Body Fitment Question - hood

[JMD]

I just put the body on for the first time and am assessing what needs to be done to get it located properly. I've read tons of threads and made a list of all the areas to tweak, measure, etc, as previously described by so many of the experienced builders on this forum. Overall it's looking pretty good, but I have one spot that seems odd and I can't figure out why. It's the leading edge of the hood opening. It seems to 'sag' toward the front on the right side. It's most obvious as the leading edge of this opening is not parallel to the frame member. Here is a pic:

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I don't see anywhere else the body is off. I have it centered left to right between the engine bay 3/4 frame, the measurement from frame to fenders is good, and the only adjustment that is needed overall is trimming the rolled dash area to bring the whole body forward about 1/4" so it lands just forward of the door strikers. (Right now it sits flush with them.)

I can't think of an adjustment that could be made here. I did measure from the front corner of each side to the upper radiator opening. It's tricky to get a consistent measurement, but it does seem like the driver side of the hood opening is about 1/4" of an inch closer to the radiator opening than the passenger side. I then put the raw hood on just to see what it looked like, and there is definitely more of a gap on the driver side. So much that the untrimmed hood might be too small to fit if trimmed at all. Quick pic:

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Is this normal? My only thought is to trim the front passenger side of the hood, matching the line of the opening, bringing the entire hood forward just a hair to fit. It would still be slightly slanted, but probably not too noticeable. Hoping to hear any thoughts from you experienced body guys. Thanks!

[kcwitt]

The part of the frame you are looking at to gauge the body to the frame is not square.
I just installed my body & had the same issue.
The experienced club members told me that it is normal & as long as the front wheel wells are spaced evenly don't worry about the bracket that holds the radiator.

[Norm B]

That looks pretty close to mine built 10 years ago. I had to take a little off the passenger side front of the hood so it could slide forward slightly and even the gap all the way around. Here’s an old picture. You can tell the body and underlying frame don’t line up. The left side of the body is much closer to the Breeze cowl cover.

Norm

[rich grsc]

You need to read a little more. That is normal on the mrk4, the radiator support is welded in incorrectly, a widely know issue. Nothing wrong with the body, don't worry about it, just continue on.

[Jeff Kleiner]

... That is normal on the mrk4...

And the Mk3. And the Mk2. And the Mk1. And the hood is not centered on the body. Or on the frame tubes. And the front is skewed to the left. :D

Jeff

[JMD]

Ok, thanks for the input everyone. I've done a lot of reading, but somehow missed this. Makes me feel better knowing it's normal.

I was aware of the body being skewed to the driver side and plan on adjusting the outriggers toward the passenger side after I pull the body back off to make adjustments today. I've read about others moving them up to an inch, but mine don't seem to be off that much...

[CraigS]

Re; centering the body at the front. The only thing that matters is the relationship of the tire to the fender flare. You want both front tires to look the same. How far they poke out of the fender or how far recessed they are. Get this right by measuring from the top coil over mount bolt to the edge of the fender flare. Bend the outriggers to get L and R the same. Also note that the gap around the hood isn't real important. Is it 1/4" or 3/8"? Whatever. What is important is that it is consistent. The human eye is much better at picking out a tapered gap than it is at measuring what the gap is. There are a lot of details of working on these asymetrical bodies that can kill you and your tape measure. I think the best goal I have ever heard is, if it looks right it is right.