What are you saying? Your car is sitting too high?
Rebody Roof and Windscreen issue
- Thread starter Dave in Southampton
- Start date
Dave in Southampton
Regular Member
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2025
- Points
- 13
Hello Pond
What I'm asking is: If your car has the same rear wheel size and you are happy with the ride height, are the measurements at the bottom of the rear wing and the boot aperture, the same as mine; 265mm and 500mm?
I still don't see how pushing the body down at the back will solve the windscreen issue, particularly if the ride height at the back is about right.
What I'm asking is: If your car has the same rear wheel size and you are happy with the ride height, are the measurements at the bottom of the rear wing and the boot aperture, the same as mine; 265mm and 500mm?
I still don't see how pushing the body down at the back will solve the windscreen issue, particularly if the ride height at the back is about right.
My kit is Tribute. I don't have a coupe but the principle, ie how the rear shell mounts to the frame, is likely the same as yours.
Pond's car isn't Tribute so potentially a different design.
Ir's quite obvious when the boot extension panel is in the right place. It fits snug against the back panel of the z3 then bolted in place. Trying to fit or line up the rear shell without first anchoring the boot extension is a hopeless exercise.
So it's mega important, on a tribute kit, to get that boot extension right first.
Then it's also quite obvious when the rear shell is in the right place. It rests nicely on the boot extensiion. On my kit the gaps between the wheel arches steel frame and the grp shell are all over the place but here is no gap between the rear shell and the boot extension. They're bonded and bolted together. Also the B pillar lines nice.
if you have those 3 points lined up without gaps, ie boot extension and B pillars lined up nice and fitting snug then the shell in the right place.
Once the rear is right I wouldn't try to fix the leading edge of the roof by moving the back again.
Pond's car isn't Tribute so potentially a different design.
Ir's quite obvious when the boot extension panel is in the right place. It fits snug against the back panel of the z3 then bolted in place. Trying to fit or line up the rear shell without first anchoring the boot extension is a hopeless exercise.
So it's mega important, on a tribute kit, to get that boot extension right first.
Then it's also quite obvious when the rear shell is in the right place. It rests nicely on the boot extensiion. On my kit the gaps between the wheel arches steel frame and the grp shell are all over the place but here is no gap between the rear shell and the boot extension. They're bonded and bolted together. Also the B pillar lines nice.
if you have those 3 points lined up without gaps, ie boot extension and B pillars lined up nice and fitting snug then the shell in the right place.
Once the rear is right I wouldn't try to fix the leading edge of the roof by moving the back again.
Last edited:
B pillar? On a Z3? Where's that then Ted?
Is this the 5 minute argument or the full half hour?
You know what I mean? Surely you know that I mean the part of the car where where a B pillar would be on a saloon car.
But, to me, and many others, a B pillar extends from the floor to the roof. The fact a 2 door convertible and many coupes don't have a B pillar window frame doesn't stop the structural frame, the pillar where the door shuts on to being called the B pillar.
No argument my end, just discussion!
Once the rear boot shelf is in place and the coupe body on its easy to see where the door edges line up as the coupe shell bolts to the existing bolt holes. Once you have the boot shelf in place and thr bolt holes lined up (some may need extending a little) you have it all set up correct. Its just on mine the window sat too far forward. Wheneve i pushed the window wdge back the alignment with thw bootshelf and bolts were off...hense i cut the window edge back. Id be interested to see what chris says but this worked for me anyhow.
Not a monty python fan thenNo argument my end, just discussion!
Dave in Southampton
Regular Member
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2025
- Points
- 13
Hello again
I have measured the distance between the rear lights as roughly 1080mm, which is roughly double the 500mm height of my boot lip. If I look at any rear view pictures of finished cars, it looks like the boot lip is lower that half the distance between the rear lights. I'm thinking Chris from Tribute is correct, in that the back panel needs to go down. Given the position of the parcel shelf, boot extension, and B pillar (still the B pillar - even though there is only half of it). I'm not clear how it is going to happen.
I'm going to ask Chris to come for a look. At least I'm only an hour away from Dorchester.
I'll post again once that has happened.
I have measured the distance between the rear lights as roughly 1080mm, which is roughly double the 500mm height of my boot lip. If I look at any rear view pictures of finished cars, it looks like the boot lip is lower that half the distance between the rear lights. I'm thinking Chris from Tribute is correct, in that the back panel needs to go down. Given the position of the parcel shelf, boot extension, and B pillar (still the B pillar - even though there is only half of it). I'm not clear how it is going to happen.
I'm going to ask Chris to come for a look. At least I'm only an hour away from Dorchester.
I'll post again once that has happened.