Body Fitment #1 - Let me have it...

[scrubs]

Finally, the body made it back on for the first time since being removed...I can't recall was it Jan or Feb? My brain is like scrambled eggs...I have some pics of the initial fit and have some ideas, but would love to hear from all with more experience than me (which is just about all of you). Will break into a few posts to make it easier...

1. The door striker tabs: even though it appears to be at the magic 1/4", I think it still need a smidge forward as the lower aspect of the tab is a little closer.

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EDIT: Confirmed the trunk alum sides (at the rear) and the lower lip at the DS/PS are inhibiting forward movement, should hopefully clear up the striker issue

[scrubs]

2. Dash: it looks like my dash is a few mm and there is a central space compared to the R>L ends. I plan on some trim of the roll on the ends to advance the body for more striker tab gap and then see how much central elevation issue is apparent. Can then move the dash up, if needed. Also looks like the firewall extension needs a trim as the bubble seal is squished currently.

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[scrubs]

3. Trunk Alum: DS looks tight at 9 and 12 o'clock, PS snug around 1 o'clock, the rear trunk pic seems like good spacing, but the right and left ends touch - some trimming may help the striker tab issue

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4. Door hinges: they contact the body at max open, hopefully moving the body forward what is needed for the dash and striker corrects this?

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5. Front of vehicle:
a. the wheel view seems like the PS stick out a touch more than the DS, this is verified with the distance from shock mount to lip of body wheel arch is PS 16.5" and DS 17"
b. the gap just before the outriggers appears to be ok, coincidentally
c. I guess will take the BFH (and Papa's laser level, and the crayons) as per Miller and move the outriggers ~1/4" to the PS


I appreciate any feedback on my findings.

j


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[scrubs]

Seems to plop right in. Bumpers to help the rear depression I suppose.

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[Tooth]

I should be at this stage in a couple months. I'm looking forward to the comments from the experts.

[rthomas98]

Did you put any of the bulb seals on yet? On the trunk picture doesn't look like they are there. Those are going to move the body as well and take up gaps.

[CaptB]

Are your wheels/tires centered in the front and back (although the back looks a lot different than the front?

[scrubs]

Did you put any of the bulb seals on yet? On the trunk picture doesn't look like they are there. Those are going to move the body as well and take up gaps.

After reading a lot of posts, I opted to go without bulb seal for first fit (the firewall is the only place it is on) to minimize the trauma to it while finding obvious tight spots. Will be adding for next test.

[scrubs]

Are your wheels/tires centered in the front and back (although the back looks a lot different than the front?

CapB, can you elaborate a little more? I do feel like my rears are tucked in quite a bit, not sure if that is what you are referring to. The rocker panels are not secured in any way, btw

[CraigS]

At the dash I like to use a spacer and a marker to run along the dash to make a line on the body so, when you sand to the line, you end up w/ a constant gap dash to body. I like to see a gap of 1/8in once all is done. You have it figured on the front flare to tire fix. Sometimes you can bend the frame pieces w/ body on the car but often there isn't enough room so make careful notes. The rocker area I like to slot the holes in the body so you can move it in and out. This comes in real handy when trying to get the doors to fit. You don't use these slots to center the body at the rear. Use a large diameter fender washer under the screw or bolt head.

[CaptB]

CapB, can you elaborate a little more? I do feel like my rears are tucked in quite a bit, not sure if that is what you are referring to. The rocker panels are not secured in any way, btw

With the body as you see in place, do the wheels look centered? The front should look pretty centered in the fender. Does that make sense?

I had to have my body bolts in place before it looked normal. Also your rocker panels need to not be secured as they may be need to be adjusted when you fit your doors.

[scrubs]

With the body as you see in place, do the wheels look centered? The front should look pretty centered in the fender. Does that make sense?

I had to have my body bolts in place before it looked normal. Also your rocker panels need to not be secured as they may be need to be adjusted when you fit your doors.

Ah, profile. Will check when I get home today.

[egchewy79]

Have you done rough alignment yet? Easier to do with body off . This can affect how the wheels appear in the wheel well. Make sure you have all the bulb seal on prior to fitting the body. I cut strips of heavy trash bags and put these on top of the bulb seal to limit damage with multiple body placement attempts. Taped them in place with some painters tape and pulled the plastic out once satisfied with the body. The door hinges will be limited in its forward movement by the check straps so don’t worry about that. Get the fore/aft location set first. The rear side to side adjustment is very limited. Adjust front side/side location based on distance to shock towers from wheel well opening, and don’t use the hood opening as this is asymmetric. Knock outriggers over to line up with the body openings. Cut some slots on the underside of the rockers to allow adjustment to the doors. Don’t do what I did and drill these directly over the weld seam in the frame. One of the Jeff’s did a nice write up in the past on the rockers, but IIRC the PS gets pushed in front and rear to the frame, and the DS front gets pushed all the way in while the rear rocker is pulled out like 1/2”. Also make sure the front at the hood opening is hovering above the radiator support by 1/2”-5/8”. Kleiner uses a rubber spacer here I think while others I’ve heard use plywood. This keeps the front from sagging.

[scrubs]

Have you done rough alignment yet? Easier to do with body off . This can affect how the wheels appear in the wheel well.

Check.



Make sure you have all the bulb seal on prior to fitting the body. I cut strips of heavy trash bags and put these on top of the bulb seal to limit damage with multiple body placement attempts. Taped them in place with some painters tape and pulled the plastic out once satisfied with the body.

Adding bulb seal and will protect as you suggested after this first fit and trim.


The door hinges will be limited in its forward movement by the check straps so don’t worry about that.

Thanks for that.


Get the fore/aft location set first. The rear side to side adjustment is very limited. Adjust front side/side location based on distance to shock towers from wheel well opening, and don’t use the hood opening as this is asymmetric. Knock outriggers over to line up with the body openings.

Going to use the hammer to scooch the outrigger to PS ~1/4".


Cut some slots on the underside of the rockers to allow adjustment to the doors. Don’t do what I did and drill these directly over the weld seam in the frame. One of the Jeff’s did a nice write up in the past on the rockers, but IIRC the PS gets pushed in front and rear to the frame, and the DS front gets pushed all the way in while the rear rocker is pulled out like 1/2”.

I have read the same about the rockers, but are you saying to make a slot on the rockers in a L-R direction where the original self tappers from FFR were?


Also make sure the front at the hood opening is hovering above the radiator support by 1/2”-5/8”. Kleiner uses a rubber spacer here I think while others I’ve heard use plywood. This keeps the front from sagging.

I think you can see on my last shots from inside the front wheel wells that I have a gap above the frame just before the outriggers begin. I assume that is what you are referring to.


I read a Kleiner post where he uses something from Metro Molded Products in the location of the front jacks. What is he referring to?

[egchewy79]

MMP makes a grommet for the front QJs. Requires a slightly thicker walled metal sleeve but eliminates the need for the horseshoe brackets that attach to the turn signals that lead to possible stress fractures in the paint work

https://metrommp.com/front_bumper_arm_grommets_shelby_cobra_and_kit_car s_ex_17b/

[scrubs]

MMP makes a grommet for the front QJs. Requires a slightly thicker walled metal sleeve but eliminates the need for the horseshoe brackets that attach to the turn signals that lead to possible stress fractures in the paint work

https://metrommp.com/front_bumper_arm_grommets_shelby_cobra_and_kit_car s_ex_17b/

Excellent , thank you.

[Jeff Kleiner]

You have a lot going on here but in a nutshell, yes, by looking at the body relationship with the striker tabs it appears that it is far enough forward but you could stand to do some cowl trimming to allow a little more flexibility with positioning. You need to have the bulb seal in place on the trunk sides, cockpit corners and rear lip (I haven't had to trim any trunk area aluminum for years). If you haven't yet set ride height, aligned it and set pinion angle (if it's a straight axle) wheel position isn't telling you anything. You need to raise the nose above the tubes as Chewy mentioned (he's giving you other good advice as well ;)) because your photo shows it resting on them. If your hood is dropping all the way down into the opening it may be over trimmed.

Jeff

[scrubs]

You have a lot going on here but in a nutshell, yes, by looking at the body relationship with the striker tabs it appears that it is far enough forward but you could stand to do some cowl trimming to allow a little more flexibility with positioning. You need to have the bulb seal in place on the trunk sides, cockpit corners and rear lip (I haven't had to trim any trunk area aluminum for years). If you haven't yet set ride height, aligned it and set pinion angle (if it's a straight axle) wheel position isn't telling you anything. You need to raise the nose above the tubes as Chewy mentioned (he's giving you other good advice as well ;)) because your photo shows it resting on them. If your hood is dropping all the way down into the opening it may be over trimmed.

Jeff

Thanks for the help, Jeff. Clarification quesitons:

1) Is the 3/4" gap above the tubes in the area I have circled below? Not sure if it is pic angle, but there is a gap from body to where the out rigger down angle begins. If I have the gap, I read about placing spacers there to maintain the gap. Just a rubber bumper or is there a more particular fix? If I am wrong about the gap, is the spacer the answer as well?

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2) Is the hood something I need to reach out to FFR about or deal with at body time? I will place some paint sticks this weekend as it may be ok once all sides are evenly placed from the opening edges.

Thanks again,

j

P.S. the ride height has been set at 4.5" front/rear. I have also done a dirty home aligment (fastrax/toe plates)

[CraigS]

Note that the recess that the hood fits into has tapered sides. It is wider right flush with the body and narrower at the bottom. So you must use some spacers to hold the hood up flush when trimming it to fit. If you make it fit sitting down in the recess, your gap will be huge when you space it up flush.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Thanks for the help, Jeff. Clarification quesitons:

1) Is the 3/4" gap above the tubes in the area I have circled below? Not sure if it is pic angle, but there is a gap from body to where the out rigger down angle begins. If I have the gap, I read about placing spacers there to maintain the gap. Just a rubber bumper or is there a more particular fix? If I am wrong about the gap, is the spacer the answer as well?

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2) Is the hood something I need to reach out to FFR about or deal with at body time? I will place some paint sticks this weekend as it may be ok once all sides are evenly placed from the opening edges.

Thanks again,



Noseshim:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=186266&d=1593171081

A major reason for this is to assist with hood fitting.

Ordinarily as delivered the hood is significantly oversized and won't even fit into the hole without trimming. Shim it to flush all around and see what kind of gaps/margins you have...should be approximately 3/16" or less.

Jeff

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[scrubs]

Thanks, Jeff.