RM1Sepex Build Thread

[Wayne Presley]

And I did have to relieve the engine cover around the roll bars but did position the sides so the roll bars did not come past the edge on the humps.

[Mechie3]

I like the idea of the permanent cross bar. It could help relieve a lot of the stress that is focused on such a small point of the fiberglass where it bolts to the mounting pad.

[RM1SepEx]

I'm at 3.25" from the front of the square tube that the firewall bolts to to the front of the engine cover where it makes a V between the two humps.



Here is the side view where the roll bar comes down near the door. It touches and you can see where the PC wore off during shipping.

mine is just a hair over 3 inches! UGH

[RM1SepEx]

Dan,
I had used a piece of 1x1 aluminum angle at the flat where the front engine cover hood pin mounts and another behind where the body sits on the bolt on frame brace/body mount for my painter to fit the engine cover to the body off the chassis. So he had the tail mounted to the sides and the two cross bars maintaining the correct spread at the front. I reused the rear cross bar when I put the body on the chassis.

Great info! did you pick something easy for the desired spacing like a paint stir strip or a thick yardstick? 1/8 or 3/16???

Leaving that angle would leave an excellent place to support the engine cover in the middle with some rubber to hold it at the correct height!

[ehansen007]

I'll be putting the body on my car right after the HB show in two weeks. I'm looking for anyone to come out and help me shoot video so we can put all this great info from Wayne, Aloha, Frank, Erik etc on film to great increase the success of body installs for all builders. I did this with the doors on the 33 a while back and got some good input from builders. Pictures are word a thousand words but a video will save a million questions!

[metalmaker12]

I wish I had the time, cause my body is fitting up good and I am happy with my mods to get there. I could maybe take a small video, just pressed for time right now.

[Frank818]

but a video will save a million questions!

Darn true!

[Xusia]

Erik, that's an awesome idea. I wish I could help - I'm just a tad far away!

[Evan78]

I'll be putting the body on my car right after the HB show in two weeks. I'm looking for anyone to come out and help me shoot video so we can put all this great info from Wayne, Aloha, Frank, Erik etc on film to great increase the success of body installs for all builders. I did this with the doors on the 33 a while back and got some good input from builders. Pictures are word a thousand words but a video will save a million questions!

That sounds like a great idea. It would be even better to have someone experienced with fitting 818 panels on hand so there's not as much trial and error to cut out of the video.

[Brando]

I'll be putting the body on my car right after the HB show in two weeks. I'm looking for anyone to come out and help me shoot video so we can put all this great info from Wayne, Aloha, Frank, Erik etc on film to great increase the success of body installs for all builders. I did this with the doors on the 33 a while back and got some good input from builders. Pictures are word a thousand words but a video will save a million questions!

I'm game Erik. I will be installing my body at the same time so two birds

[DruOdil]

Me too

[RM1SepEx]

So I'm ready to square mine up, just picked up some aluminum angle. Wayne did you push the sides out at the front edge? The front edge of the engine cover sits wider than the sides and I need to twist it to force it to sit inside the side panels. It is very tight in the front and gets progressively looser as you go back across the engine cover. Wayne can you give us some dimensions from that orange beauty? I'd like to see the dimension inside to inside of the edge made by the rear fenders at the front edge and at the end of the square pad to mount the fenders and at the end of the engine cover.

At the rear of the engine cover it sits too low to align with the trunk, the trunk must be bowed up in the center to line up with the sides of the rear fenders and rear clip. You can see this in all of the body mounting photos, Aloha818 is using two gallons of paint to hold the corners down right now! I'm thinking that I can add a support off my 1 x 1 aluminum angle in the center to bow up the engine cover, making it align with the rear trunk panel.

Craig, I played with my side panels a bit and now have that same 3 1/4 dimension between the humps to the front edge of the fire wall

[Wayne Presley]

I did not have to spread the front of mine, nearly perfect at the front edge. Wide in the middle and about right at the back. The rear center of the engine hatch needs a support to really stay in shape.

[DruOdil]

I did not have to spread the front of mine, nearly perfect at the front edge. Wide in the middle and about right at the back. The rear center of the engine hatch needs a support to really stay in shape.

That brings up a good point Wayne. Can you tell your reinforcement of the whole body? I am sure each peace would need some.

[Wayne Presley]

The trunk lid provides some support for the engine cover. I have a support for the hood but FFR has addressed it with a mod to the kit. Everything else about the body seems by the book.

[RM1SepEx]

I think that storing the body flat for 6 months was not good for the fiberglass pieces. My engine cover has to be twisted and forced to sit flat in the front. The rear is flat and sits 3/4 inch below the trunk lid as the trunk curves to the rear and the engine cover is flat.

Wayne, You did have to trim the edge of the engine cover and trunk as they are quite a bit above the fenders???

How even are your gaps and how much gap were you able to obtain?

[Wayne Presley]

I have really good gaps. You do have to trim the vertical part of the engine cover and trunk to match the height of the sides.

[Aloha818]

At the rear of the engine cover it sits too low to align with the trunk, the trunk must be bowed up in the center Aloha818 is using two gallons of paint to hold the corners down right now!

Just to clarify the pic you mentioned, so that no one get the wrong idea, I had just placed some steel braces/inserts and covered with fiberglass/resin and I wanted to make sure it cured to match the body. But the pins are needed to hold the corners down some, at least on mine.

Here is a pic from today with no weights

image.jpg

[RM1SepEx]

That's what I meant to say, the trunk tends to flatten as it sits and the rear clip is curved. I think that both less time and better storage (yours were hung, mine were set down flat) means that yours don't pop up as much as mine. Putting weight on it in position helps to hold it down. I don't want to use hood pins, I need to work alternatives. I think that it will be better to cut the depth of the return before I finalize body position too, if it is shorter it will conform easier. You can see how much it sits up in my earlier pictures.

Can you measure across your engine cover in the front, I want to see how much my cover has flattened after 6 months. I have to bend the cover, adding curvature to get it to fit. Then my engine cover sits way down below the trunk lid in the center.

You can see how much my panels flattened since August by laying them flat

P1110800.JPG P1110801.JPG

P1110802.JPG P1110799.JPG

Has anyone considered some sort of a rubber edge to avoid the rubbing and squeeking of the panels where they contact each other?

[Aloha818]

That's what I meant to say, the trunk tends to flatten as it sits and the rear clip is curved. I think that both less time and better storage (yours were hung, mine were set down flat) means that yours don't pop up as much as mine. Putting weight on it in position helps to hold it down. I don't want to use hood pins, I need to work alternatives. I think that it will be better to cut the depth of the return before I finalize body position too, if it is shorter it will conform easier. You can see how much it sits up in my earlier pictures.

Can you measure across your engine cover in the front, I want to see how much my cover has flattened after 6 months. I have to bend the cover, adding curvature to get it to fit. Then my engine cover sits way down below the trunk lid in the center.

You can see how much my panels flattened since August by laying them flat

P1110800.JPG P1110801.JPG

P1110802.JPG P1110799.JPG

Has anyone considered some sort of a rubber edge to avoid the rubbing and squeeking of the panels where they contact each other?

Dan I'll measure later today to confirm but from memory it was 57" at the most forward edge at the top between the sides.

My engine cover also twists out like your pic, the hood pins keep mine lined up and held down. I'm just before adding some steel supports for the rear area. Reading to see what everyone is doing.

I'm also interested in some kind of rubber edge or other solution to keep the hood, front and rear trunk/engine cover from wearing/rubbing the paint.

[RM1SepEx]

I'm alone right now and it's hard to hold in place but I get 58 1/2 in the front

I'll get better measurements when the wife is at home. She's off with my daughter on her last college trip and a cheering competition.

I assume that you clipped off the shelf that the trunk sits on at the ends of the engine cover, if you don't you can't get the engine cover to sit down far enough, the engine cover is 5/8 deep with that shelf.

Rubber that slides on and extends up a bit on the inside perhaps, or just a simple piece sliding over the vertical?

[Mechie3]

I had to trim my trunk about 1/8" all around and 1/4" where it sits on the engine cover lip.

[RM1SepEx]

The engine cover is a bit more complicated as you have to notch it where the trunk sits too and it is flat in the rear portion but mates at an angle in the front.

I've been trying to move it together to reduce the gap in stages, I've found I can move it a little more every day!

Sadly my desktop crashed and my little travel netbook has seen better days, I've dropped it several times!

My next problem is attempting to use the stock wheels, they are lost in the wheel wells. It looks like I can space them out at least an inch or an inch and a half!

[Mechie3]

I have my aftermarket snow wheels and tires on right now. 17x7 with 225 tires. They look like this

[Aloha818]

Dan I double checked my measurements today. At the forward most point of the engine cover between the side sails I have 57 3/8". Since I was adding fiberglass and repairing the small cracks that started in the engine cover where the roll bar braces pass through, I jiggled up the cover to hold 57" at the front location while placing the fiberglass. Now just leaning up against the wall on end it still holds the 57".

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[Mechie3]

Why do you have to notch the engine cover?

[ehansen007]

I'm also interested in some kind of rubber edge or other solution to keep the hood, front and rear trunk/engine cover from wearing/rubbing the paint.

Guys, would some minimal weather strip make sense here for spacing, and rubbing/noise reduction?

[RM1SepEx]

Aloha, I'm measuring to the vertical molded surface, not the horizontal return

Craig, the engine cover has a horizontal surface that the engine cover sits on (before hinge assy) it is molded to 5/8 depth. The vertical surface of the fender there is 1/2 so the engine cover sits too high. You need to remove the "shlf" where they overlap. The marked Xs are only approx

P1110804.JPG P1110803.JPG P1110805.JPG P1110806.JPG

Erik, absolutely! I need them in white tho!

[Aloha818]

Aloha, I'm measuring to the vertical molded surface, not the horizontal return

Craig, the engine cover has a horizontal surface that the engine cover sits on (before hinge assy) it is molded to 5/8 depth. The vertical surface of the fender there is 1/2 so the engine cover sits too high. You need to remove the "shlf" where they overlap. The marked Xs are only approx

P1110804.JPG P1110803.JPG P1110805.JPG P1110806.JPG

Erik, absolutely! I need them in white tho!

Dan, sorry, misunderstood. I needed to make the same notches and cut the trunk lids return lip (also the hood). The trunk lids took at least 1/4" to get close to flush. I still need to remove a little more, but waiting till I get a little closer to the end of the body work. Bear in mind that if you paint you will be adding a small amount of material to the top of the flanges and to the bottom the return, so need to go a little farther in the rough to end up flush.

I plan on adding that clear plastic chip guard to parts of the body when I'm done, I wonder if I lined the top of the flanges with that if that would help keep the parts from rubbing?

[Frank818]

There's a lot of scratches on your panels. Were they like that at delivery date?

[Mechie3]

Yeah, that makes sense. My engine cover is all ready too short in the front (doors are too high) so I didn't even mess with that yet.

[RM1SepEx]

There's a lot of scratches on your panels. Were they like that at delivery date?

scratches? tape residue and mold release wax, not scratches, plenty of voids in the sharp edges tho, I expect to be skilled with the gel coat if I want to get it done w/o paint. The top edges of the fenders SUCK!!! I'm told that 2000 grit wet sanding will smooth it out, I doubt it. Between wookie compatible, various communication issues, the build "manual" and its errors, no paint finish, credibility is lacking. My expectations were higher.

I'm particularly concerned about the trailing upper edge of my rear fenders, they are "missing" a whole bunch of material and building up and then doing gel coat might be a challenge. I don't want a weak repair that will chip off.

P1110789.JPG P1110788.JPG

without this forum a first time builder such as myself would be lost or would destroy parts and re-purchase replacements!

Aloha, I think that we are still measuring differently. The engine cover sits in a groove made by the rear fender where it meets the door. I measured 58 5/8 with help today across from the edge of the groove across the cockpit to the edge of the groove.

based on the wheel offsets used by others I'll be buying 1 1/2 inch spacers to bring my rear wheels/tires out to the fenders in the back and I'll try 5-10 mm in the front

[RM1SepEx]

It is amazing how much you can flex the panels if you are patient!

My panels flattened, a LOT, during 6 months f cold storage...

Check out how much it has come in with some constant force, wooden spacers and duct tape!

P1110808.JPG

[Xusia]

I guess that also means better support is required to KEEP the proper shape!

[Frank818]

How flat were they before your special treatment?

[RM1SepEx]

who knows, I had to bend the front of the engine cover in a ton, over an inch. The fenders were out about 3/4 of a gap and now I can hold .125-.150

I would hang them off somehow... Aloha818 had his hanging. I think with warmer weather it would be easier, we have only had one day so far hit 60!

I'm considering these vs hood pins

CF hood pins.JPG

the pop ups that Wayne just used look good too but these go with my CF FFR aero pieces and my APR CF mirrors

[Frank818]

I like those pins! Would go with my CF too. What are they?

And also, I didn't know FB could bend that much!

[RM1SepEx]

I think that the fiberglass has quite a bit of give to it. Mine sat flat (that's how FFR said we could store them) the weight of the center pulls down spreading the contact points. When I first placed them on the car it was damn cold... now it's only cold... I bet in the sun they would soften up a bit more and be easier to work with... Wayne's aluminum angle support will be added soon to hold it in place and support the engine cover in the middle (Metalmaker, Chris, did a cover support too) I think several have added supports for the fenders in the front too.

$20 a set on Ebay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-JDM-Hood-...3D111304441476

[Frank818]

I hope the panels won't bend when ON the car!!

I don't recall seeing the panel cover pix of Wayne, metal and others, but once you make your own, could you post a couple of pix? Might be a nice security add-on I would also do.

I don't have my kit yet, how many hood pins we need? 4 or 6? Or more? We have 3 panels we can lift, right? Front hood, double-hump deck lid and rear "trunk" deck lid?

[RM1SepEx]

When they are on the car the are held in place, they can't really move though plastic composites do expand and contract with temp changes, lighter colors are "easier" on the assemblies are they reflect vs absorb heat. There are many methods, Erik did a nice hinging front and rear with no pins. I want to hinge the front. The kit comes with 5 sets... front and rear of hood, front and rear of engine cover and rear of the trunk. I'm hoping to only use 2 or 3 sets of pins. I'm not sure how I will do it, but I document everything.

Craig (Mechie3) has some neat front fender supports in his thread, Chris (Metalmaker) did one for the engine cover in the rear in his thread. Wayne has done a combo support to hold the rear fenders in place and support the engine cover. No photos of that yet...