Body not centered on chassis with IRS

[stevant]

Anyone have this problem? Wheel alignment is done but body needs to shift to the left. All holes are lining up. I guess I can try and move the top over? Needs to go over about 3/8”

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[Paul2STL]

I had the same problem also. But once it came back from paint it was lined up.

[stevant]

That’s encouraging....... I hope mine does the same. I guess once they set it up on the chassis for the actual body prep, they’ll position it and it will center.

Fingers crossed!!

[CraigS]

It is harder to move the rear but it is very common to need to move the front. I think those front outrigger mounts are a real handy grab point when these things are being moved by hand. I am not sure what you could do to move the rear. Slot the mount holes? Have you adjusted the body where it mounts under the rocker panel area? That could have an effect on the forward half of the fender. One of the guys who paint these cars (Jeff, or maybe Jeff) will hopefully chime in here on what the regular adjustment is.

[michael everson]

Why cant you simply adjust the joints on the IRS to move the offset wheel out?
Mike

[stevant]

I’m hoping they do. I can see if it were a solid axle where it can be shifted side to side but an IRS....... that’s all based on the chassis mount points so it has to be within the body itself and how it sits. The 4 rear mounting holes are aligned nicely, even the roll bar dropped right in so I’m really confused on how it can move over. I was up under car last night and was checking everything I could think of. I know you only see one side at a time but for us OCD guys..... ouch!! It’s only 1/4-3/8” that it needs to move but with the tires I have it is noticeable as they sit nice and tight into the qtr panel. If worse comes to worse I guess I could run a spacer on one side. Only if I exhaust all other options. Hopefully the body has some way of being shifted before I consider that.

[stevant]

Why cant you simply adjust the joints on the IRS to move the offset wheel out?
Mike


One of the three joints is fixed, lower control arm mount, and only two can be adjusted. Unless I’m looking at this wrong. The upper control arm can be adjusted along with the lower front toe. How would you move it in and out? Won’t it always pivot from the one fixed point?

[michael everson]

Your right. My apologies. I was thinking it was similar to the older IRS. I think you only simple solution would be a thin spacer behind the offset wheel. You can get them in 1/8 increments. These are kit cars and not production cars. There is bound to be some tolerance buildup. I would not try to shift the body at this point.
Mike

[GoDadGo]

Here is a good link for some spacers if you need them:

https://www.cjponyparts.com/wheel-spacer-black-5-lug-pair-1965-1973-1994-2019/p/WHSP26-V/

[stevant]

Thanks...... I ordered a 1/4” and a 3/8” in case after final assembly and fitment it’s not rectified.

[phileas_fogg]

Initially my body was ~1/4" off in the rear. A separate problem (the body wouldn't sit down low enough in the rear) led me to trim the rear cockpit wall panels, mostly in the area just above the door latch post mounting bracket (next to the "D" by the bulb seal). That gave enough wiggle room that I could just grab the wide side and tug it over the amount I needed. So...check those rear aluminum panels & if one is tighter than the other trim it!


John

P.S. I'd stay away from the spacers until it came back from paint.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4510/37569925971_6f59a5c4ca_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/ZeVG5k)IMG_4129 (https://flic.kr/p/ZeVG5k) by jhsitton (https://www.flickr.com/photos/91016165@N07/), on Flickr

[stevant]

That’s my intention. Going to try and get this rectified the right way and hopefully find the culprit and adjust it. Spacer will be a last resort. Hopefully I can massage and wiggle it over after some tweaking!!

[CraigS]

One other thing I would check is body to door latch bracket distance. Is the body centered there? A note about paint. Paul2stl's car was aligned because da Bat painted it. There are maybe 3-4 painters in the US who would know how to center the body on an FFR.

[stevant]

Centered nicely at the latches, I have a reputable painter painting my car. I’m sure he will finesse it a bit more too. Last night I loosened the rear bolts and did a little wiggling and was able to get it a little better. I might be able to do more as right now as it sits on the bulb weatherstripping it’s hard to truly move it as the weatherstripping rolls. The body has to be lifted and placed back down. I think this might center based on that. Better now than what it was.

[CraigS]

That's good that a bit of fudging got some improvement. An FYI for you. All original cobras had aluminum bodies made by hand. I bet there isn't one of them that is symmetrical left to right. The following sentence could be looked at as a cop out but, with hand built cars, it really is true. 'It's not a problem, it is a characteristic.'

[stevant]

I hear ya....... we get the cars the best we can. They were not perfect back then either. It’s my OCD that gets the best of me.

It will all work out......