Part one of “Project Panther”
Back in 2007 I bought my first Z3 after months of hunting around trying to find one that took my fancy. I finally decided on a black 2001 2.2i Sport with black interior, what else could I do except name her “Panther”.
What followed was a few years of enjoyment with many days randomly cruising around with the roof down. Sadly I was made unemployed and money got tight, and Panther became rather neglected. She ended up abandoned off the road untaxed, with the hood starting to deteriorate, mould forming on the interior and an ever growing list of things needing to be done. To be honest it was getting a little depressing not being able to get her back to a driveable condition.
Fast forwards a couple of years to 6 months ago when I joined a Facebook group for UK BMW Z3 owners (at the time I didn’t know it was part of ZRoadster.org). So I joined and said hi, but wasn’t quite expecting everyone to jump in and start asking for pictures. This is something I’ve now learnt happens when you join car internet sites. Rather embarrassed I posted an old picture of Panther back when she was stunning, and then a few days later I admitted she was off the road in a rather sorry state.
It was a mixed blessing being on this group as all I could see was everyone having fun in their Zeds, meeting up, fixing, tinkering even just driving them. I gave more details as to what was wrong with the car, particularly the long list of broken bits.
Surprisingly I was directly messaged by a chap called Paul (pgunter), who encourage me to sign up on ZRoadster.org, and that I would get plenty of assistance and support. I gave it a go and signed up, at which point I got in contact with Gaz as well.
After a bit of encouragement I was convinced to meet up on a cruise being organised by Paul in the New Forest. This would give Paul and Gary a chance to have a look over Panther and give an honest opinion on what needed doing.
There was a few small problems with this plan, as it was Thursday and the cruise was on Saturday. The main problems were no tax, insurance or break down cover and the car hadn’t been on the road for some time. After a few phone calls and rushing around like a loony, I managed to get everything done by 5pm on the Friday, ready for the next morning.
To be continued…
Back in 2007 I bought my first Z3 after months of hunting around trying to find one that took my fancy. I finally decided on a black 2001 2.2i Sport with black interior, what else could I do except name her “Panther”.
What followed was a few years of enjoyment with many days randomly cruising around with the roof down. Sadly I was made unemployed and money got tight, and Panther became rather neglected. She ended up abandoned off the road untaxed, with the hood starting to deteriorate, mould forming on the interior and an ever growing list of things needing to be done. To be honest it was getting a little depressing not being able to get her back to a driveable condition.
Fast forwards a couple of years to 6 months ago when I joined a Facebook group for UK BMW Z3 owners (at the time I didn’t know it was part of ZRoadster.org). So I joined and said hi, but wasn’t quite expecting everyone to jump in and start asking for pictures. This is something I’ve now learnt happens when you join car internet sites. Rather embarrassed I posted an old picture of Panther back when she was stunning, and then a few days later I admitted she was off the road in a rather sorry state.
It was a mixed blessing being on this group as all I could see was everyone having fun in their Zeds, meeting up, fixing, tinkering even just driving them. I gave more details as to what was wrong with the car, particularly the long list of broken bits.
Surprisingly I was directly messaged by a chap called Paul (pgunter), who encourage me to sign up on ZRoadster.org, and that I would get plenty of assistance and support. I gave it a go and signed up, at which point I got in contact with Gaz as well.
After a bit of encouragement I was convinced to meet up on a cruise being organised by Paul in the New Forest. This would give Paul and Gary a chance to have a look over Panther and give an honest opinion on what needed doing.
There was a few small problems with this plan, as it was Thursday and the cruise was on Saturday. The main problems were no tax, insurance or break down cover and the car hadn’t been on the road for some time. After a few phone calls and rushing around like a loony, I managed to get everything done by 5pm on the Friday, ready for the next morning.
To be continued…
So please keep watching and we will be sure to keep you entertained in the cold months of Canada but I hope it wont take 10 months to complete, we will be posting lots of pictures for you to see and updates of progress.
lol
