First Body Test-Fit for 7074

[Gumball]

I finally did an initial test-fit of the body today; it hasn't been on the car since late October '09 a couple of weeks after I brought it home from FFR. All in all, I'm pretty happy. I'm still contemplating the drop-butt mod as this is a Mk 3.1, but other than a bit too much clearance in front of and behind the rear wheels, it looks good. The front wheel flares have the typical off-set, being about an 1/8" - 1/4" too far to the driver's side - I should be able to correct that just with some minor tweeking of the mounting tabs on the front end. One other issue is that FFR trimmed a bit too much off the front portion of the cowl drop-off over the dash for my taste (and for doing an effective rolling of the cowl using Rage Gold, as well at way too much being trimmed off of the door sills (there's nothing there, literally just flat from the side of the car - no 90* to attach something like the DarkWater Customs aluminum sills that I bought. I'll probably use a bit of fiberglass cloth to extend the dash cowl lip, but leave the door sills and just roll them using a very small amount of filler.

Those with good eyes will notice the non-peaked trunklid - it's one of the few that Karl Gess made a couple of years ago, just before the Mk4 was released.

[Scott_Samson]

Chris
Looks great. Also a nice well equipped shop.

[riptide motorsport]

X2!!!

[skullandbones]

Hi Gumball,

Sounds like you are doing your own body work. Keep us posted on your progress. I have mine upside down smoothing the bottom edges and wheel radiuses. The body work is a whole different ball game from the mechanicals. See you later, WEK.

[Gumball]

Thanks for the good words, guys. WEK - Yep; I'm going to tackle 80% of the bodywork myself, then turn it over to a friend's shop where they'll make it flat and shoot the color.

Here are a few more photos of the initial fitment:

http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/FrontDriverThreeQuarterStanding.jpg

http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/RearPassThreeQuarter.jpg

Driver's side exhaust cut-out from FFR - still needs to be opened a bit, but overall not too bad:

http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/DrHeaderOpening.jpg

Pass side exhaust cut-out - also just needs to be opened a bit:

http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/PassHeaderOpening.jpg

Here's the finished spare tire installation. I made a loop out of some stainless, then used an old Ford spare tire "J" hook to hold the tire and jack in place. This isn't something I'm going to carry all the time, but when venturing out to areas where there may be long AAA response times, this will be a good alternative if my fix-a-flat, plug kit, and mini-compressor can't get me back on the road (like a sidewall leak).

http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/TrunkwithSpareTire.jpg