British Motor Show - Farnborough International

After attending the pop up events in Hook and Salisbury we were delighted to be asked if we would like to be part of the main British Motor Show event at Farnborough. Andy had managed to work it so that we could team up with Draper in the Kit Car Zone which was situated at the entrance of Hall 5.

We visited the site with Andy and Kelly a few weeks before the show to get an idea of what sort of space we were working with and to come up with a theme. The plan was that Draper were going to fit their display racks around the outside and we were going to display some of our cars in the centre. The brief was that we could pretty much do what we wanted as long as we didn’t restrict foot traffic through the foyer. We also had some space outside that we were going to share with Nigel from Draper who was himself displaying a couple of cars

Belinda is going to cover all the drama that led up to the show and how we nearly didn’t make it so I wont go into loads of detail as I’m sure she will cover in lots of detail. She is also going to cover the ins and outs of the show including sharing a taxi with some celebs.

Although worn out we all thoroughly enjoyed the show over the four days and as always we are so privileged to have been invited on this journey that is the British Motor Show. I really don’t know how a small team can do such a great job and full credit to them.

So my blog is more to share some photos and do the Oscars bit of thanking everyone.

Thanks to :-

Andy and his team at Automotion who did an amazing job to pull this off,

Sam and his celebrity friends who have made us so welcome along the way,

Nigel at Draper tools for allowing us to share his space

Alpine F1 SIM Racing for allowing us to plug our kettle in,

Security and cleaning staff at Farnborough International for keeping our area safe and clean

I think our only niggle would be that there were a couple of jobsworth Farnborough events staff who on occasion made our lives and that of some other exhibitors a little difficult along the way. Guys, we all understand the importance of health and safety but you can take things a little too far sometimes. At the end of the day what ever you put in place people are human and can still manage to do daft things. It that wasn’t the case we wouldn’t get people putting silly things in microwave ovens despite comprehensive instructions.

The British Car Show

This weekend we had the privilege of being invited to The British Car Show ‘pop up’ event at Marshall BMW in Hook. This event organised by Andy Entwhistle is one of the pre cursers to the main event later on this Summer which is shaping up to be brilliant.

We weren’t really sure what to expect but anything being supported by TV personality Tim Shaw from Car SOS. Sam Hard from Hard Up Garage fame and Shahzad aka Browncarguy it had to be worth a look. Hook is only ten minutes from home so we headed up the A30 nice and early and to our surprise when we arrived our two cars were given pride of place at the front of the dealership along with really nice classics and of course the latest offerings from BMW. We were also joined by Dan and his good lady in their recently completed 507 which is currently finished in red gel coat. In addition to the car displays there were plenty of things for little people to do and a free BBQ which was kept very busy all day. I think at one point there was a dash to the local Tesco to top up on supplies. Visitors to the show were given full access to the dealership facilities and it was quite nice to see that it was well supported with a constant stream of people throughout the day. There were no strict rules to follow so cars came and went without issues all looked after by the British Motor Show team.

We spent a decent amount of time talking to Tim, Sam and Shahzad and I have to say they were really nice guys. Sam is full of energy and is very passionate about what he does and fun to be around. Shahzad is very knowledgable and produced a great YouTube video of the event. Tim was great and he worked so hard making a point of talking to everyone and allowing plenty of selfies to be taken. Nothing was too much for him and he didn’t stop all day. You can probably see from the photos he is also very tall (or perhaps we are small). Great to meet these amazing guys and I hope we can catch up with them in the near future.

We really enjoyed the day and our thanks go out to Andy and all those who made this such a success.

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Basingstoke Festival of Transport

This weekend saw a must attend for us as the Basingstoke Festival of Transport is our local event. In recent years we have had a trade stand at the show but this year we weren’t sure if our day jobs were going to clash so we ended up attending as general members of the public. This also meant that we didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn and go through the set up process. We met up with Gareth in his Cobra and drifted down to the show in the Isabella and ‘Stirling’. After lining up our cars with the other amazing vehicles on display we wandered into town for a hearty breakfast at Popins restaurant at the top of town. After downing a full English fry up we headed back to the War Memorial Park and settled down in our deckchairs. Although not displaying as a business our cars are well known and attracted a lot of attention as always and we had a brilliant day. In addition to all the vehicles on display there are a number of trade stands and decent food outlets. Obviously if you want something different the event is close to town centre with the added bonus of Festival Place shopping centre and the food court, with something for everyone. The Festival of Transport is a free event and it was estimated that close to 20,000 people attended which is absolutely brilliant. I would like to thank Gareth for joining us with his Cobra and letting lots of little people climb into his car, Sue and Emily for supporting us and of course the Rotary Club who once again excelled. I know that there is a shortage of volunteers but the guys running the event on Sunday did a great job. Cars were able to get in and out without too much delay and everything seemed to run as clockwork. Hopefully next year we will be back with a trade stand and we are planning to exhibit some decent vehicles.

Goodwood Revival ‘22

This weekend saw the return of  the Goodwood Revival and our annual pilgrimage to Sussex. We usually attend on Sunday and this year followed the same format. Sadly we only took one of our cars down this year but our old Isabella still managed to get plenty of attention. This is often a little embarrassing taking into account some of the amazing cars that fill the car parks. We made our way down from Basingstoke and chose the scenic route rather than driving on the main roads. This is always nicer as we slowly wind our way through the countryside. The weather was with us but I didn’t put the roof down for fear of blowing Belinda’s nicely styled hair off. Ben followed us down with Shan and Lia donning their hippy outfits and we all arrived around mid morning dressed up and ready to go. Although there is lots to see from the off it is a long day so we often don’t rush. We should probably get a weekend ticket at some point but more than a day away often puts us behind. As always there were so many fantastic cars, planes and displays and when you walk around the site you realise how massive this event is. I often hear people saying it’s too expensive but until you actually go you can’t get an idea of what is on offer. For us it’s a great way of re-familiarising ourselves with the great looking cars that inspire our little business and gives us a chance to catch up with friends and like minded people. Great to meet some of the people Belinda has been speaking to online and always nice to see Mark, Alan and the team from Total Head Turners with their amazing display of vehicles for sale. This year that included an array of Cobras, a GT40 and what is now a rare Lamborghini Contach. Unfortunately we never managed to meet up with Richard and Jayne from Tudor Wheels but I’m sure we will see them soon. In addition to covering as much as we could we obviously enjoyed watching plenty of the racing from various vantage points around the circuit. It really is quite spectacular seeing some of the cars thundering around and sliding through the corners, much more exciting than the general motorsport currently on TV. Credit to all the drivers, professional or otherwise.

All in all we had a lovely day and took loads of photos.

If you haven’t ever visited this event it is worth looking at, we are already looking at dates for next year. I’m sure this must be the biggest gathering of classic cars in the world. I know I haven’t covered even a small amount of what goes on over the weekend but the Goodwood website has plenty of videos and images.

AV8 Z3 MEET

On Saturday 9th July we were privileged to join the Z3 lads at Kemble air field on the edge of the Cotswolds. Originally myself and Dave P had responded to a post on FB asking if we would be able to join the Z3 guys or whether they would prefer us to head off to Coventry. With the sun smiling down we decided to take three cars. Dave in his Cobra, Belinda and Emily in the Isabella and me in my blue car. Myself and Belinda took the relatively short journey along the motorway to meet up with Dave and Ali at the garden centre in Cirencester before heading off to join the Z’s. Any dash along the M4 is usually pretty uneventful but this definitely wasn’t the case on this occasion. We were filmed continuously and had some waves from a few super car owners as they buzzed past. Its always an odd feeling when a car worth 100’s of thousands slows down to check your plastic creation. After about an hour we were at Dobbies and yes myself and Dave had to have an old man wee before heading off. It was as I followed Dave and Belinda out of the carpark that I realised that I probably should get around to topping up the air con as its rather hot in the coupe. The occupants of the two soft tops didn’t have this problem with their hair and beards blowing in the wind. From Dobbies it took about ten minutes to get to the air field and if you haven’t been this is well worth a visit. As you enter the airfield you wind your way through to AV8 restaurant which is close to the runway. There is loads of parking and plenty to look at. There is a huge 747 parked up for good measure and there was quite a lot of aerial activity with small light aircraft and helicopters buzzing about over head. As we approached the jumbo we could see a fantastic array of Z3’s parked up on the grass. I have to say these cars are a credit to their owners and were amazingly turned out. There were plenty of colours represented and their proud owners were happy to talk and share their experiences. From our point of view we are often seen as the guys to break up Z’s but this group of like minded owners accepted us and made us feel really welcome. As we often point out we actually save more Z3’s by recycling and providing low cost spares than we do breaking them up. We really only actually break up a car if it is no longer road worthy and un economic to repair. Once we had done the introductions we headed into the restaurant for a coffee and some cake. AV8 is obviously a very popular venue but after a small wait we were served and secured ourselves a great seat outside watching all the planes come and go. We stayed with the Z’s for well over an hour before they headed off for their lunch meet and we drifted back towards home, stopping in Malmesbury ghost town for a spot of lunch. Thanks to Dave and Ali and all the nice Z3 owners who allowed us to crash their party. We do own a few Z’s ourselves so next time it is probably only fitting that we attend in one of those rather than a rebody…….

Transport Festival '22

So the show season is upon us and although we had the intentions of attending everything the uncertainty brought on by what’s been going on in the world cast a shadow over proceedings.

Our initial thoughts were that we would exhibit at the National Kit Car show in Stoneleigh but after a couple of set backs we instead opted to attend as members of the public rather than in any official capacity. Although it was nice to get out for a bit the hay days of the massive kit car shows with lots of exhibitors seem to have gone for now. Hopefully that will improve in time.

This weekend however, saw the annual Festival of Transport in the War Memorial Park in Basingstoke. This is a fantastic event covering all things vehicle related and put on by the local Rotary Club supported by Basingstoke and Deane. Last year the event eventually went ahead later than planned in August when Covid restrictions lifted. It was still well supported but understandably not firing on all cylinders.

This year however, the show returned to its normal slot in early May and with the weather outlook promising a clear day things were looking good.

My normal work schedule hadn’t been kind so it meant I would be going straight to the show after a night shift but the support we receive from some great friends and customers meant that we would be ok.

At 06:30 hours we were turning up on site with our demonstration cars which included our monster V8 demonstrator stripped and ready for a kit, Gareth’s lovely dark grey Cobra and Jonathan’s stunning Isabella.

After some initial confusion over the placement of our gazebo and some interesting discussions with a man and his official, Council approved tape measure we were up and running. We have a great spot in the main field close to the food court area and the majority of people visiting the show pass by throughout the day. In addition to the stand we had five slots for cars in the normal static display area and fortunately enough for us this is right next to our stand. That meant in total we had eight cars on display in some form or another.

No sooner had we got everything ready people started streaming into the park. We were swamped from the off and before too long all of us were interacting with potential customers and enthusiasts. I have never seen this event so busy and with an estimated 23 thousand people visiting throughout the day it far out stripped all of our expectations. It was brilliant to speak to so many like minded people and the support we received was quite humbling. At one point I looked across the park and it looked like the FA cup final had just finished rather than a local transport show.

There were long lines of people at the ice cream van, people enjoying coffee sat as tables to the front of the food vans and families sitting under the trees. There were of course people working their way through the various trade stands and  wandering through the vast number of vehicles on display.

One thing that seemed to attract quite a lot people was our little JC Midge, with children climbing in and out and their parent’s taking the opportunity to take a photo. I’m not sure our good friend ‘sun bathing Sue’ was so happy with the constant beeping of the claxon horn but Dave revelled in showing the little people how it worked. Sue also attracted some attention from an old boy who commented on her being the best chassis he had seen all day.

After the initial rush I thought that things might calm down but perhaps the good weather and the close proximity of the park to the town centre brought every body out. We were absolutely swamped all day and as a result I am pleased to say we have some very firm interest in our cars with potential customers looking to purchase kits or commission full builds. We have also picked up some valuable contacts who will no doubt help us to progress our little business in the future.

At some point during the day we usually take it in turns to have a little time out to walk around the show. This year was so busy that I only managed to make it to the loos and didn’t even get into the second field.

By the end of the day we were totally warn out but this has to be the best show experience we have had and we will definitely be back next year.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those people who helped us as without their support and help we wouldn’t be able to do what we love. I wont mention everybody as I’m sure they might get embarrassed but you know who you are. That’s customers, friends and family.

If you are interested in anything to do with transport whether its cars, trucks, motorbikes, buses Etc…. then put this one in your diary, you wont be disappointed.

It is a great day out and credit has to be given to The Rotary club volunteers and Basingstoke & Deane.

When you tell people you come from Basingstoke you are often the butt of jokes, usually about our round abouts. Basingstoke gets some bad press but where else can you attend a free event of this magnitude nowadays.

Cobra dashboard

After many months of development and trying different styles and layouts we have finally come up with a Cobra dash we are happy with. We have fitted the first one in our new V8 demonstrator and have a couple of orders already. This has come about mainly due to customer demand. Once the body conversions are complete the one thing that gives the cars origins away is the dashboard. On our other models we have purpose built dashboards so it was only natural that the Cobra got it’s own dash. We have tried to replicate the rounded scuttle panel and to the front of this we mount the fascia where the various dials and switches are mounted. The new dash will be supplied as a four piece GRP assembly and we will also be offering a fitting and conversion service.

Festival of Transport

We didn’t manage to get to Stoneleigh this year but luckily enough managed to have a stand at the Basingstoke Festival of Transport at the end of August. The weather was fine if not a bit chilly at times but at least it didn’t rain and cause problems getting off the grass. This event is situated at the Memorial Park in the centre of town and hosted by the Rotary Club. The show caters for everything vehicle related including vintage and commercial vehicles and was the first big event hosted in the town since Covid. It was over subscribed and was very well supported by all concerned. We displayed a stripped Z3, a kit of GRP Cobra panels, a fun Herald based car and Gareth’s recently completed car which was regularly polished by its proud owner. We were pretty much swamped all day and want to thank Paul, Gareth and Dave for there support throughout the day. I’m not sure if our attendance will turn into firm orders but gauging on the interest we have gone some way to letting everybody know we are still very much on the map and still working hard.

Pastures New

After what seems to be months looking for new premises we have finally secured a new workshop. Over the course of our first year we soon out grew our little workshop near Popham. Apart from not having enough space to swing a cat the surroundings didn’t fit with what we were trying to achieve. Despite what we were producing I was mindful that potential customers may be put if they visited.

knowing that we needed to move we all set about trying to find somewhere suitable. Belinda spent days phoning and visiting farmers and I signed up with some of the local commercial estate agents. A number of places came up but they were either too far away, too expensive or the landlords wouldn’t accept tenants in the motor trade.

When it seemed like we were never going to find somewhere and when we were all pretty much resigned to the fact that things weren’t going in our favour something unexpected came up. Whilst visiting our leather man Paul at his new premises we realised that the estate he was set up on was really quite nice and had a mixed community of hard working businesses.

Belinda worked her charm with the landlord, a fantastic chap called Frank but unfortunately there was a waiting list on industrial units so we didn’t really give it a second thought. One week later however, we got a very welcome call saying that a free unit had come up and it was ours if we were still interested. We immediately said yes and started making plans for the move.

A couple weeks on and we were moving all our stuff up the road to its new home in the lovely village of Little London in the Hampshire countryside. It really is surprising to see how much we had managed to squeeze in such a small space. I have to say the past few weeks have been absolutely bonkers and we are grateful for the help we received from Dave P and the understanding of our customers who have had to wait for us while we moved in.

There is still plenty of work to be done but we are pleased and proud to say that we are up and running and open for business. We have a dedicated stores area, an office with kitchen and ample space to work and store our cars. Visitors will now be able to see our demonstrators and go over the cars that are currently under construction.

Looking back now, I didn’t realise how stressful the old working environment had become. I now roll up the electric shutter in the morning and look out over the fields. The smell from the bakery two doors down wafts in through the door and the gentle hum of the brewing equipment in the unit next door can be heard in the distance. We are met every morning by Frank and Max who run the farm and they start the day by asking if we need anything or if they can be of assistance with anything. We have fallen on our feet and we look to a really happy future.

I will post some photos as we go along and when things are done we’ll get the magazines down for a visit.

once again, thank you for all the help and support we have received.

Goodwood Revival

Stoneleigh 2019

STONELEIGH 2019

So Stoneleigh has come and gone and we have finally managed to get our first proper show under our belts.

We did get cars on display at a couple of events last Summer but this was the first time we have attended an official kit car event.

I have attended shows with the kids for over twenty years and have sadly seen the decline in the support these events get. I can remember Stoneleigh being the biggest of numerous events across the country but unfortunately it appears to be the only surviving event for the industry. It never ceases to amaze me at what people can achieve, often on a tight budget. There are some amazing cars out there.

Over recent years I have noticed that some of the more interesting and unusual kits and suppliers seem to have faded away so we weren’t sure where to pitch ourselves. We supply three kits but with a limited budget didn’t know what car to display. I was mindful that our Kobra demonstrator is now in need of a tidy up and it couldn’t compete with some of the big guns who were undoubtably going to show some fantastic cars. Our Koupe demonstrator is currently under construction so that wasn’t an option so we found ourselves falling back on the Kalifornia which although a year old was our first build and the car that started our little venture.

Again the stand design was something that we couldn’t spend loads on so we needed to come up with something a little different. Belinda always has vintage items hanging around so we went with a 60’s theme to match the car. We purchased some old apple crates and filled them with 60’s memorabilia along with some pop-up stands purchased on Ebay and supplied by Chris at Tribute.

On Saturday we slowly headed up the A34 bound for Kenilworth. Somehow I managed to end up plodding along in the old motor home with the girls whilst Belinda cruised up in comfort in the Kalifornia, stopping off at Warwick Services for a coffee which seems to be the law for all kit and classic car drivers.

After a coupe of trouble free hours we arrived at Stoneleigh and although the signage was quite clear there was a little confusion at the gate. The poor chaps booking us all in didn’t seem to have a clue and some of those in the building traffic jam became very frustrated.

Once inside again directions and instructions were very vague with the guys employed to sort things out not having and clear instructions. We had paid for an electrical hook up but nobody new how that worked. Eventually some very organised campers set things up and thank you to those guys who moved their caravans so that we could plug in. There was further confusion as organisers didn’t have any real plan of how to get to our stand in Hall 2 and as we hadn’t exhibited before we had to make it up.

Early Sunday morning we were up bright and breezy and ready to go. After the mandatory bacon sandwich I got dressed up in my Goodwood style classic overalls and flat cap and headed off to the hall, leaving the women folk applying make up etc etc etc….

We were positioned right in front of the doors in Hall 2 so we were really happy as visitors to the show were faced with our bright red car as soon as they entered. By 10:00 we were all set and hoping for a good reaction. I was stood there like something from Open All Hours, Belinda and her friend Sue were dressed to impress and Ben was sporting his Classic Coachworks polo shirt and baseball cap.

Almost immediately we were talking to potential customers making a conscious effort to allow them to touch and go over the car, lifting bonnet, the boot and getting in. This is not always an easy thing to do but we felt this was really important as we want to be open and honest. The red car was our first and isn’t the best example in the world, perhaps a little rough and ready in places but it got a lot of attention.

People loved the car, what we are trying to achieve at the budget end of the industry and how we had presented ourselves with the period 60’s feel. Outside there was great support from the Tribute owners club and we thank them for travelling to the venue and offering their support. Without you guys we would have had no Kobras to show off and we really do value your comments and ideas.

Monday was a similar day with plenty of visitors but not quite as busy as Sunday.

By the end of the two days we were all pretty worn out and my sore throat has definitely suffered but we are over the moon. We have spoken to old customers, potential new customers and got some great contacts.

Hopefully we will now receive some orders for kits or builds and look forward to the future.

Numbers are falling and prices are rising but we need to keep Stoneleigh alive so we will definitely be there next year.

Once again, thank you all for the kind comments and the overwhelming support we have received. We love what we do and the positivity drives us onwards and upwards.

Particular thanks to :-

Chris at Tribute, TKC Magazine, Complete Kit Car, Grassbanks, (Richard, Dave P, Steve D)

(please see images on Stoneleigh page from main menu)

ROAD TRIPS

Today we took a rare day off and managed to get away from the workshop for a few hours. With no real plan we fired up the California, put the roof down and headed off to Sussex. Annoyingly we soon found ourselves having to slowly plod through the 50 mph variable speed limit which the M27 has become. I’m not sure if these new ‘smart’ motorways have been named correctly. We regularly travel to Dover and what used to be a trouble free journey now takes ages. Anyway, as we headed past Chichester we started to see signs for Goodwood which gave us an idea. Leaving the A27 we rumbled through the country lanes towards the circuit, passing Rolls Royce en route. As we pulled up outside the main gates we were met by two nice chaps in their distinctive white Goodwood overalls, made all the more famous by the excellent revival events. It turns out there was some sort of corporate media event on but as we had turned up in a nice shiny red car looking a million dollars we were allowed to park up and have a nose at what was going on. Lucky for us we had managed to gate crash a supercar media day with all the major players. With Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin and McLaren all represented it was amazing to see people stopping and taking photos of our car as it sat next the main straight. After having a cup of tea in the sunshine and watching a number of people with big smiles rag very expensive cars around the circuit we headed off on the next part of our journey. As we waited to pull out onto to the road a very nice orange McLaren pulled up next to us. Once again we found it strange to attract more attention as we puled away and the exhaust came into play. Its worth mentioning that Matt at Fastfit in Basingstoke does a great job with the exhaust and I would never have guessed that it was possible to get such a great sound out of an aging Z3. After thirty minutes we found ourselves slowly cruising along Brighton seafront and onto Madeira Drive. As we drifted along I was suddenly aware of a scooter right up behind us, weaving left to right. As we both turned around to see what was going on the rider, who was a very happy Italian man said “OH MY GARLIC, I LOVE YOUR CAR”. He continued on behind us for a few minutes videoing with his head cam as he did. We didn’t have ages to spent on the cost before heading back to reality so a quick burger in the American Diner and we were on the road again. I have to say where ever we go in the car it attracts attention and I know it is just a tribute to the 60’s but it feels like you are driving something very special. The sun catches the bright red paint, and sparkles off the chrome door handles and hinges and the sound when you come to a stop turns heads where ever you go. We have also recently had the time and finances to complete the interior so the new leather looks and smells great. At this point I will mention Autotrim in Reading. Paul does a great job and just gets on with what ever we throw at him. With the Summer on its way and the days getting longer I think there will be plenty of days out and some excellent photo opportunities.

Goodwood in the sunshine

Surprising how many pairs of boots and bags one lady can get into the boot.

My apologies for any grammar or spelling mistakes, it’s all been a bit of a rush

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Andrew's Kobra build

My Classic Coachworks experience

 
Part 1 

So, having reached that stage of my life where the kids are charging about under their own steam and not really knowing where they are from one moment to the next, I was in search of a project which would keep me occupied through the winter months. 

I am a qualified highways civil engineer and work on the commercial side so my practical experience of working on cars was very limited although I had ‘tinkered’ with motorcycles during my MotoX days back in the late 80’s early 90’s but having had Company Cars for many years even lifting the bonnet was a rarity. 

Whilst browsing ebay one day in search of the next bargain and or inspiration I came across an advert which grabbed my attention for a body-kit to transform a BMW Z3 into an AC Cobra style sports car. The concept seemed to be an attractive option for my limited mechanical skills. I was very interested when I discovered that Classic Coachworks were based in Basingstoke which was only one junction up the motorway from home. 

A quick Google search tracked down the company website which contained some more information so with some trepidation I used the ‘Contact’ tab to see if I could go and have a look at the whole process to see if it was truly something, I thought I could undertake. I read all the articles on the website thoroughly including the Z3 buyers guide and researched ebay for potential donor vehicles. 

Within a couple of hours I’d had a reply from Ian and made an appointment to go and have a look at the cars and kits on Saturday 13th October 2018. I will always remember Ian’s directions which included turning left at the ‘tank’, I didn’t clarify the description but assumed water tank or fuel tank but was shocked to find it was actually a Chieftan tank (I think)! 

Having spent a couple of hours with Ian and Belinda both of whom were charming hosts, very knowledgeable and full of excitement of the project I decided to pursue looking for a donor car. 

I had noticed a car that appeared on Ebay, Auto Trader and Gumtree which seemed a good buy as it was a 2002 2.2litre car from a dealer based in Marlow, Bucks so on returning home on Saturday I gave the dealer a call that afternoon and arranged a viewing for the same day. 

Turned out that this Z3 was a trade in for a dealer who specialised in high end cars and was keen to ‘move on’ this car from his stock. A quick test drive confirmed that it didn’t have an overheating problem and almost all the gadgets worked. It did have a warning light on the dash which was in the advert description and research had suggested that this was a relatively easy fix. 

I’m not the best ‘haggler’ but I purchased the car for £2,500.00 and thoroughly enjoyed the journey home back to Fleet in Hampshire as the owner of my first ever ‘sports car’

The remainder of the weekend was spent thoroughly cleaning the car and looking for things that didn’t work and needed fixing. I have a strange obsession when washing my cars to remove the wheels so that I can clean the wheels thoroughly inside and out. This exposed my first task as the rear wheel disks looked rather unsightly.

I think my enjoyment of this project will almost certainly be the journey more than the finished product so with huge enthusiasm I trawled the internet and social media to source some new brakes. By chance I discovered in Lincoln someone selling brand new in the box never used discs and pads for a Z3 for £100. My wife’s brother lives in Lincoln and was due to come and visit the following week so I agreed to purchase the brakes for £80 and for my brother in law to collect them for me. 

Whilst I explained to my brother in law that he was collecting brake discs and pads I hadn’t actually stressed that these would be heavy so was somewhat surprised to discover that he collected them on his scooter and was actually bitten several times by the seller’s dog who found the whole vent hilarious! Still £20 for each corner seemed a bargain! 

Space in my garage is sparse so it became clear that selling off the removed panels from the car promptly would be necessary before taking delivery of the new body-kit. The panels all unbolted very easily and the following week after getting the car home the front wings, sills and rear wings were all on ebay for £0.99 each. I always start my auctions at £0.99 on the basis that items are only worth what someone is prepared to pay so I set my expectations very low. Those that buy and sell on ebay will know that it often throws up some odd negotiations and the same happened with these six 16 year old car panels which could have been purchased for the total of £6 at auction but I had a buyer want to pay £300 and send a courier to collect them, I guess he wanted to make sure he was guaranteed the full set !

The next job was to replace the broken seat belt guide on the passenger seat which also had a fault where the height adjusting motor seemed jammed. The seat was unbolted and lifted out onto the work bench. A trawl through the various BMW forums seemed to suggest that the motor had been wound against the stop and become stuck which could easily be fixed whilst the seat was upside down on the bench.

The seat belt guide was a very much different task as firstly the damaged guide needed to be removed as the back plate is stitched onto the seat cover then the replacement fed up inside the seat and held with the press washers attached whilst the new guide is firmly pressed together. 

Lots of swearing, cuts and scratches later the new guide was installed

Having now become committed to the project I paid a deposit for the bodykit and progressed with removing and disposing of the front end of the car so the bonnet, headlights and front bumper were photographed and advertised on ebay. I didn’t have much interest but again had an enquiry from someone who wanted the parts plus the roll bars for his car. I wanted to change the roll bars for a nicer looking chrome set anyway so negotiated the sale of the parts plus a swop for all the interior trim from a pre-facelift car which would be required for the aftermarket chrome roll bars plus £250. 

This where my haste and inexperience started to bite me as I didn’t remove the latches from the bonnet as I didn’t realise I needed to keep them plus the ‘ebay swopper’ forget the brackets which support the sub-woofer in a pre-facelift car. He promised to pop them in the post but they never appeared! He also left behind all the fixings for the roll bars and no forwarding address so a valuable lesson learnt! 

The body kit comes this weekend which will be part 2 ………..