How do I know when the body is in the correct position?

[shark92651]

I will probably be putting the body back on in less than a week and will be ready to fit the roll bars, hood, trunk, etc... My question is, how do I know when the body is in the correct "final" position? Are there some key measurements or observations that can be made to ensure that the body is in the correct position front to rear and from side to side?

Thanks,
David

[Papa]

This thread from Jeff is very helpful:

https://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-factory-five-roadsters/558305-body-installation.html

[shark92651]

This thread from Jeff is very helpful:

https://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-factory-five-roadsters/558305-body-installation.html

Thanks, some great tips in there.

[shark92651]

I posted this in my build thread but thought I would post in this one too in hopes that it may get a few more eyeballs on it and some feedback.

This morning my brother and a friend came over and we got the body back on, hopefully for the last time (by me at least). I did my best to make sure it is aligned but the description in the manual about how to check if it is in proper orientation is a little confusing to me. The quick jack bolts are in front and rear, the brackets that attach to the front of the frame and behind the turn signals are in place and making contact with the body. The hood opening seems basically centered on the top frame rails. One thing I notice is that the drivers side door hinge makes slight contact with the body, maybe about 1/8" overlap. The passenger side has about 3/16" of a gap at the same spot. Here are a few pics of these references. Does this look OK, do I need to shift the drivers side of the body slightly forward to clear, or is this just a matter of adjusting the hinge position? Are there any key reference points I should look at?

Driver side door rear

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48067653536_5e28957548_c.jpg


Passenger side door rear

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48067707708_ae1f63139e_c.jpg


Driver side door hinge

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48067734817_51de3878af_c.jpg


Passenger side door hinge

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48067685003_352823a625_c.jpg


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48067688423_96ccf948f6_c.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48067741167_864bb4cc37_c.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48067741817_b0200241c1_c.jpg

[rich grsc]

You can't go by the position of the hinges, remember they get adjusted to align the doors.

[phileas_fogg]

Hard to tell from the angle of the photos, but you may not have the body far enough forward. I had to trim the trunk aluminum a bit to get the body to land where it needed to. To measure side-to-side, just use a straight ruler to measure from the top of the shock tower to the lip of the wheel well. Mine were 15 1/4” in front; 16” in back, but that's for a kit delivered in 2015.

Once I added the intakes at the brake duct openings, I decided to ditch the brackets that attach to the front of the frame and behind the turn signals.


John

Adapted & updated from Post #376 of my build thread:

...The right side door striker is 1/4” behind the edge of the body’s door panel lip.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4417/37037228646_00902744c5_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YqRtHG)IMG_4096 (https://flic.kr/p/YqRtHG) by jhsitton (https://www.flickr.com/photos/91016165@N07/), on Flickr

The left side door striker is 3/8” behind the edge of the body’s door panel lip.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4415/37081696811_2eefb04b08_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YuMoyc)IMG_4097 (https://flic.kr/p/YuMoyc) by jhsitton (https://www.flickr.com/photos/91016165@N07/), on Flickr

Like edwardb, I found the left side quick jack framing needs to be “bumped” about 7/8” inboard to clear the air duct opening.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4338/37081695081_575972ecd6_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YuMo3n)IMG_4091 (https://flic.kr/p/YuMo3n) by jhsitton (https://www.flickr.com/photos/91016165@N07/), on Flickr

The right side quick jack framing has plenty of clearance.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4354/36826514080_811c612f0f_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Y7evBW)IMG_4090 (https://flic.kr/p/Y7evBW) by jhsitton (https://www.flickr.com/photos/91016165@N07/), on Flickr

I also found that the body is easily centered on the frame. Without even trying, I got equal distances between the outer edge of the shock mount and the fender lip (15 1/4” in front; 16” in back).

[shark92651]

Thanks for the detailed reply and pics. I tugged on it quite a bit and got it to be a bit better. The door hinge clears the body now and I have about 5/16" from the edge of the body to the striker tab, at the bottom. At the top of the tab it's more like 3/16". The passenger side is about 3/8" at the bottom. Do you think this is good? Should I run a self-tapper under each side to keep it from moving before I do anything else?

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48068983221_69bb707407_c.jpg

[Jeff Kleiner]

Shark,
I replied earlier that it didn't appear that you were far enough forward but apparently it didn't go through. Moot point though because it looks like you are farther forward now and in a pretty good position to work from.

Jeff

[shark92651]

Shark,
I replied earlier that it didn't appear that you were far enough forward but apparently it didn't go through. Moot point though because it looks like you are farther forward now and in a pretty good position to work from.

Jeff

Thanks!

[phileas_fogg]

As Jeff says (and you can always take what he says to the bank), your body is now far enough forward.

I recommend you NOT put in a tapper yet; save that for when you're fitting the doors. Instead, get the side to side position correct. You may have to lift the body just clear of the bulb seal to get it to move side to side.

Once you're happy with how the body sits, then install the tappers at the sides. On the right side, push the body as far inboard as you can get it, both at the front and the rear. On the left side, push the body in as far inboard as you can get it at the front. In the back, however, pull the body out 3/4"-1". This will make the door fit better (it still won't be right, but it'll be better). Put an extra washer or two on the rear door studs (so that they're sandwiched between the hinge & the door skin); that will also help the left side door fit better. Play around with it a bit and you'll see what I mean.


John

[shark92651]

As Jeff says (and you can always take what he says to the bank), your body is now far enough forward.

I recommend you NOT put in a tapper yet; save that for when you're fitting the doors. Instead, get the side to side position correct. You may have to lift the body just clear of the bulb seal to get it to move side to side.

Once you're happy with how the body sits, then install the tappers at the sides. On the right side, push the body as far inboard as you can get it, both at the front and the rear. On the left side, push the body in as far inboard as you can get it at the front. In the back, however, pull the body out 3/4"-1". This will make the door fit better (it still won't be right, but it'll be better). Put an extra washer or two on the rear door studs (so that they're sandwiched between the hinge & the door skin); that will also help the left side door fit better. Play around with it a bit and you'll see what I mean.


John

Thanks! I'm going to have to pull the front wheels in order to check the side-to-side. Is there any reason why I shouldn't go ahead and install the louvers and elephant ears while I have them off? In the manual the elephant ears are one of the very last items to install. Will it cause me any issues if I install them now?

[phileas_fogg]

Shouldn't be any problem to install the splash guards now, plus you'll want them installed before you fit the doors & side pipes. I suspect the louvres will be the last item you install (at least semi-permanently) because the opening makes for a really handy access.


John