Do I follow the manual or what experienced builder are doing?

[Slideways]

Here’s our dilemma. I say ‘our’ because there are two of us building roadsters side by side out of one garage. We assumed we would install the windshield as the manual says before starting to fit and gap doors and lids. The concerns we have are as follows.
Most of the info here and elsewhere discuss the MK4 and we have MK5 cars. As far as fitting things are there truly important differences between the two models?
With the bodies sitting on the chassis as delivered by Factory Five Racing and the windshields in place with the strut holes clearanced as needed should there be weather stripping in place on the aluminum at the dash and in back of where the seats will be? We figure weather stripping should be at least partially in place for the trunks and hoods.
Really want to fit the doors and lids and get the bodies of to the body work guys while we carry on with the rest of the cars. Are we potentially setting ourselves up for trouble if we don’t wait until the car is nearly built?
Thanks for any advice.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Two part question.

First of all, yes you need bulb seal on the firewall, trunk sides and across the cockpit rear wall ( all the way across, unlike the Mk4 and earlier roadsters.

On to the second part—-although the shape (particularly the doors) is greatly improved on the Mk5 you really need to have the body on the chassis to do the fitting, gapping and contouring. You ask if you’re setting yourself up for trouble by sending the bodies off for finishing while you keep and work on the chassis…my answer is yes, that can easily result in poor results and disappointment. If you want to move things along somewhat simultaneously you can send the bodies off for all of the preliminary off the chassis work. This is grinding, filling and finishing of the parting lines, trimming and shaping of the wheel wells, rolling and finishing of the door tops and blocking all of the gelcoat. With that done you could then take the chassis to the painter for the on chassis fitting/shaping of the panels. After that done the body can come off for prime, paint and cut & buff while you take the chassis back to complete it.

Jeff

[Tooth]

Do what Jeff says.

[AC Bill]

So is that foam seal/cushion no longer used between the upper frame and the body on either side of the hood on the later models?

My MK3.1 had them in place when all my body fitting was done, doors, trunk, and hood.. Also the rear elephant ears and front wheel well aluminum panels were all in place, which apparently played a part as well when it came to proper body fitting.

[Slideways]

Thanks all. After some cogitation we will remove the bodies, place them on the bucks and carry on from there until the car is a roller. This makes more sense. We’re just newbies excited to get going.