MadaboutKitcars

Wheel Fitment

Fitted the bolt on wire wheels today. They are monsters and weigh a ton, I struggled to lift the wheels onto the hubs do I fitted two studs to help align the holes. Worked a treat but I will put some electrical heat shrink on them so they don't catch the powder coat. I will keep them in the boot along with some standard bolts to fit the spare wheel.The standard studs are too short.

[URL=http://s803.photobucket.com/user/jaguartvr/media/z3gto/wheel4.jpg.html]

The new studs have a 45long thread + 10 collar so are 55 in total not including the head. They are wobble bolts. I also fitted collars to the hub to give the right diameter.
Before
After

I think the tyres may be a little too big but will do for now as I won them on Ebay for 99p

Just gone to move it as it's pouring and it feels as if all the brakes are locked on. I suspect that the wheel bolts may be fractionally too long. Will try and have another go tomorrow.

I also drilled some 5.5mm holes through the doorskin, then removed the gap skin and enlarged the holes to 7mm to fit rivnuts. I can now fit the doorskin very tightly and precisely. I have used M5 countersunk screws, the heads are almost invisible.Will take some pictures when I do the other side.

For any of you who are not familiar with Rivnuts.

They are sleeves that fit in a hole, you then tighten them with a rivnut tool which compresses them. You are then left with a threaded hole. They are available in steel or alloy, I always go for the alloy so that they won't rust.

With GRP the panel is often too thick so you tighten the rivnut as much as possible, this makes it expand in the hole to give grip. I also give it a smear or cold weld epoxy to give it extra strength.
On the door skins I used M5 rivets with countersunk screws. Always buy rivnuts with the serrated shank as I find they grip better.

Wheels/tyres

Front tyres are the problem, they are catching on the strut pan, the clearance between the tyre and wheel arch is also too small and to finish it off they catch the bonnet.

I have fitted 225/75 x 15 which gives a diameter of 718mm

225/70 x 15 =696mm

original tyres fitted were 225/50x16 =631mm

I'm now thinking215/65x15 =660mm

Nubodi fitted 225/70x15 and hasn't reported any problems.

Any thoughts or suggestions welcomed before I go and waste another 99p on tyres!

Plenty of life in them!

As its going to be sitting for some time before it goes back on the road I thought I would leave them to last. I did rebuild the handbrake but the back plate is beginning to rot and its a lot of dismantling to replace them.
Trouble is I have quite a few cars on the drive that need things doing to them, I seem to waste the morning trying to decide which one to start that day. By the time I've decided its normally time for my nap and then of course its time for the pub.

Thanks Andy

You have a picture on Flickr showing a low side view in front of the house. It shows the size of the wheel and tyre combo perfectly and they fill the arches perfectly.
Your 225/50 17 should have a diameter of 656mm, the closest I can get is 215/65 15 which gives a diameter of 660mm. Hopefully being slightly narrower they will clear the struts.

Will post results when I have found a set.

I've managed to pick up a set of tyres 215/65x15 from a Kia Sedona for £58 but the tyres are all nearly new. They fit much better and give a clearance that I'm happy with.

Grill and wiring
Just finished wiring up the front, thought it would be a quick job but seems to have gone on forever. I used 22mm plastic pipe for the main run and then 15mm plastic pipe across the front to wire up the drivers side.

Just waiting for some bulbs before I finish taping up the exposed ends.

I also started on the grill, every time you move it the bloody slats fall apart. I put it on the buff and it comes up very bright and shiny, I then wiped "ever bright" on it, this is a lacquer that will stop it going dull. A combination of the buffing slightly bending the slats and the ever bright making them slightly thicker meant that after assembling the slats they stayed together. I dabbed some thick superglue on the reverse side and it now stays together on its own.
There are two bars that Chris supplies that hods the grill firmly against the aperture panel. However when you fit the aperture panel to the bonnet you have to pull it apart to get a snug fit. Once the aperture panel has been fitted the bars that hold the grill in place don't fit, I bent them slightly and got them to fit but it pulled the aperture panel badly so it was distorted.
Cunning plan B
I used the mounting holes for the fitting bars and held the grill in place with zip ties. I then bent up some alloy 90 degree angles that I bonded to the inside of the bonnet, positioning then to hold the end of the grill slats. When dry I used zip ties to hold the slats to brackets. Holds the grill firmly against the aperture with no distortion. The length of the slats is marginal, If Chris were to supply the horizontal slats 50mm longer it would make fitting the brackets much easier but would save him from having to bend up the mounting brackets.URL=http://s803.photobucket.com/user/jaguartvr/media/z3gto/grill4.jpg.html][I

I hunted hard for my headlight trims and made sure they were stainless steel. Been fitted for a month and they have already gone rusty, not impressed so they have been sent back.

This lacquer is put on with a cloth rather than spraying. I used it on some copper letters that were part of a shop front signage and they lasted 18 years before they started to tarnish.

With the everbright it is seal and forget, the chances of me ever going back and polishing or even cleaning the grill again are nil!
Apart from being a closet bodger I am also incredibly lazy.

Here's a link, a little goes a long way. I find for the best results just wipe it in with a lint free cloth.

http://everbritecoatings.co.uk/protectaclear-coating-19-c.asp

Fuel tank filler

Desperately wanted to avoid the problem Smash had with his car, the only way I could see was to cut a recess.
Cut a flap and folded he metal down and then used some matting to create a waterproof box.
Used a fuel resistant 90 bend and a small tight radius bend by the filler cap. Used a longer 90 bend at the other end. The flexible filler tube is from CBS but I used the standard 500mm cheap one (about £12) I drilled the top elbow and fitted a 6mm rivnut and glued it in place with JB weld, as the rivet has a flange it does fit tightly. Onto the rivnut I attached the anti glug breather, this was simply cut in hal by the old filler, the end that goes into the filler I blocked with a tight bolt and ziplock, the other end I extended with a connector.
It all fits rather well with no cramping and it still has a downward flow.

The final part is to seal the pipe into the fuel filler. I only found one fuel proof mastic, sikaflex tank N available herehttp://www.uksealants.co.uk/sikaflex-tank-n-oil-and-fuel-resistant-sealant--p260.html

The whole filler tube will be covered and protected once the wheel arch liner has been refitted.

It came from Car Builder Solutions who are well know for there their parts so I hope not to have any problems. The silicone hose is also specified as for use for petrol. The weak link will be if any the mastic use to seal the elbow into the filler.
I had tried appearing a piece of the spare silicone pipe to use as a packer but as you tighten the jubilee clip it just squeezes out.

Petrol pipe fitted and glued in place and it looks fine, just dropping down slightly at the top of the wheel arch but the inner splash liner fits under it so it has enough clearance.
Had a play with the bonnet, made up a couple of plates with a M8 stud. Fitted them to the two plates ate the rear of the bonnet. When I offered up the bonnet it was a little low in the centre at the rear so I cut a slice, bent the bonnet slightly with the ratchet strap and used builders band again to check the curvature before bonding.
Just put some isopod on top of the plates and then fitted the bonnet on top giving a firm push. When it had dried I went over the top with some matting.
While I was playing with the bonnet I glassed some matting under the bonnet vent, this gives the vent a bit of depth and doesn't look quite so GRPish. I intend to cut a thin slot in it about 30mm back from the aperture and slide some mesh into it. Hopefully it should look quite neat.

To finish the day off I had a play with the exhaust. I only want a single rear pipe so that I can still keep the spare wheel. I simply cut the rear pipe as close to the rear of the rear box. Just need to fit a rear hanger.
I hunted around on Ebay and found a suitable rear box, £76 inc delivery but they were local so I thought I would pick it up and try and save a little with some crispy pound notes. They didn't have it in stock but he gave me their trade website, came down to £42!
So the total bill for the exhaust including a bit of pipe, claps and delivery was less than £80.
If you look closely you will see that the existing pipe enters at the top of the new box and exits at the bottom. This give just enough drop to clear the rear bodywork. It's a bit quieter than I had hoped so I may drill a hole at the end and see If I can remove some packing. I can then fit a rivnut and fit a bolt to re seal it again, or leave the bolt out and just replace it at MOT's.
The website for anyone who is interested is
[url]www.profusionexhasts.com[/url]


Need to scurf off all the lose rust underneath, use a rust converter and a coat of hammerite

Its the only paint that i have found that stops the rust coming back (so long as it's treated first). It is also pretty good at resisting chipping. I normally put some red oxide on before the hammerite.
I also use it on the boat and again it does a good ob protecting metal in a salt water environment.

I've got a big 5 litre tin that is at least 15 years old, maybe why I find it so good. Rust treated and painted.
Fitted the O/S rear splash panel into the wheel arch and it covers the new petrol pipe completely and it doesn't hang down so I'm pretty pleased with it. I'll leave it another week before I fill it with petrol to let the adhesive go completely off.

Bubble, shock ,horror, I have found my first bubble! On the front wing about 5mm round. If it carries on like this I think there is a good chance of me coming across another one by the time the build is complete!

I think it's appalling, I was thinking of asking for one of the 275's as compensation!

Prepare for some boot envy!
225/75x15 tyre in the boot with room to spare, it would not have fitted in the standard boot. So now if I get a puncture at least I can carry the full size wheel home.

I also fitted an emergency release cable for the drivers door, sorry but didn't take the first couple of pictures. Basically I have fitted a long 6 foot bicycle inner and outer brake cable. On the inner wire I crimped a round electrical connector. This was threaded through the door and down oner the door locking button. As you go down the door locking button there is a bend and this is where I positioned it so when the wire is pulled it pulls the locking pin upwards. To stop the wire ring from simply moving I fitted a star clip on the wire behind it (the type of clip used to hold badges to the inside of metal panels).

The outer cable has been zip tied to the inner door and through a new hole and run just under the old ridge that used to hold the old lower wing.

This is then run to a top secret location, I would tell you where it ends, but then I would have to kill you!
It all sits well hidden and a strong pull of the loop at the end and you can release the door lock. Even if someone were to find it, as soon as you pull the cable and open the door the alarm goes off.

Final job today was to fit the front cooling fan. It has three wire going to it, earth and I suspect one for cooling if the engine gets too hot and one for the aircon. I have fitted it but it won't turn on. The zircon compressor clutch doesn't kick in, I have checked the fuses and relay so I suspect it has no gas. I ran the car up to temperature with the viscous fan jammed to see if I could get the other fan to cut in. Even after 30 minutes the temperature gauge wouldn't rise above half way of the second fan didn't cut in.

To mount the fan I had to cut away the cowling and use the arms to bolt to a couple of metal bars, these were then zip tied to the front panel.
I still had to cut a small section of the bonnet away to get it to fit but the cut will be covered by the front number plate.
Finally cut a metal plate to fit the boot lock. I took other peoples advice and fitted it lower so the catch wouldn't foul the boot when opening. Because of this the catch has to be longer. I drilled a hole and then used a very small file to make it square so that it would fit the spindle of the boot catch. I drilled into the boot spindle so that I could screw in s hex head self tapper, this along with a couple of washers holds the catch in place.

It's the original boot seal, shame its just not long enough.

I've just realised that I'm just about finished, the rest of the work is really prep for painting.
Got the kit middle of May and finished middle of September, I have however been away on holiday for 8 weeks in total so the total build time is 2 months. I haven't been rushing and it has all gone together very well.
If anyone is lurking and considering buying one I would suggest you go ahead and buy one. Chris has gone very quiet on the forum, I suspect because he is very busy. If you wait too long you could find that he has gone over the VAT threshold and future kits could attract 20% vat.
You don't need many tools to fit it, the only tool I would advise is a Rivnut tool, good wiring crimps and an angle grinder for fitting and a couple of cheap sanders and a hand held long bed sander. Nuts and bolts can be bought from Ebay very cheaply and normally next day delivery. Being a hoarder I have nuts and bolts everywhere and can quite easily loose most of a day looking for that elusive size. On this build I ordered what I thought I would need beforehand and anything else as I needed it. Everything is stainless, the right size and length, make the build much more enjoyable.
The only part on the whole build that I didn't enjoy was the doors, there does need to be a modification to the moulds to get them to fit better. Everything else is very straight forward and simple. I must say that I was very surprised how well it all fitted together. I kept waiting for something to bite me in the bum but it hasn't happened.
I have been sanding back some of the bodywork over the last couple of weeks when I have been waiting for parts to arrive and again have been surprised how straight the body panels seem to be. I will be driving it over to my painter on the 1st to get him to run his eye over it and to point out areas that I need to address. I am going to try and leave it in his oven for a couple of hours in case there are any air bubbles. I was on the DNA owners club (DNAOC.com) forum and was looking at a post on painting and even the 2fifty had small pinprick air bubbles come to the surface in the oven prior to painting and that is with GRP bodywork that looks perfect and paint ready.
I do know that I have a quite a bit of work on the front and rear door gaps to get them level. When I fitted the bonnet I found the gap a bit too large all the way around so I have cheated and fitted it as well as possible to the left and front, this leaves me the rear and right hand side to work on. I thought it easier to just work on two sides rather than four. It has only meant that the bonnet is off centre by about 3mm so it doesn't show. I have cheated by looking at other builds, when you look carefully you can see where the gaps need a little work. Unfortunately just a couple on mm show but not until after the paint has been put on.
Winter is coming, Z3 prices will be dropping so get your cheque books out, there will never be a better time to buy one, if SWMBO objects just point out the prices that Nubodi and DNA got for their recently finished cars.