What have I done wrong!!
Discussion
Well, came to the end of the body pre-fit today after fitting the doors.
I must say I was pleased with the results, so I thought I'd fit the wheels as per the build CD.
They fouled on the body work. How
did I feel.
I currently have the struts fitted not the ride height bars but I thought doing it this way must still be ok as it's how you'd change a wheel.
All the measurements were as per the build cd.
Any offers, apart from "should of got the factory to fit it".
Thanks
Michael
I must say I was pleased with the results, so I thought I'd fit the wheels as per the build CD.
They fouled on the body work. How
did I feel. I currently have the struts fitted not the ride height bars but I thought doing it this way must still be ok as it's how you'd change a wheel.
All the measurements were as per the build cd.
Any offers, apart from "should of got the factory to fit it".
Thanks
Michael
Apologies, yes they foul on droop.
The car is currently up on stands etc.
The front n/s hits on the side pod, the rear n/s goes on but is very tight.
The front o/s wouldn't go on at all, and the rear o/s didn't get touched as I was in tears by then!
I've set everything to 0 as per the prelim setup.
>> Edited by mclark on Sunday 2nd January 22:45
The car is currently up on stands etc.
The front n/s hits on the side pod, the rear n/s goes on but is very tight.
The front o/s wouldn't go on at all, and the rear o/s didn't get touched as I was in tears by then!
I've set everything to 0 as per the prelim setup.
>> Edited by mclark on Sunday 2nd January 22:45
Looks like ours are both the same. Maybe others will report the same.
I seem to remember a thread on this before with some owners talking about getting, custom made, shorter shocks. Never thought it worth the bother myself as I did not intend having the wheels leave the ground whilst driving.
I jack the car by placing a piece of 2x1 timber from the chassis rail to the underside of the upright and jacking under that. This keeps the suspension compressed and the wheel clear.
Steve
I seem to remember a thread on this before with some owners talking about getting, custom made, shorter shocks. Never thought it worth the bother myself as I did not intend having the wheels leave the ground whilst driving.
I jack the car by placing a piece of 2x1 timber from the chassis rail to the underside of the upright and jacking under that. This keeps the suspension compressed and the wheel clear.
Steve
Actually Gman they foul on droop when the shocks are too long and nothing to do with the whether its factory fitted or not.... unless of cause they grind away all the lower part of the arch... and then you would be able to tell.
ANYONE who spends the right amount and time, care & patience can get the body fiting as well as the factory!
ANYONE who spends the right amount and time, care & patience can get the body fiting as well as the factory!
Just to add my two penn'orth, mine also was a very tight squeeze with the car jacked up, but you could just about get the wheels on and off.
To suggest this is an amateur v factory fit issue is a little insulting IMHO
All you need to do is look at the way the bodywork wraps around the wheels front and rear and it's not difficult to predict that if the wheels droop far enough they have to hit the bodywork!
To suggest this is an amateur v factory fit issue is a little insulting IMHO
All you need to do is look at the way the bodywork wraps around the wheels front and rear and it's not difficult to predict that if the wheels droop far enough they have to hit the bodywork!Mine are the same. It makes changing a wheel a bit difficult, but that's all. (Only rear offside gives me a problem)
Fit the ride height bars and see what that it looks like then.
Gary
Good idea using a bit a wood Steve! I'll do that next time.
>> Edited by gtr-gaz on Monday 3rd January 09:30
Fit the ride height bars and see what that it looks like then.
Gary
Good idea using a bit a wood Steve! I'll do that next time.
>> Edited by gtr-gaz on Monday 3rd January 09:30
If your wheels hit the cill sections on full drop then the next time you bounce the car over a dip or bump at Speed ( happans more than you think due to our lovly roads and the our nice stiff springs ) then the tyre will wear away the cill for you.....
Have said this before, the rear shocks on full extension must only be 13.5" long other wise the above will happen. I took mine back to the Manufacture and had shorter rods fitted. No more problems like having to lower the car rear lower wishbones on to a piece of wood just to take the rear wheels off..... Rant over....
Have said this before, the rear shocks on full extension must only be 13.5" long other wise the above will happen. I took mine back to the Manufacture and had shorter rods fitted. No more problems like having to lower the car rear lower wishbones on to a piece of wood just to take the rear wheels off..... Rant over....
Cheers for the responses.
I'll pop out to the garage shortly and try re-fitting the ride height bars. I'll take some pics too, so you can see how good/bad the fit really is.
On the discussion of factory or self body fit, I did intend (and have a slot booked) with the factory. It was after a few discussions with them that they said it wasn't rocket science and to do it myself.
Only thing I'd add to that is the build cd needs updating to take into consideration a few tweeks needed to get some of it right.
Michael
I'll pop out to the garage shortly and try re-fitting the ride height bars. I'll take some pics too, so you can see how good/bad the fit really is.
On the discussion of factory or self body fit, I did intend (and have a slot booked) with the factory. It was after a few discussions with them that they said it wasn't rocket science and to do it myself.
Only thing I'd add to that is the build cd needs updating to take into consideration a few tweeks needed to get some of it right.
Michael
"This is why lots of us had the factory pre fit the body work cause you can tell the ones the factory did not fit"
That sounds almost like a sales pitch on behalf of the factory and underestimates many of the builders. I had the factory do a full fit of the body and I have the same problem. I was running out of time as I wanted to get the car ready for 'Le Mans' so I had the factory fit it for me. In fairness to them they fit me in at short notice but I was far from satisfied with the result. My brother J-K fit his own body around the same time and the fit on his is much better than mine. Mine went back to the factory for fine tuning but is still not as good as other DIY jobs
That sounds almost like a sales pitch on behalf of the factory and underestimates many of the builders. I had the factory do a full fit of the body and I have the same problem. I was running out of time as I wanted to get the car ready for 'Le Mans' so I had the factory fit it for me. In fairness to them they fit me in at short notice but I was far from satisfied with the result. My brother J-K fit his own body around the same time and the fit on his is much better than mine. Mine went back to the factory for fine tuning but is still not as good as other DIY jobs
Well, what can I say guys.
Only managed to do the front wheels so far but I'm pleased to say that they went on first time with the ride height bars in place
I have to tweek the O/S slightly but that was the whole reason of fitting the wheels.
Here's some pics:
[url] www.clark.mike.btinternet.co.uk/Ultima/Images/FrontWheels001a.jpg [/url]
[url] www.clark.mike.btinternet.co.uk/Ultima/Images/FrontWheels002a.jpg [/url]
Only managed to do the front wheels so far but I'm pleased to say that they went on first time with the ride height bars in place
I have to tweek the O/S slightly but that was the whole reason of fitting the wheels.
Here's some pics:
[url] www.clark.mike.btinternet.co.uk/Ultima/Images/FrontWheels001a.jpg [/url]
[url] www.clark.mike.btinternet.co.uk/Ultima/Images/FrontWheels002a.jpg [/url]
When you are fitting the bodywork you need to have the ride height bars in to get the alignment of the bodywork correct. It's all relative to the wheels. It does take a fair bit of time to get this right. As others have pointed out before the alignment does change as you rivet the bodywork to chassis. I wish I'd known about Stig's tip of attaching the outer edges of the cill covers dead last after all of the rest of the bodywork has been riveted in place. This is a useuful improvement over the standard factory procedure (at least the one in my manual).
My wheel touch slightly at full droop but not by much. It's fairly easy to get the wheels on and off and I don't have to do anything special. It is easier with the rear bodywork closed though.
My wheel touch slightly at full droop but not by much. It's fairly easy to get the wheels on and off and I don't have to do anything special. It is easier with the rear bodywork closed though.
Well, I just finished installing my center cockpit section, and remembering this thread I also mounted the wheels/tires to check clearances. The LH sidepod seems to be forward relative to the LH sidepod. My gap from front tires to wheel curve on sidepods showed a 8mm difference side to side. My GTR body was factory pre-fit, and I have kept all the original rivet points aligned as they did it. I'll have to live with the flaw as it is far too late to change now.
I wonder if this issue is related to body parts or chassis, or combination of? I just keep in mind these are low volume, hand built cars so variations will happen.
Allan
I wonder if this issue is related to body parts or chassis, or combination of? I just keep in mind these are low volume, hand built cars so variations will happen.
Allan
The whole body pre fit and fit is a complete juggling act. I locked the steering rack with some steel sleeves the ensure the wheels were central (the same ones i used for the tracking) then i compromised the body to get the best gaps all round.
the wheels hit the inside of the headlight covers (as do other cars) and they foul on the sidepods when removing the wheels with the suspension at full droop.
Best advice is go for what looks right and balance the gaps all round. I am not sure on newer cars but on mine (and B1 ECCs) the UK driver side rear sidpod required a 6mm spacer at the rearmost vertical mounting to get it to fit correctly (you can see this on some facty build photos if you look very carefully)
the wheels hit the inside of the headlight covers (as do other cars) and they foul on the sidepods when removing the wheels with the suspension at full droop.
Best advice is go for what looks right and balance the gaps all round. I am not sure on newer cars but on mine (and B1 ECCs) the UK driver side rear sidpod required a 6mm spacer at the rearmost vertical mounting to get it to fit correctly (you can see this on some facty build photos if you look very carefully)
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