Aluminum identification needed

[oldguy668]

I'm retrofitting a 289 body to a standard MK4 chassis. FFR was a great help swapping some aluminum panels for those unique to the 289. I'm all set with everything they gave me and the build is going well. Right now it's a fully plumbed roller with aluminum and Hushmat waiting for an engine. The only two pieces FFR gave me that I can't figure out are these:

Aluminum panels.JPG

Excuse the crappy quality. I just laid them on a chair to give a reference on size.

[first time builder]

Just a guess but by the shape they look like they mount to hinge pillar to close gap to fender.

Kenny

[FFinisher]

Never seen these before, If I was a gambler.... I would bet the go on the front side of the rear inner fenders against the 3/4 stock that the door latch mounts too. This would seal up the rear fender compartment from the wheel well nicely.

[Erik W. Treves]

should be for rear fender wells... front side and should close out where the door area is.

[oldguy668]

Erik, any advice on when they get installed. Do they go in from the fenderwell like the elephant ears?

[Erik W. Treves]

at the end. they are just a close out panel.

[retropt]

I believe these piece are for inside the frontend to seal-off the radiator opening.

[EZ$]

Just ran across this thread. Could anyone tell me which alum panels are unique to the 289 body? I'm doing a Mr. Bruce body on a MK4, and I'm just about to put the body on for fitting, and I'd rather not run into issues with the body not fitting over certain panels. Is there a possibility that FFR might still swap some panels at this late date, (received my kit in Nov. 2012)? If not, is there some way to get any detailed drawings where I could fabricate my own, if necessary? Hopefully there aren't too many panels that need to be changed. Anyone with info, it would be greatly appreciated.
Rick

[oldguy668]

As far as I know, the lower trunk floor is different. The lower flange that meets the rear of the body is narrower. Yours can be trimmed to fit. The dash is a little different, but yours can, again, be trimmed to make it work. The under-door aluminum is different due to the different shape of the door. The radiator surround is different because the distance from the radiator to the nose is shorter. My memory tells me that the two aluminum panels that form the trunk sides have a different profile. If you mount the body and make cardboard templates, you should be able to duplicate them. I'm sure FFR would sell you the unique aluminum pieces. They usually charge about $75 per panel, and there are not that many.

[EZ$]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll see if I can adjust the panels that I have, and if not, I'll contact FFR. As a side note, how did you handle the door latch situation? In pre-mounting my door panels, there seems to be a lot of distance between the latch point on the frame, and the edge of the door where the handle would be located.
Rick

[Erik W. Treves]

there is piece that FFR sells for that....they didn't come with my kit so I built something up. basically u-channel.

[EZ$]

Eric,
Is there any possibility that you got a picture of what you did before you closed it up? But if not, you say that FFR has a part that takes care of this? Either way, it would help to save my poor old brain from convulsing trying to figure a solution!
Rick

[FFinisher]

Erik, any advice on when they get installed. Do they go in from the fenderwell like the elephant ears?

Joe, these go in from the wheel side, and take up the space between the body and the frame. They go on the front side of the rear wheel wells, against the frame behind the door latch. Put some bulb seal on the curvy side and that goes against the body.

I did not know FFR was providing these, But I have made many sets for my builds. This seals the wheel wells nicely.

[oldguy668]

Thanks, Ron. I was planning on using them as dress-up pieces for my grandson's trebuchet. Now I'll put them to their intended use.

We're going to use the trebuchet to launch dead chickens into the guy's yard down the hill so he'll stop burning brush all summer.