MadaboutKitcars

Let's just say it will take some work around it. But probably the best all round shape, so over to Chris and Dan for a bit of magic.

here is the image from the link


If the screen is moved up a couple of inches, the lines down to the boot can be re-aligned. Chris said that he had to nip the 275 roof in at the back for Welshkiwis car. This formed the base for the Z3gato, but it will have to be moved back out to accommodate the screen at the top.

So the whole of the back from the roof down to the boot will need re-working. But it is going to be worth the wait. The black surround to the screen is not the best, but needs must if we want to have a stock production solution that doesn't cost the earth.

Thanks everyone for the input. All opinions welcome.

Chris has confirmed that the screen is toughened, not laminated.

I will investigate

The correct top has a curve where it wraps into the Micra roof. It is easier to address this at the bottom on the Z3gato I believe. Hope to post some update pics at the end of next week.

Some good news

Firstly, the Z3 is fixed and ready to pick up. The downside is that I cannot pick it up until 10 days time. Doh! And then I do not have the availability to do anything on the interior for another week.

Secondly, I will be visiting Chris at Tribute to see progress on the rear screen and modified rear before he proceeds. This is scheduled for next Wednesday, so expect some pics and an update then.

Custom made quarter light. We have toyed with one or two stock ones, but they were not right. We can get custom ones very cheaply.

Ian, part of the agreement with Chris, in order to get this off the ground, was that we would use existing panels where possible, as a start point, and stock parts as a priority. This is so that ongoing build complexity and costs are kept as straightforward as possible. It is better for Chris to modify the buck once, than customise the screen many times.

So whilst it has taken a while, and is not optimal, the long term economic model is better.

Progress

The picture below shows the changes made to the rear roof to fit the screen. Only this side done until i signed it off. Ignore the loosely placed Scimitar window fitting/gutter. There are one or two compromises, but nothing that can't be lived with. The rear wing at the roof will be raised a little to give a more pronounced curve, see the black marker line sketched in.The rear quarterlight will be made to taper back a bit further also.

Not pictured here, we are going to lower the front valance a couple of inches, and the rear valance at the wheels will be raised a little. Also, both front and rear wheel arches need to be re-centred.

What you cannot see is that the bonnet is not front hinged, and that works very well. The current panel does not have the second skin or wheel arches built in yet, but it is going to be good. Also, we are going to lengthen the small bonnet lid, the scoop, and make them into a "false" lid. ie they will not lift seperately. They don't need to as the forward opening bonnet gives all the space anyone could need.

More pictures of progress in a few weeks.

More pics to follow in a few weeks.I should have taken a side shot whilst I was at it, but got distracted by the discussions on various style enhancements.



Ha, I knew it wouldn't get past your good taste filter. We could have gone the custom manufacture, but the idea of re-using stock parts appeals, and I have a blunter aesthetic. Whilst the rear is less tapered down the roofline, and lass sleek, I kind of like how it is, so we are going with it. Anyhow, should there ever be a convertible, it won't make any difference. :-)

Collecting the car tomorrow as we are home for the weekend. Back in Bristol for another week of school runs next week, then home again for two weeks before a fortnight trip to see my other daughter. However, during those two weeks I have to strip out the kitchen and bathroom ready for the fitter who is arriving on my return.

End of October before I can do anything on the Z3, and then it will probably be too cold/wet a lot of the time.

Z3 Update

As the car was in the garage for a few weeks, the MOT ran out. The garage gave it a once over before the test, and discovered that the rear brake lines need replacing. Not a big job, but one they could not fit in on Friday, so it will have to wait until next week.

The good news is that I got to have a look underneath the car whilst it was up on the ramp. Very little corrosion, and any surface rust can probably be dealt with in an hour or two, so a bit of good news.

On the electrical side, they said that they experienced the one week wonder depletion from the battery a couple of times, but after they gave it a full charge on their super dooper charger, it has so far lasted two weeks. Could be good news (he said something about the battery being re-cycled - that was not putting it in the green skip) but we shall see.

Where we are heading

Lancelot Link raised a valid point about not enough pictures of how the car is shaping up, soI thought I would share some of the thinking about how Chris and I are evolving the Z3gato.

For the side profile, all the Zagato/Pininfarina influences of the 1960s come into play in part. However, the images below of the Lancia Flamina and the AM DB4 models give the general impression best, though at the front, the AM more round wing profile and the Lancia Appia is more where we are going. At the rear, we are definitely going for a longer boot as the Lancias and AM show, rather than the short one on the Bristol. The Lancia Flamina’s front wings have a bit of the Jaguar look about them, and we are not going for that.

The Bristol gives a better idea of where the rear quarter light is going to be, though it is not too dissimilar to the others.

Note the slight flares on the Flamina’s arches. The Appia and Bristol have none, and the AM only on the front. Though the Z3gato arches are rounded, they will have the flares. The hump over the wheel arch will be more like the Bristil/AM, and the wing will taper down as per the lancia Appia and the AM.

Lancia Flamina Side



Lancia Appia Side



AM Side



Bristol Side


For the rear, you can see from progress so far, that the wing profiles are quite different. The AM is horizontal/rounded, whereas the Lancia Appia has quite pronounced sloping shoulders. The Z3gato will be somewhere between, and is looking good to me (which right now is all that matters).

Rear lights will be more like the AM, ie separate units, but set within a single recess. The number plate light unit is going to be the plate/reverse light as per Jaguar, AM and several others of the period. The AM has a molding on the boot that flows into the light unit, whereas the Lancia is flush to the boot surface. So we are aiming for the smaller AM type fitting, but with a flush fitting against the boot.

I am not going for bumpers, so the rear wings / valance will be more like the AM, though not exactly the same. I’ll get better pictures next time.

AM Rear



Lancia Appia rear



Hopefully for next time, I’ll have some update progress on the front to share.

Update on Front

Chris has made more progress on the front, lengthening the bonnet aperture and air scoop. I can see why the shaping of the scoop mouth has been done, but prefer it to be more snub nosed like the pictures posted earlier.

Happy times though.



That lip looks a bit like Rio Ferdinand's wobbly flap. ;-)





The grill obviously looks much better with the grill in place.

Latest

Chris sent me some updates in the past few days. I am going down to see progress in the flesh tomorrow, so may have some more photos.

Fuel filler location, and slightly more built up rear wing profile.

Rear wings to be dropped more at the back,
wip obviously


Note the rhs is now higher than the untreated lhs at the top of the wing. Both lower wings are further down than previously.

Scoop leading edge has been made more of a 90 degree cut,

The fuel filler at the original location was cut out so the the fuel could be topped up. The buck car still drives. I believe that the front is more akin to WCAs narrowed SWB bonnet, but I'll check if the new nose can be fitted to a regular 250 SWB bonnet.

Battery Update

I have just been away for two weeks, and the battery did not go flat. This afternoon I started the Z3 up and it kicked into life first time. I have been using an uprated windscreen solar trickle charger, as per:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/AA-5060114614185-Solar-Powered-Battery-Charger/dp/B00AC1LLQY
note: this is a 2.4W cell. My forst one was 1 point something and proved to be useless. The current one is either 5 or 6 watts. The extra £10-£20 is worth it.

I took the car for a vigorous spin to charge the battery up. Everything as expected, other than a peculiar high frequency reedy noise at speeds (let's say) around the legal limit.

I pulled over, opened the bonnet and had a poke around. Nothing obviously amiss. However, seeing as it is autumn, and we have an abundance of chestnut and beech trees near us, there are plenty of leaves around, and one (of the many trapped under the bonnet) had become caught under the windscreen wiper. Once everything was cleared, the noise seems to have disappeared. I'll have to give it another spirited test tomorrow.

Updated Views

Pictures taken this morning. The lines and proportions are coming together, but we are agreed that Chris can now match the unfinished side to the one viewed. There will be some minor tweaks along the way. But we are just about at the stage of filling and smoothing. I left one of my AM fuel filler caps so that the rear wing can be modified to suit.

Front 3/4


Updated Grill


Rear wing line/boot

You are right. raising the area under the rear screen join to the window up a bit is in the plan, so that the line is smoothed. The boot opening will extend up to the black line, so as to give a half decent boot opening without making any hacks to the chassis.