Body Fitting Question

[D-Dubya]

I am in the process of getting the body fitted and I'm having problems getting it to come forward far enough so the door openings are in the right position related to the strikers. I have trimmed about 1/4"-3/8" off the trunk aluminum and without bulb seals, it is fine, but when I put the bulb seals on it pushes it back where the door openings are even with the striker plate - mainly on the passenger side. I have trimmed the cockpit rolls (front and back) as instructed by many on here and have plenty of clearance between the dash and cockpit roll to go forward, especially on the passenger side.

I don't want to keep taking material off the truck panels if there may be something else I am missing. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

DW

[egchewy79]

Are you trimming the lower trunk lip? Are you sure that’s where it’s hitting? When you say that the fit is off after the bulb seal is placed, are you only removing the seal on the lower lip?

[D-Dubya]

I have trimmed the lower trunk lip along with the ends of the vertical trunk panels. I have been checking with all the bulb seals off and trimmed to try to get about 3/8" to 1/2" gap. After I think I have that much gap, I take the body off, put all the bulb seals back on and put the body back on. With seals off, I have plenty of clearance and can get the door openings positioned correctly and I thought still had enough gap to accommodate the bulb seal. That is until I put all the bulb seals on and re-install the body. The rear door openings are basically flush with the striker plate and the back cowl is very close to the rear bulkhead - but only on the passenger side.

I have discovered that none of this thing is square and I am having a lot of trouble getting the body aligned, primarily on the passenger side. I have talked to some builders here in the Dallas area, and none of them have had this problem. I'm about to go back out and take the body off again and make more measurements with bulb seals off.

[CraigS]

How does the body fit at the front mounts? Have you measured the distance from the front top shock mounts to the lip of the fender flares and are L and R the same? I ask because I don't think that the body can flex like a parallelogram so one side is forward of the other. So maybe it is sitting slightly cockeyed if looked at in a top view?

[egchewy79]

agree w/ CraigS. make sure the front is relative centered based on distance from the fender lip to the front shock towers. also make sure the rockers are pulled under the frame. sometimes this can hang up and affect fit. lastly, do you have pics of where you're putting the bulb seal? some mistakenly put it on top of the rear cockpit wall which can affect fit.

[D-Dubya]

Thanks gentlemen. I have not measured the side-to-side from the front shock towers. Will do that this evening. Chewy, I did put the bulb seal on top of the rear bulkhead all the way across. I thought that was the only way to seal the rear of the cockpit.

I put the bulb seal on the following:

*Across the main firewall (I have the firewall forward modification)
*Across the rear cockpit bulkhead
*Across the Breeze cubby wall in the trunk area
*Along both vertical trunk sides all the way down to the trunk lip
*Across the horizontal trunk lip

Let me know if I should remove the bulb seal from the rear cockpit wall.

Thanks,
Doug
*Small piece on the passenger side above the footbox (Pass side small firewall)

[egchewy79]

remove the rear bulkhead seal and see how it fits. there's only supposed to be the bulb seal on the rear side cockpit pieces, the side trunk aluminum and across the horizontal lower trunk aluminum

[Jeff Kleiner]

As Chewy said, no bulb seal across the arch of the back wall.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=79011&d=1515679869

Also, for test purposes also remove it from the top of the cubby wall----it may be sticking up too far and not allowing the body to move forward.

Not to say that it may not need it in your case I haven't had to cut the rear lip of the trunk floor for years.

Jeff

[D-Dubya]

Thanks guys! I measured from the shock tower to the lip of the wheel well and when it is centered, there are still discrepancies from DS to PS. I will take the body back off and remove the bulb seal from the back wall of the cockpit and will try to take some pictures to show what I'm seeing.

[Railroad]

Do you have your instrument panel mounted? I had to take about 1/4" off the roll under on the body to the instrument panel.

[egchewy79]

Do you have your instrument panel mounted? I had to take about 1/4" off the roll under on the body to the instrument panel.

I think he mentioned in the OP that he already trimmed the front cockpit roll.

[D-Dubya]

Well guys, I'm still struggling with this issue and it is getting down to crunch time as I anticipate the body shop being ready for the car in about 30 days. I have solved the centering issue and was successful in getting the body centered side-to-side with the rear door openings about 1/8" ahead of the strike plate on both sides when the front wheel wells are centered, measuring from the shock towers. However, I am still not able to get the body to move forward enough to get more than 1/8" clearance between the door opening and the latch strike plate.

I have trimmed the body cowl at the rear and front and still have plenty of room for the body to move forward another 1/4" to 3/8". I have also trimmed the aluminum trunk panels (vertical and horizontal trunk lip) about 3/16'-1/4" and I am concerned about trimming too much off and creating a situation where the bulb seal does not "seal". The bulb seal seems to be in contact with the body in the trunk and I think I can shave off a bit more in an effort to get the body to move forward, but I am reluctant to do that.

Are there any other pinch points or places that I need to inspect that would keep the body from coming forward another 1/8"? I have been advised that I need at least 1/4" clearance between the rear door opening and strike plates or I will have a lot of problems getting a proper gap at the rear of the doors. I know good body guys, like Jeff Kleiner, can work magic with fiberglass, but I don't really want mine to have to put that much time and my money into correcting this with body work.

What am I missing? Should I take more off the aluminum in the rear or are there other areas I am missing?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Doug