How Does FFR Store Bodies?

[JeepFlyer]

I got my kit today... more to follow on that later. The joyous event was slightly tainted when I reached under the side skirt and got a handful of grass and dirt (picture #1 & 2). I then checked other parts of the car. The front lip was covered in dirt and grass as well (#3). It also had dirt on the top of the oil cooler intake (#4) where the water had dripped off, so it was obviously outside and rained on. In addition to this, the lip itself was warped (#5) and obviously had been under stress from below for some time. While I was under the car I noticed I could see light THROUGH the body (#6). Sure, this seemed to be the case sporadically at all of the mold joints, but this was below the hood latch. Upon investigating I found one long and significantly deep gash accompanied by a smaller, but deeper gash (#7). The longer one is probably 30-40% through the body, and the smaller one is well past 60% of the thickness (#8. One other issue I'm not sure about, is the extra fiberglass strip hanging below passenger side rear bumper studs (#9). This could simply be a flap that the trimmer missed and it wasn't cleaned up, but I have other suspicions. In looking at the outside of the studs (#10) I could almost see a haze around them like it had been sanded around the two holes. Not sure if it is even visible in the pictures but it was definitely there.
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So does this indicate it was dropped at some point? Could it have been sitting in the field behind the shop and the lawn guy swiped the back end with the mower deck? Who knows...

Now, I had heard from one of my build school compadres that the body he got in June was in much rougher shape than he had expected. I had tried not to get my hopes up, but this is just ridiculous. Phone calls will be made first thing in the morning for sure.

[Slider]

Well... First things first... Congrats on receipt of the kit! Very cool and you'll have lots of fun interspersed with some moments of frustration. When I received the kit, I was surprised that the seams were rougher than expected (and then we saw at the build school), but maybe that was because I was comparing it to a body that while not finished, might have possibly had some "cleaning" done to it for the benefit of us students of course. However, the body I received was clean, and had none of the types of damage that you experienced. That's disappointing and not something I would have expected from FF. I've had a few of my own Surprises with them, but overall, I'd say the experience has been very good. I'd be surprised if they don't do something to make it right for you once you talk to them. I hope your morning goes well Wes!

[edwardb]

Also, congratulations on your delivery and new build! I know all too well that high anticipation is sometimes met with something less than you expected. As a normal part of prepping the body, you need to scrub it down to remove mold release, etc., so the dirt and grass clippings, while surprising perhaps are no big deal. Will wash right away. If the lip you describe as warped in #5 is the back edge (as opposed to the opening you can see from the front) my Mk3 was the same way. That area is about 6 inches off the ground when you're done, and not really visible. Hard to see the light through the body you described. But there may not be as much gel coat at the parting lines (that's a good thing BTW) so not surprising you can see through there. One of the techniques when prepping the body is to shine a light from the bottom and look for a clean line on all the parting lines. May not be an issue. The little bit of tape in picture #9 will be gone about about two strokes of sandpaper. So those points are all, in my opinion, not concerning. However, the gashes and obviously physical damage clearly should not be there. Maybe shipping damage? I will say they will be easy to fix with a little HSRF and body filler, and will be gone forever. But I certainly agree that is not normal. No consolation perhaps, you would have had a field day taking pictures and finding defects if you applied this same detail to my Mk3 body. Not saying that to make any excuses, only that even in these pictures I can see that it's much improved. But it shouldn't have been delivered with damage like that.

[Arrowhead]

Congrats on you purchase!

Yes, the bodies are stored outside - in fact that is encouraged and you should take advantage of the warm summer weather and do the same. It will ensure the body is fully cured before any bodywork is done. The fiber glass can change shape slightly and even shrink a little so it's best to let it do this BEFORE bodywork and paint. Frankly the "damage" you see is minor and will quickly disappear when the body work is done.

What do you think to accomplish by calling them? A refund or discount on parts? Replace the body? Personally, I'd save your phone call for something really important like if there are parts missing when you do inventory.

[Jeff Kleiner]

As the others have said the bodies are indeed stored outside (I posted a picture of a batch of them sitting in the grass a while back that you could turn up with a search if you're really interested).

The wave in #5 is exactly like the Mk4 I prepped and painted. Some if not all of that will work out when the rough and raw edges are dresssed up during body prep. Same with the "flap" you show in #9 and #10.

Since uncoated fiberglass is translucent it is very normal to see light thru areas where the gelcoat is thinnest, such as along the parting lines.

What is not normal is the gouge shown in #7 and #8. You might be spot on in speculating that a mower may have hit it. While disheartening this, and in fact nothing you show, would be of a serious concern to me. As Edward mentions some HSRF and Rage will make the gouge a distant memory in about 15 minutes. For the most part it's all just normal bodywork.

Good luck,
Jeff

[JeepFlyer]

UPDATE:

I talked to Rick this morning and he had already forwarded on the pictures I had sent him (the same as above). His biggest concern was the large gash in the back. After getting the body off the frame tonight and looking at it at eye level, it looks like that gouge is the worst of it. He said they would get back to me on what course of action they, or I need to take. I'll keep you updated.

[Pierre B]

I don't know how it's done now, but back in 2004 when I picked up my MKII kit in Wareham, fiberglass bodies were indeed stored outside, but on metal racks that elevated them above grade. They were stacked 3-4 high, but each on their own supports. As recommended above, I got my body set atop its buck as soon as I received it, and I left it outdoors (spring thru fall), and in an unheated barn (winters) for three years before body work began in earnest. Body buck storage will allow the unit to retain (reestablish) its shape to a large degree, and nowadays I understand that the overall condition of these bodies as shipped is much improved over my MKII's. Every step in the building process involves more or less work, but to me, that's part of the fun and the challenge of tackling a project like this. It's the final bolt-down on the chassis that sets the uptimate body configuration. Unbraced, these fiberglass bodies are somewhat loosey-goosey, as we all discover. Best of luck in your build process.

[Someday I Suppose]

As Jeff said, I'm not seeing anything with the body that is really a concern, dissapointing??? Perhaps, but certainly not a concern. You are planning to paint the car right? If so the 'gash' will be filled with HSRF and never be a concern, the wave inside the lip will never be seen, especially if you put in an oil cooler or a light kit from tangent.

Building a car is an adventure, it seldom all goes according to plan, and a huge part of the fun for me was the problem solving that goes with it.

All the best

_Scott

[SStrong]

Sameday and Jeff are right. You need to take the mold lines down below the body line then refill, so patching these areas will really be minor. It would be interesting to know how this happened though.

[QSL]

Thats a bummer. I would be dissapointed too. Its not about how easy it is to fix or not, but when you pay this much for a toy, you expect it to be presentable. This is not acceptable.

When we recieved our mk4 in december it came perfect. The body was clean like it was stored in a warehouse. (not trying to rub it in)

[frankeeski]

Not to pile on, but I'm with most of the guys here. When you see the new bodies in comparison to the old ones , most think there will be less body work. In fact, if you talk to Jeff Miller or one of the other professional painters that do these cars, most will tell you the body work portion of these cars has remain quite constant. I'm not happy about what I see as far as the deep scratches you have when you received your kit. So don't get me wrong, a call to Factory Five was in order. I also understand that we live in an instantaneous time, where everyone wants an answer right now. But I think I would have waited to post pictures on a forum until I contacted Factory Five and found out what their response was. The grass clippings, I don't know? And minor scratches are common, we all know these bodies are going to get body work and paint. I still set cold drinks on my gel coat body. Hope I remember not to do this when it finally gets paint. Not bagging on you so please don't take it that way, but lately we (as a community) have seen a number of new builder with unrealistic expectations on what is truly involved in building one of these cars. They come here and to the other forum and just read Factory Five the riot act without contacting them first or just working on a solution. That kind of frustration will carry through on a project like this. My advise is to work through these little problems and when an issue arises, just walk away from the project for a while. If it's not fun, you'll resent it.

[skullandbones]

I agree with the above except I am a little surprised that the body wasn't at least hosed off. If that step had been taken then the mower/weed whacker accident would have been caught in the QC process. Rinsing off the body for shipment isn't a big deal and it would present a better image. Mine was clean but rough as hell on the edges. Made yours look great. It was an MKIII. So a couple of weeks ago when I turned it upside down and radiused the wheel wells and smoothed and evened the other bottom edges, it is much more presentable. I was worried that the wheel wells wouldn't look as good as the improved MKIVs but after working on them, it's better than expected. With a little cleanup, I think you will not be too concerned. FFR will probably make it better some way. They are fair and they really do care about how their customers feel about the product. Let us know how things go. WEK.

[emac]

Well, I wasn't going to post in this thread. I decided to, after reading a few posts that implied that the op shouldn't be concerned, or should not have posted before speaking with ffr. My mkiv was delivered in VG condition, and the build went pretty smooth. Ffr was always very helpful and I know I made the right choice for my kit.

FFR is touting the new mkiv as needing less work, when in fact mine needed more than the previous 15 cars my painter had done. Oh well, it still turned out great. I think many have unrealistic expectations from reading advertising literature about how easy these cars are to build and how little body work is required.

I think the body will be easy to fix, but I think it is unnaceptable for ffr to let it out the door like that. If they are setting the expectations, then it is up to us to hold them to it. I don't know Dave smith, but I don't think he would be thrilled about that body. If he gets zero backlash, then where is the motivation to change landscapers or storage habits?

If we can't be open on a forum, what good is one? If my body was delivered that way, I would have posted and asked for advice. Thanks for the post, and I am certain they will make it right.

Ernest

[JeepFlyer]

Thanks for the opinions. No offense taken, no feelings hurt. This is somewhere to discuss issues. My original intent was to make sure I was the exception and this wasn't the typical delivery dings and scratches. I've looked at that gouge/scrape and it couldn't have been easily missed. After talking to Rick, he is sure it didn't leave the factory like that. If I recall correctly, Stewart did tell me that the body was trucked to Arizona on a "dry truck" and then put on with others to be delivered in this part of the country. Maybe this happened in the transfer process? I also have places where the body rubbed completely through the powder coating on the frame. Again, disappointing but it's not the end of the world. A few shots from the rattle can and no one will ever see it anyway. I 100% agree that shelling out this much money for a "toy" should almost guarantee it is in good order when you recieve it. That includes transportation, because that was not cheap either. Most "car people" are very particular about their car, so you would think it would go without saying that someone building their own car would want it to be right.

FFR is supposed to get back to me at the start of next week after someone gets back from being out of the office this week. Updates to follow

[bil1024]

Good for you, I hope you get the answers from FFR or Stewart. That gouge would have pissed me off too