Pontoon Alignment Question

[lewma]

Hello all

I'm returning back to the hood again and dialing it in more for fitment.

I have a question with how my pontoons are sitting. From the side, if you start at the back of the door then follow the bottom line along the door then keep going forward to the top of the pontoon, the pontoon seems to be curved upward. I would have expected the line of the bottom of the door to keep going forward and to continue into the pontoon in a straight line. I've attached a couple of pictures of both my passenger and driver side

Any advice would be greatly appreciated
mark
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[lewma]

Here's another pic of the passenger side looking forward ( ignore the door alignment :) )

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[Erik W. Treves]

You need to completely install the hood hinge before you attempt getting the body and the hood to line up.

I would then start by placing the pass side of the body as far forward and right up against the door sill bar. The driver's side will need to be slid aft about 1/4 inch and up 1/4 inch - use this to start. Additionally the splash guards can be used to set the position of the pontoon.

Make sure you are using the rubber bumpers on the pontoon when you do the fitment.

You may need to lower the nose some but it's hard to see from your picture- do you have your latches installed - you will need to have those in there as well.

[lewma]

Hello Erik

My question is regarding how the body was formed and how the pontoons seem to be formed and pointing up in relation to the bottom edge of the doors. From the side, those lines look like a banana.

My 3rd picture shows it best. Just wondering if this is 'normal'

thanks
mark

[Jeff Kleiner]

Remember that the hood dictates everything and in the end you’ll be adjusting to that. With that said though, no the line is not parallel to the bottom of the doors and does run uphill towards the front. You can kind of see it here:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=179335&d=1675630202

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=179336&d=1675630332

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that sometimes it’s best to just not get too close to these cars with a tape measure or straightedge ;)

Jeff


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[edwardb]

In addition to the hints from Jeff and Erik, the pontoons are free to float around and impossible to line up if unsupported. I found it really helped to make the front lower splash guards part of the process. They rivet to the engine surround sheet metal and you can use the lower part that goes to the pontoons to align and eventually lock them down.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=102565&d=1550863471

[lewma]

All, I'm still having alignment issues with the hood and pontoon and was wondering if there are any other tricks to try:

- The driver bottom side of the hood at the wheel arch will not sit low enough on the pontoon.
- The body is fairly locked in by the door sills. Not much movement can be done at all.
- The hood is as low as it will go. Its resting on the radiator shroud and there's zero additional threading on the hinge to lower it any more.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

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[edwardb]

Did you try locking them with the splash guards like I posted previously? I found it was possible to twist them around some and even clean up the gaps. Yours looks like it's twisted some. Another "landmark" that's critical to how things line up (and how it looks IMO) is that the front of the pontoon flows into the wheel opening in the hood. From the side, it should look continuous. I've seen builds where there was a mismatch and (for me anyway) kind of stands out.

[GoDadGo]

This is how the Manheim Make-A-Wish Folks handled the bodywork which video #2 includes the pontoons.

Video #1
https://youtu.be/key003RaJsc

Video #2
https://youtu.be/8QcQvfM1IM4

Video #3
https://youtu.be/JsYNQZsvBH4

Here is how the car looks today:
https://youtu.be/qhzF_IXXuhc

Maybe this helps, maybe it doesn't; however, I thought you might want to see them.

Good Luck & I'm Sure Your Car Will Turn Out Very Well!

[GT_Rich]

I am finishing up the alignment stage on my build as well. I found that the rear body height measurement of 10.25" was causing me a lot of grief. I gave up on it and let the body sit naturally on the chassis, which put it at around 9.25". My pontoon alignment was way better after that. Paul is right though, you have to twist them some to get everything right.

[lewma]

This is how the Manheim Make-A-Wish Folks handled the bodywork which video #2 includes the pontoons.

Video #1
https://youtu.be/key003RaJsc

Video #2
https://youtu.be/8QcQvfM1IM4

Video #3
https://youtu.be/JsYNQZsvBH4

Here is how the car looks today:
https://youtu.be/qhzF_IXXuhc

Maybe this helps, maybe it doesn't; however, I thought you might want to see them.

Good Luck & I'm Sure Your Car Will Turn Out Very Well!

Great set of videos!! Thanks for posting

[Erik W. Treves]

I wouldn't be afraid to twist that pontoon at all - the shell will bend and take a set when not supported - fiberglass never really stops moving... make sure you are using those rubber bumpers along the rain gutter and directly under the latch when you are doing the mockup.

[lewma]

Thanks all, I was planning on a full day today. For some reason its raining in Southern California so that's stopped work. I have little free space so much of it is done on the driveway.