Rebody I can't build a replica. So. . .

[Duncodin]

My Tribute 507 is never going to be a 'replica'. Too much 'Z3' in there. I don't drive it much. I spend most of my time working on the bodywork looking at it. The more I look the more 'Z3' I see in there and it grinds my gears.

I do enjoy the build though so long may that continue. But what direction?

If I, as a young man in the 70's, found an old broken 507 in a field before they became valuable, I might have done a mild custom job on it. Fatter arches, reshaped the nose and bumpers etc

As I said, the Tribute 507 can never ever be a replica. So should I give up trying?

What'd'y reckon?

 

[Pond]

I didn't think you went it this to create a replica. I thought you enjoyed the 'messing' more than anything else.
Personally I think this is the problem with Tribute Automotive kits. They are not really like anything (presumably for legal reasons) and can never be made to be a replica. Admittedly their 250GT coupe is fairly similar but that has the added issues of putting a GRP roof on a convertible.

Surely you knew this when buying the bodykit, though, and embarking on the project?

All down to what you want I suppose. As you well know I wanted an authentic replica (or as close as is possible) of a very specific car, which I have achieved. Albeit at huge financial cost and many tears.

I don't think of mine as a Z3 anymore. It has the chassis, engine and running gear from a Z3 but it looks nothing like a Z3 anywhere (not even the V5 or MOT database) and doesn't even drive like a Z3 anymore. The suspension, wheels, steering wheel and long gearlever make it drive like something else. I don't think of it as a multi-million pound rare Italian exotic either. It's somewhere in between for me.

If you want to get rid of the Z3 feeling you need to change everything you can see that is Z3. That won't be cheap or easy.