Roadster Sheet metal dilemna

[txboiler]

I am installing the rear wall in the drivers compartment and have run into a minor fit issue. I believe that my floor panels are two far outboard by approx .10 to .125 inches, which brings the upstanding angle of the on the back side forward from where it should be. the first photo below shows the gap between the inboard seat belt bracket and the transmission tunnel. these brackets are hard up against the inboard side of the clearance cuts in the floor. If I centered the brackets in the clearance cut I would be shifting the panel approximately 0.050" to 0.060" inches inboard. The passenger side is worse than the drivers side

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You can see from the photos below that the rear panel and the rear side panels are not too far off from the alignment marks I made prior to removing and drilling any of the panels. The two sheetmetal screw holes that we used during shipping line up but not not great.

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The last photos below show the gap that I have between the vertical 2" x 3" tubes and the horizontal 2"x 3" tube and upper 1" x 1" tube.

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The challenge I have is that I have already drilled, siliconed and riveted many of the other panels so I am left with what I see are two options.

1) drill out the rivets, try to deal with the silicone and shift the floor panels inboard. This will bring the upstanding angle on the floor panel inboard and back since it is on an angle. It will allow the rear panel to move back and be in better contact with the chassis. I would need to drill the existing holes oversize and use over size rivets. shifting the floor panel inboard will create a slightly larger gap between the inboard seat belt bracket and transmission tunnel allowing more space for the hardware.

2) leave the panels where they are. Fabricate aluminum spacers to go in between the rear panel and chassis. Drill and install using longer rivets. I could address the gap between the seat belt bracket and transmission tunnel with either a thin nut or cutting an access hole in the transmission tunnel side wall for installing the nut. a plug could be installed to close the hole up and allow access in future if needed.

option 1 above seems to the a Pain in the butt and risky to bend panels when trying to remove the silicone....causing more down stream problems. Option 2 seems like the better approach but will driving the perfectionist in me crazy.

Have others run into similar fit problems and have any suggestions?

[CDXXVII]

It will all be covered with insulation and carpet in the end. I went through the same issues during my build. Just make sure that you seal all the opening and gaps when you are done. Adding a filler piece here and there wont hurt anything. Heck, your panels fit better than mine did.

I had to do one thing on my build that completely drove me nuts until I got the carpeting in. If you are a perfectionist you will probably spot it right away. I'm not about to tell.

[txboiler]

CDXXVII thanks for the suggestion that most "sins" (atleast of the car fabrication origin) will be covered by carpet. The item that drove you nuts gave me an idea I am tried. Since I have not marked and drilled the holes common to the back and side panels, I shifted the back panel to be behind the flanges of the side panels instead of in front of it. I needed to trim the about 3/8 of an inch on the outside edge of the bottom angle of lower flange on the rear panel. I then slid the rear panel behind the side panel flange. The need for shims went away as the rear panel sits flush with the chassis structure.

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Now I will need to tackle the potential issue of not having enough space between the seat belt bracket and the transmission side wall. I will save that for a later date.

[CDXXVII]

I cut holes in the tunnel for the seatbelt bolts. No big deal. I found plastic snap in plugs that seal the hole and allow access for later. If I can get a photo of it later I will post it.

Here you go. Sorry picture is sideways. You can see the plug in the middle.

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[edwardb]

Now I will need to tackle the potential issue of not having enough space between the seat belt bracket and the transmission side wall. I will save that for a later date.

It's not an issue. Read further in the manual. You're not expected to have space there. You drill through the side panel and put the bolt in from the transmission tunnel. It's described and pictured in the harness lap belt instructions toward the end of the manual. Helps to read or at least review the entire manual before starting the build. Often something early affects something later that you may not realize or understand.

My experience with the sheet metal with several builds is it's very accurate. Usually when something doesn't fit the way I expect is because I don't have something right, e.g. overlap direction, etc. You also have to be careful to not lock individual pieces down until checking everything around them. It all tends to interrelate.

[egchewy79]

even if you have everything perfectly lined up and clecoed in place, the moment you apply silicone nothing fits correctly anymore, AND you have sticky silicone all over your hands while trying to reposition panels.

[txboiler]

Thanks for all the help and comments