Congratulations - an impressive achievement - to build a car from scratch. I wish I had your talent.
A BMW 507 maniac from Austria.

----Really good to see the engine and trans in place. What a car this is becoming!!!.....Bill S

Thank you, Gerhard. It's been quite a fun endeavor! I got the car on all four wheels under its own weight, added weight to compensate for fuel, seats, etc. I measured for the driveshaft and will get that made this week.

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Very happy with the ride height but it should settle some after I get it on the road. It's adjustable at all four corners.

OK, back up in the air it goes for exhaust, brake and fuel lines, emergency brake cables, and some other minor things.

Cheers
Dave

Dave...have you informed us of that beautiful '63 Vette?? :hmmm:

Hmmmm....I have not. Another thread with a description comin' in HOT!goggles:3gears:

Cheers:beers:
Dave

Simply Amazing!!!

Thanks Dave! I appreciate the comment! More progress and updates this week.

Cheers:beers:
Dave

Radiator is in along with upper and lower hoses, front brake lines run, and I'm working on the mounting bracket for the dual electric fans. The 507 had an option of a "Tropical Cooling Kit" which used dual Jaguar electric fans to supplement the engine fan. I upgraded those to bigger CFM yet they retain the stock look. More on that later.

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In fun news, Here's the knock-off knock-offs! Very happy with it. There's a ring that the lugs pass through which has the center post welded to it. The cap goes over that post and is sandwiched to the wheel byb the spinner. The tire shop will put these center adapters on the balancer for me so there's no weird wobble or out of balance issues at speed.

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Tomorrow I'll finish the fans and start on the exhaust.

Cheers
Dave

Amazing Dave - just amazing. Coming along very nicely and looks great.

Thanks, Jake. More updates soon!

Cheers
Dave

BMW added a "tropicalized" electric fan upgrade which used the fans from a Jaguar for better cooling for higher ambient temperature areas. I replicated that with a set of high flow 12" straight blade fans. The mount on a bracket that hangs against the radiator like original. The horns mount on the radiator lower support brackets.

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I blasted and painted the tool box kit, now I just next to find some tools! They are easily available as vintage Porsche used the same Hazet tools.

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Heater bezel control face is up next. I fabricated the control levers and will show that on the next updated. The face will bolt to the dash and the controls bolt to that. More work to come on this!

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Cheers
Dave

...I'm waiting for Dave to slip up and show a photo that reveals his army of elves helping him build this car. I know he's "Super Dave"...but c'mon, there's no way one mortal man can accomplish all this in such a short period.

Seriously though, I was skeptical when you first revealed your plan and thought it rather ambitious for even a pro-shop full of talented craftsmen, but I am just wow'd by you vision, drive, enthusiasm and talent. Absolutely amazing and I am in perpetual awe of you, sir!

I was thinking along the same line. The Beamer was actually started 10 years ago and we are just getting the photo evidence now.....Just kidding, Dave is a machine, T-1000, Mimetic Polyalloy I think.

Wow! Thanks for the kind words! :worship: I'm glad you're enjoying the build and progress and nobody has been more surprised that this is actually coming out as my vision visualized than me! :hmmm::hmmm: You know what I'm talking about. :wink:

Drivesahft is here. Exhaust going in over the weekend!:headbang:

Cheers
Dave

Amazing build Dave. So, what's the titling process for something you created from scratch? How does that all work?

Assembled Vehicles

https://www.txdmv.gov/motorists/assembled-vehicles

Hi Mark,

As Lee pointed out, I’ll summarize. I chatted with the gal at the DMV and basically I fill out out the forms and show pictures of the car along with receipts to them at the DMV. A trooper comes an out to verify it’s actually a car and that it’s functional and nothing is stolen. I then get a VIN number assigned and off to the weigh station for a weight and inspection station for a safety inspection verifying everything works for the year it’s being registered as. Once all complete, they give me a blue Texas title that says 1959 BMW 507. But the top of the title includes Replica so you know it’s not a real one. Cobras, other kits cars, they all have the same process but they usually have a Certificate of Origin from the manufacturer eliminating a few of the steps I need to go through. But since I’m the “factory” in this case, a few extra paperwork hoops.

I met the trooper that’s going to do the inspection and he owns a cobra. Pretty cool! He saw my photos and said !”Yeah, this should be an easy one!” So that was flattering!

Cheers
Dave

Dave, they check VIN's if any of the components you used have them. In your case, I don't think any of your components have VIN's from other cars. I believe the receipts determine the licensing value of your car. My guess is they don't account for your labor and in this case that is good as you won't be taxed on your labor.

Right, Tim! That’s why I have the receipts to the major parts (trans, rear, engine) all showing any serial numbers and whom I acquired them from. Trooper told me he was already satisfied with what I told him I had in relation to paperwork. :biggthumpup:

Tax….Yeah, which leads me into the next decision as to how much to insure it for when the time comes as it’s not a pile of scrap anymore and will soon be a legal and legit car!:3gears::cool2::biggthumpup:

I guess a call to Tami at MK to discuss will be in order. No idea what type of value to put on it.:dunno: Maybe $25,000?:grin:

Cheers
Dave

Wow, insurable value is a tough one. The insurance company may be able to guide you on that one.

Don't you have at least that in parts ? Stuff you've had printed and custom made can't be cheap, not to mention a number of flights to the east coast for research and to bring back irreplaceable parts you couldn't risk being lost or damaged...:wink:

I would think a cool million!!

Oh, that was just a sorry attempt on my part as a joke, Mitch. :ooo: Yes, just a ‘tish more into it than that at this point. :smirk::naughty:;) I haven’t added the receipts yet and not sure I want to!:blush:

It’ll be a chat for insurance company for sure. I can say right now I’m encroaching on the 4000hr point of invested time. This includes research online on how to do stuff, what I could use to substitute for parts I can’t get, and of course fabrication. :shocked:

Cheers
Dave

Another kindred spirit to Dave - https://bringatrailer.com/listing/dna-2fifty-cal/

Wow, 4 hours left and it's bid up to $220K.

Ahhhh, but Dave's aluminum body trumps the Ferrari fiberglass body.

Ain't that the truth.

The body is all steel.

Well, then "Ain't that almost the truth."

I knew that.

Still, much better than a fiberglass replica body.

4000 hours labor at 100.00 per hour is 400K. That is normal in the big custom shops. Some are 10,000 hours

10,000hrs? Yeesh. :eek2: I can easily see it. And considering it’s not finished yet, an aluminum hardtop is to come, and final paint next year, I guess I’ll probably be close to it. :3gears: I’m amazed what that Ferrari replica went for based on what it was made from/based on. But it goes to show if someone wants what they want, they’ll pay it!

Updates to come: Bumpers and exhaust this week!:smile::biggthumpup:

Things left to do: Heater plenum, column mounted ignition switch with push button like original, door internals, final engine details, terminate wiring connections, tail lights, trunk bezel, folding top, trim A-Pillar…..among other things!:rolleyes2:

Cheers
Dave

Dave, have you decided on the color for the exterior paint?

Page 25, Post #245

So, this is an interesting discussion since I am at a crossroads with that. The original plan was Silver Blue/Dark blue. That changed to Charcoal/Red. Then it changed again to Feather White/Blue. So now I am leaning on a very dark gray/blue and saddle combo. So basically at this point and to answer the question…..I dunno! Here is some of my likes that I have seen that catch my eye:

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BTW….hand made cars. If you have a critical eye like I do, look at the body side spear on this unrestored one above. Look at the transition to the door. I’ve also seen tail lights offset and not symmetrical. Because mine is perfect….HAHAHAHAHAHA!! Holy crap I’m funny!!!

The one with the white walls is from the Pray collection and is stunning in person with that red interior. Not a factory color. Been struggling to find a color that matched and then it hit me: it’s Amazon Blue! Same color as their delivery trucks! Well, pretty close to it, anyway, and offered on the Mercedes trucks.

Of course, white/blue is stunning too on these cars. But the “wow” pop of the dark Graphite/Red can’t be ignored. We’ll see. Everything needs to be painted so a color change isn’t a big deal.

Cheers
Dave

I'll throw in my unsolicited and useless opinion, so I vote for the charcoal over red combination. IMHO, that looks like the richest combo of the above.

In any case, I'm sure yours will be far more aligned and perfected than the OG ones.

Dave, you usually have these things nailed down well in advance. :dunno: Sounds like a voting poll needs to be set up:hmmm:

Call me crazy but a blue car with red guts is just top color combo.

Man that hard top changes the appearance quite a bit and imho the color choices.

This combo is stunning.

This one with a red interior.