Mk4 Rear Body Buck

[karlos]

Hello all. Took delivery of my MK4 Roadster last week and so the first order of business is to make a body buck. The ffrcars.com FAQ contains a great how-to article that was written by Bill Hass in August of 2002. I don’t know for certain, but I suspect 2002 predates the changes to the rear body profile that were incorporated in the MK4 design. I figure that as long as I’m building a body buck from scratch I may as well start with the most current profile.

In 2010 a ffrcars.com member known as ‘Laser Stan’ posted some great info on a revised rear buck profile to match the MK4 body, including a drawing (reference http://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-fact...-buck-mk4.html). Stan built his original rear buck per the info contained in the appendix of the MK4 build manual, but wasn’t happy with how it fit the MK4 body. Hence the revised profile. Since Stan started with and then modified the ‘old’ profile, the drawing he shows is for what is effectively a scab-on piece that goes on top of the ‘old’ profile in order to turn it into the updated profile. But because I’m starting from scratch, I’m more interested in making a single piece that has the proper MK4 profile to begin with.

I’m a fan of the drawings that Bill Haas included in the 2002 how-to document, as they’re clear and well-dimensioned and define a ‘standard’ 80-inch wide buck. So I set out to update Bill’s drawings to reflect the MK4 profile using the info contributed by Laser Stan. The attached image is the result.

My version of the drawing includes both profiles, the MK4 shown in green and the previous incarnations shown in red. Dimensions shown in red go with the red (old) profile; dimensions shown in green go with the MK4 profile; dimensions shown in black are common to both profiles. The drawing is done using the same format that Bill used; that is, the drawing shows one-half of the buck with the opposite side being the mirror image. Both profiles are based on a 80-inch wide by 31.75-inch tall buck. Note that there is an appreciable difference between the two profiles.

Last comment: I believe the profile of the roadster’s front body buck has remained consistent throughout the various versions of the body. Bill’s excellent drawing of the front buck should still be good; it can be found here: http://www.ffcars.com/FAQ/bodybuck02.html

Based on all the company my kit had with it in the Stewart Transport truck, I suspect there will be a few folks looking for this info. Hope this helps.

Roadster_rear_body_buck.JPGMK4_roadster_rear_body_buck.JPG

[RRussellTx]

Thanks for sharing! I'll put this to good use in the next few weeks.
Also, congrats on the delivery. I think you were a bit delayed so I'm sure you were ready!

[rich grsc]

There really aren't enough differences in the bodies to worry about the buck. The body doesn't weigh enough to cause any issues if it isn't a great fit, but it does give you something to do while you wait for delivery.

[DaleG]

I left my painted body sitting on towels on the garage floor for over a year (before that, it was on a body buck out in the elements for ~ 6-8 months); the only other thing I did was support the rear (under trunk opening) with a 4 x 4 with a towel between the body and the wood. Put the body on a few weeks ago with no issues. Not saying this is really OK, but....In the manual FFR says you can just support in the fender wells with vertical 2 x 4's.