutKitcars

Hi all,

If my plans for the future come to fruition I may finally dip my toe in the Tribute water

I am considering a Kobra but along the lines of classic and even a bit more 289 looking. I am looking at using a 6 cylinder donor. I want to keep the car as daily driver so looking at 2.2 upwards.

I have some possibly stupid questions (Chris probably has all the answers but I only want to bother him when I am ready to go as it were).

1. The two ventilation holes between the grill and headlights. Are they necessary to cool the Z3 straight six ?

2. The bonnet scoop. Is it cosmetic or needed to clear the top of the engine?

3. I would like to remove the front splitter and go more traditional. That should not affect any stiffness or structural integrity of the front the worry about would it

4. Anyone own an auto Z3. If I went 2.2 upwards the box mated to them is ok ?

Thanks for reading this and any insight you have.

Dave

Try and go for a 2.8 or 3.0, the difference between these and the other engines is quite significant.

I have some possibly stupid questions (Chris probably has all the answers but I only want to bother him when I am ready to go as it were).

No questions are stupid here and we get lots

1. The two ventilation holes between the grill and headlights. Are they necessary to cool the Z3 straight six ?

The holes are brake ducts on the original Cobra, the grille opening is more than enough to cool the z3

2. The bonnet scoop. Is it cosmetic or needed to clear the top of the engine?

Im pretty sure there are no clearance issues

3. I would like to remove the front splitter and go more traditional. That should not affect any stiffness or structural integrity of the front the worry about would it

The splitter hides some of the donor behind you could mod it to look more classic

4. Anyone own an auto Z3. If I went 2.2 upwards the box mated to them is ok ?

There are quite a few guy on here with autos no one has mentioned any issues

I hope this helps

Mines a 2.8 Auto and is fine. The nice torquey engine works well and makes for relaxed or sporting* driving depending how you feel.

If you are ever near Southampton and want to have look and drive just PM me, always happy to show mine off.

*Not going to chase a Porsche but there is a sports switch to hold the gears for longer

Thanks all for the advice so far. All I need to is get my early pension sorted and my dreams could come true

Plenty of dreaming will continue in the meantime. I will look at a 2.8 I think. The 2.2 are more recent and the good ones look too nice to rip apart.

Anyone else feel pangs of guilt when they take the body panels off ?

I don't feel guilty about bmw - the Z3 shape is a bit hair-dresser but feel sorry for any previous owners that keep their cars looking good for it to then get taken apart

Dave

OT, but (I hope)helpful advice. Re taking a pension early BE VERY CAREFUL, there has been a lot in the press recently about folks being duped, and beware of large 'admin' or similar costs removing maybe 50% of your fund.
I had a simple pension mature and (cut long story short) when it went to an annuity at a new provider (offering 30% more) the first co (a 'household name') (having already given me a transfer value) illegally took over £700 off. Repeated questioning and digging my heals in got it back though

Don't feel guilty about stripping a Z3, it has to be one of the ugliest cars made and it's hard to make an ugly sports car.

Thanks for the OT tips. I will keep a look out. £700 is a nice set of wheels and tyres after all

Not as ugly as a Z4!

Hi,

I have a supercharged 2.8 with auto box.

No drama at all and still some great sideways action to be had.

Lumpy.

Does that mean narrower wings (and maybe wheels?) or re-profiled to look less muscular?

More likely just subtle differences to make look less muscular. Removing the front splitter and bonnet scoop being 2 of the easier items.

Changing the wings may (will) be out of my skill set. The rears certainly look like a bit of work to make it look slab-sided. The fronts may be doable - with a lot more confidence and work. So I will simplify the look and pay tribute to a 289 but I do want to keep costs in check.

The wheels will be very close to std Z3 widths and the tyres I will consider slightly higher profiles to suit the look without too much compromise on the performance/speedo accuracy. I am looking at steel wheels to begin with so that I can play with the look, again whilst trying to manage costs. I will lower it a bit but again perhaps with some Eibachs.

This is all dream stuff right now but taking early retirement is my path to creating something to have as my own - before my knees are too old to get in and out of the dam thing.

Dave