Got the body on!

[Railroad]

Nearly 3 years in the works and got the body set on today.
Everything went well. Friend and I with a swing arm car lift, got it in place.

I have a few questions that I will keep brief and to the point.

It looks like the body needs to move forward about 3/4". The back inside the trunk is bottomed out on the alum shelf and the rear of the vertical sides.
Is it standard to trim and reinstall the bulb seal?

The holes in the bottom of the body that screw into the frame are also about 3/4" to the rear of the frame holes.
Are these holes, drilled from FFR, where the body needs to be?

The bulb seal on the trunk sides top edge do not seal against the body.
It looks like this will allow dust to enter the trunk.
What is the fix?

The expanding foam on the foot boxes is not sealing against the body.
I have read about using the pool noodles to fill in the gap.
Will the expanding foam grow to fill the gap?

The body lip that hangs over the dash is touching the vinyl pad on the dash.
If I move the body forward 3/4" the body lip will be riding the vinyl very tightly.
I have not read about trimming this area at any time, but could have missed it.
The dash panel exposure to the body lip looks good. The dash is held in place with industrial velcro, which is about 3/16 to 1/4" total thickness.
Do I need to trim the body?

Thanks for any help in resolving these issues.

[GoDadGo]

The bulb seal doesn't go across the top of the reach cockpit/trunk bulkhead between the fender wells so remove it if made the same mistake I did.
Jeff Kleiner pointed that out on my build a millennium ago so this is probably hurting the fit on your body as well.
Also, I had to trim the front and rear of my body to make it fit properly against the rear of the cockpit and the dash.

[Railroad]

Thanks for the reply. Fortunately, I did not put any weather stripping on the trunk bulkhead.
When you say, trim the front and rear of the body, I suppose you mean the cockpit opening, dash edge and rear bulkhead edge.
I guess there was no way to know how much to remove, until you set the body?

Right now, my game plan is to take 1 inch off the aluminum at the back of the car.
When the rear cockpit opening will go over the trunk bulkhead, check the body dash lip and trim as necessary.
Everything else seems to be in the ball park.

[Greg K]

See this thread for body alignment of the door jamb and striker plate. Posts #326 thru #330 https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?27777-Shark92651-s-MK4-Coyote-Build-9327-first-highway-miles-today/page9

[Ducky2009]

When trimming the dash lip, I held a sharpie flat against the dash and drew a line. Trimmed parallel to the line. One side only required a little, the other side a lot....i.e. the body lip is not straight. After determining where I wanted the body, I trimmed to achieve about an 1/8" gap.

Moving 3/4" sounds like a lot. You would loose most of your body lip. The fit test is where the body is while looking at the door latch mounts on the frame. Jeff Kleiner has posted several times about this but not seeing one to share at this time.

Edited: Yes, see Jeff's reply per Greg's post

[edwardb]

Anything is possible, but I'd sure tap the brakes on trimming that much off the trunk sides. Unless you have them positioned incorrectly (doubtful) they shouldn't require that much trimming. The ones I've done haven't required any. Sometimes you need to tweak the angle on them some. That may also help with sealing them along the top up as you indicated. The horizontal rear piece along the bottom by the trunk latch sometimes needs to be trimmed a bit. But that's mainly to get the best trunk lid fit. The fact that you didn't trim either the front or rear cockpit roll will keep the body from going where it needs to go. I'd start there. The holes Factory Five put under the sill for the body may not be exactly right and likely may move some to get the best door fit. But you should be closer than you're indicating. The key thing most of us use, and noted in the link to Jeff's and others suggestions, is the location of the body by the door latches. Pay particular attention there. Just don't adjust too many things at once. That's my main advice.

[Railroad]

Thanks to all for your advise and genuine concern to help. I will shut down the cutting machine and re read the advise and links.

[GoDadGo]

Railroad,

Any advice you get from Edwardb or Ducky will be spot on correct.

Steve