Rebody Oh no. It's not another 507 Rebody. Oh yes it is!

[Pond]

Time to add the dashboard to the build thread. After more than 6 months it's still not finished but I'm sick and tired of it now and need a break to work on something else and come back to it. (Maybe)

The 507-ish rebody, btw, has no dashboard. The only option is to keep the z3 interior or roll your own. I really didn't think it would take so long to roll one.

This will be like marmite. Like it or hate it. I really dislike marmite BTW. But I really had to get shot of the Z3 dash in my rebody and I really didn't fancy the idea of rewiring instruments etc. So my design keeps pretty much everything as is. Even the headlight switch and wiring is exactly where it was.

All previous dash pictures have some Ai work. This now though is really how it is. Warts n all.

View attachment 359285
View attachment 359287

ToDo.
Glovebox. The original underdash glovebox is still in place but I'd like a '507-ish' lid in the front of the dash. The little slot in the centre console below the radio is where heater control sliders will go and the round knobs will be replaced with gauges/dials.

On the 507 that rectangle above the radio is a 7" loudspeaker. On mine that'll be a 7" LCD display for satnav and diagnostics covered/hidden by a dummy speaker lid.

As.I said. Marmite.

The dash look good. Very good.
If you are willing to do the wiring for additional gauges in place of the heater controls, why not change the main dash dials?
Even if you have the originals re-faced, it will look 'complete' IMO.
I have seen a lot of 'Z3 replicas' with re-done interiors, dashes, centre consoles, etc. But if they keep anything 'BMW Z3' it detracts from the overall look and looks like they couldn't be arsed to see it through.
You have spent so much time and effort on starting the interior change; you need to see it through and change the lot, or it will always look like half a job. In my opinion.

Even though my speedo is playing up at present (and seems no-one on the planet can help), and it is really infuriating me, I would rather have a 'period' speedo that doesn't work than a working BMW one! I would really like mine to work, though.

 

[Duncodin]

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The dash look good. Very good.

Thank you

You have spent so much time and effort on starting the interior change; you need to see it through and change the lot, or it will always look like half a job. In my opinion.

That is the problem we tribute 507'ers face though. Apart from the body kit there is nothing available from anywhere. I could have used more of the the 'ferrero' dash, ie double binacles, and put veglia instruments in there but that would look naffer. If I ever run out of things to do then I might, one day, come back to the instrument pod. But it's not high on my list.

Basically it's taken me 6 months to get rid of 80% of the z3 dash. What's that saying about diminishing returns? Another 6 months to get rid of the remaining 20%? I'd rather spend 6 months on the many other things that grind my gears more than the instruments. ie Interior door cards and seats but so much more work to do to the bodywork.

I must confess I've never seen a 250 Cali in the flesh but from pictures I get the impression that the body kit is a very close replica of the original. It could be called a replica. In your 'replica' it's worth going the extra mile to take away the last bit of z3'ness. The only thing in your kit is that little Z3 side window screaming 'look at me'. You 'could' fix that but is it worth it?

Our 507 kits though really are just a 'nod' to the 507. It can never be a replica. So no point in trying to make it anything other than half a job, as you put it.

 

[Pond]

Our 507 kits though really are just a 'nod' to the 507. It can never be a replica. So no point in trying to make it anything other than half a job, as you put it.

OK, but you have built a '1960s looking' car, whatever you think it looks like. Surely everything should look 1960s, at least?
As has been discussed many times before; we all have our own reasons for, and approaches to, destroying a Z3 and making it look like something else.

I wanted an authentic replica, so that i what I tried to achieve. The 'thrill of the build' was never much of a thrill for me. Just a necessity to get what I wanted.

And now I have a speedo which has decided to have a mind of it's own for no good reason (that I can find so far). Finding this fault is no fun whatsoever (for me at least).

 

[Pond]

The only thing in your kit is that little Z3 side window screaming 'look at me'. You 'could' fix that but is it worth it?

That is the 'biggie', yes. There are a few other fairly significant differences for those in the know. However, hardly anyone has ever seen a real 250 california, or a 507, so they don't really need to try and fool anyone.

I was at a local show in September. I walked back to my car and a couple were discussing how much they thought my car was worth. The chap said £4,000,000, his wife guessed at £6 million. Both presumed it was a real cali. I immediately told them that it was a fake, but it didn't detract from their appreciation of it. So it doesn't matter IMO as long as the car makes you (me) and others happy.