A Few Body Questions

[SCFFR]

After finishing up the under car exhaust system, I was ready to get the body installed back on the chassis. Fortunately, it went back on this weekend without any real issues other than tearing a small piece of the bulb seal on one of the trunk side panels. Knowing that I would need to move the body sides when fitting the doors, I had cut 1/4" x 1" slots in the fiberglass flange. Once I get the body side adjusted, I will drill and tap 1/4-28 holes and fasten the flange with stainless button head screws.

My questions concern the best order in which to perform the fitting of the hood, doors, trunk, windshield and front and rear bumper assemblies. I know that a change in one end can affect the fitment in another area. Following the MkIV manual, I have fitted the bolts in the front and rear of the car for the quick jack plates although I will be installing the front and rear bumper/over rider assemblies. Note that before I installed the fuel tank last year, I had read several posts regarding the issue of access to the bolts. After giving it some thought, I welded grade 8 nuts to the back side of the plate where the bumper/jack plates fasten. I don’t have to worry about access since I will be using threaded rod to install the bumper assemblies.

When I sat the body in place, it sat very nicely on the square tube on each side of the hood opening however when I tried to put in the front quick jack plate bolts, I noticed that the front end was about 1 ½” to 2" low. I had to jack up the front end to get the holes in the front of the body (drilled by FFR) to line up with the holes in the front brace. Now the front part of the hood opening is about 3/8" up from the seal. I plan on fastening the hood sides to the square tube using flat head machine screws and will drill and tap the holes in the square tube. I will also be using the D-shaped seal all the way around the hood opening that will cover the machine screws. Just wondering if having to pull down the front of the hood opening is going to create problems when I go to fit the hood.

So, the front and rear ends are in place with the quick jack bolts so that job is done. What should be my next step? Get the doors installed or the hood or trunk? I assume that the windshield should be one of the last items to install since everything else will be firmly in place. I know there are quite a few of you that have done many body fittings so I would appreciate any feedback you can provide. I don’t want to spend a couple of days fitting the trunk and find out that I should have done the doors first.

Once again, many thanks for your help,

Ron

[SCFFR]

Forgot to add the pics.

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[michael everson]

It actually vaires on every car. I like to work from the back forward. I install the front and rear quickjacks first. Then the side bolts hand tight. Next I install the trunk lid because the fit doesnt really change much when other things are mounted. Same with the hood. It either fits in the opening or it doesnt. You can change the fit by doing just what you are talking about. Putting screw through the hood opening and tightening them down. Spacers could help here as well. Next I put the windshield in and finally the doors. All of this is done kinda hand tight. I then start adjusting all the pieces until I am happy with the results. dont forget the roll bars and splash panels as wel. It all works together.
It sounds worse than it is though. I can line everything up enough so that eveything works and looks good in about a day.
Mike

[Jeff Kleiner]

Start with the front quickjacks then go to the windshield as it can affect the cowl shape and consequently the body sides. Next move on to the front splash panels---I do these after the windshield because bolting the passenger side windshield arm to the chassis mount is much easier to do through the wheel opening without the splash panel in the way. After the splash panels come the doors. They are the big time consumer. You're striving to align the tops at the front and rear in conjunction with moving the lower part of the body in and out to meet the bottom of the doors. I've found on both Mk3s and Mk4s that the lower body on passenger side will need to be pulled outward slightly to meet the bottom of the door. On the driver's side the bodies have had to push in as much as possible at the front of the door but be pulled outward at the rear. The rear quickjacks play into trunk lid fitment; you can adjust the sleeve lengths to bring the lower valance in or out to meet the bottom edge of the trunk lid. Be sure to install the bulb seal around the trunk opening before making adjustments. Last comes the hood because for the most part it is not affected by other body adjustments, only by the hinge.

Good luck and be patient; there is lots of give and take making minor tweaks to bring it all into place.

Jeff

[SCFFR]

Mike/Jeff,

Thanks for your feedback and information. I know you both have plenty of experience with fitting bodies so I really appreciate your help.
Was going to do the windshield last but now see it needs to be done before the doors since pressure on the cowl will definitely impact the sides of the car.
Jeff - I now see how the spacers in the trunk impact the fitting of the trunk lid. I test fitted one of the spacers yesterday mainly because I wasn't sure how all of the different lengths fit and I see how it pushes the lower trunk opening out.
The manual states to trim and tape the doors in place and then fit the hinge to it. Is this how you do it or do you attach the door to the hinge and keep adjusting?

Thanks again,

Ron

[michael everson]

I trim the door to fit the opening, then attach the latch. Then just latch the door in place and then bolt the hinge to the door. tighten the 2 bolts on the frame side and your done.
Mike

[Jeff Kleiner]

Unlike Mike I do the latches after the doors and hinges are fitted but you know what they say about how many ways there are to skin a cat! Regarding the latches, what I do is attach the striker to the chassis first and engage the latch onto it then bring the doors to a closed position and let that dictate the exact placement of the latch onto the door. I've found that much easier to do than adjusting the striker to the door.

Jeff

[SCFFR]

Thanks again guys!

[SCFFR]

Mike/Jeff,

One more question if you don't mind. Started on the trunk lid yesterday and quickly realized that it's going to take time to get it both aligned and trimmed but that's okay. Once you get it "perfect", how do your mark the hinge parts and lid so that after its' painted you can get it put back together exactly as before. With the body and lid painted, fitting it again will be a real delicate operation to prevent scratches.

Thanks again,

Ron

[Jeff Kleiner]

Ron,
First of all I generally try to disassemble as little as possible after everything is fitted. In the case of the doors I leave the hinges bolted to the chassis and only remove the doors themselves. For the deck lid, assuming it is a Mk4 with the hidden hinges, this means taking the tunklid loose from the 90 degree mounting brackets that join it to the hinge arms. In either case I drill 1/8" guide holes through the hinge/mount before disassembling. Upon reassembly you then line up these holes and insert a cleco or the shaft of an 1/8" rivet to get you back to where you were. As an example, if you look closely you can see the hole between the upper two door mount bolts:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj43/jkleiner/Untitled-14.jpg

There is also another guide hole between the lower pair of bolts. Although minor tweaks may still be necessary to make it perfect this method gets you "in the ballpark".

Hope that helps,
Jeff