Body Work Update - Trimming Trunk Lid

[SCFFR]

I got my body re-installed on the chassis last weekend and have been busy getting things ready to install all of the various panels and accessories. First of all, I would like to again thank Jeff Kleiner and Mike Everson for their feedback and guidance on how to get started fitting the doors, trunk lid, windshield and other various parts.

I got the front and rear ends of the car in place by installing the bumper/quick jack plate bolts. Next I started on the trunk lid since the installation of other components don’t seem to have an impact. The first thing was to install the trunk seal that came with the base kit. I then installed the hinges and the lid latch assembly per the MkIV manual. Both of these went on without any issues at all. I then tried to center the lid as well as possible and also had to bend the end of the latch several times to get it to grab properly. Once the lid was firmly in place, I took an old pencil compass (used to draw circles) and set the width at 1/8". I let the pointy end follow around the trunk opening lip in the body and marked the entire edge of the lid. I then removed the lid and sat it on a saw horse outside and used a 4" side grinder to remove the fiberglass up to the pencil line. Since this is a critical step, I used a worn sanding disc so it would only remove a small amount of the edge at a time. Even then, if you leave the grinder in one place for even a half second, it will cut a groove in the edge. I reinstalled the lid, latched it in place and marked it again. I guess I removed and installed the lid about 6-8 times during the day. The easiest way is to just remove the lid from the two 90 degree brackets. I tried leaving the hinges bolted to the lid and remove the arms from the chassis brace but pulled several important muscles getting the arms bolted back in. After spending most of the day, I did get everything close but to be honest, I was getting real tired of taking the lid off and bolting it back on every time I needed to remove a little bit of fiberglass from the edge.

I then got this idea to take a 1/8" thick paint stirrer and cut a piece of 80 grit sandpaper the same size and then use some spray contact adhesive to glue the sandpaper to the stick. I was then able to slowly work it around the edge of the lid and get the gap the same thickness all of the way around. For the corners, I turned the stick on end and was able to work it around the curve. There were several areas where the gap was pretty narrow so I took a piece of 80 grit and backed it with some stiff, thin cardboard to open the gap to where I could use the stick. It took an hour or so but was able to get the gap very consistent around the entire lid.

Yeah I know it sounds pretty simple and probably is something the professional and experienced body folks use on a regular basis. However, it was my first time so thought I would share with other home garage folks. I was motivated by saving the time to remove and install the trunk lid but in the end found a little trick I will use on the doors and hood. Please note that I still have to work the lid so that it fits flush with the trunk opening but after the work of trimming the lid to the right size, this should be relatively easy. I still need to install the license plate light assembly but looking at the various modifications so that the plate won’t hit the latch handle. Also, I took Jeff’s advice and drilled a few small locating holes in the hinge brackets to help position everything after painting.

Thanks again,

Ron

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[Tony Zullo]

Hi you can try the paint stick trick that always works and deff use 80 grit.that way the gap will always be the same..you'r on the right road!!

[michael everson]

Sounds like you figured it out. Heres what I do. I dont attach the hinges. I just lay it in the opening centered and then put masking tape in 4 places perpendicular to the gap. Then cut the tape with a razor. Now every time you take it off, you can just line up the tape marks.
Mike

[skullandbones]

Hi SCFFR,

I see you are a little ahead of me. I stopped mudding after the first pass and began doing some tasks back on the gokart to get ready for the body. But I'm glad you did.

I will add one little trick if you don't mind about the trunk trimming. I used masking tape to create a line front to back on the driver's side there seemed to be a little more material there. So it created the new "edge" I wanted and then took a grinder with worn in disc and carefully met the line. When I took the tape off, the new edge was closer to where it should be but still not quite there. It fits better into the opening. I guess it's one more example of "sneeking up on the project" instead of overdoing it and having to add material back. I didn't have to remove the trunk for this but I did for working the back and corner like you said. Also, I chamfered the bottom edges as that seems to affect the fit some.

I like the sandpaper on a stick idea. That works great! If I had to rate the difficulty, I think the trunk comes in first, the doors a close second and the hood looks like it fits pretty nicely just the work around the scoop is rough. I have done some rough fitting of those when I had the body on before. Good luck, I will continue following this thread. Thank you, WEK.:cool::cool:

[Jeff Kleiner]

Sounds and looks like you're making good progress Ron! As an FYI, if you have one a DA sander with 100 or 150 works well for fitting panels; not as agressive as a grinder and easier to maintain a smooth straight line. I've used a belt sander on the long edges of hoods but you have to use a soft touch and be VERRRRRRY careful.

Jeff

[SCFFR]

Thanks for all your feedback.

Jeff is so right about using the grinder. I used a 120 grit disc that was just about worn out from grinding metal. You could almost lay your finger on it while it was turning but it would still take off a chunk of the lid edge if you weren't careful.

Mike - I did use your “tape and trim” method to make the first rough cut on the trunk lid. I used the latch to hold the bottom of the lid and a few pieces of masking tape at the top. Worked great!

Glad some folks found this useful. Sure beats taking the lid off every time you need to trim the edge. Note that by the time you are ready to use “the stick”, the lid should be firmly in place - bolted to the hinges and the trunk latch in place. If the lid moves while your are running the stick in the gap, its not doing any good. Also for any first-timers, do not try to sand the lid edge and trunk opening to get the proper gap....work the lid edge only.

During one of the many times that I had to reinstall the lid to check the gap, I noticed that there was some space behind the 90 degree bracket that bolts to the lid. I realized that the back of the bracket was only contacting the rim of the nutserts since they stuck up from the surface of the fiberglass. I didn’t think this was a good situation since the bracket could move/twist slightly and might eventually loosen the nutsert. So I found a piece of thin aluminum that was just slightly thicker that the nutsert lip and made a spacer for each bracket. Now when I tighten down the bolts to hold the bracket to the lid, there is solid contact along the entire back of the bracket. Again, a minor thing but I thought it was worth the 30 minutes it took me to make the shims if it would possibly help keep the trunk hinge tight and in alignment. Please note that the “extra” holes in the shims are for the locating holes I drilled in the hinge brackets once I had the trunk lid perfectly aligned.

Cut the holes for the windshield yesterday so my project for today will be to get that installed. Hopefully there will be no major issues.

Again, thanks to everyone for their continued help. Certainly makes this project more fun!!

Ron

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