Body test-fit question

[Al_C]

I'm test fitting the body this weekend so I can determine the vertical location of the dashboard. Finally. Been threatening this for a while. Whatever. According to the manual, I should put the weather stripping on the curved frame piece (top of dash) and the firewall. I know that many builders view the manual as a "suggestion" rather than gospel. So what do you think? weatherstripping and bulb seal prior to test fit, or just test fit without the padding? Thanks in advance! Of course, if you have any other body test fit tips, I'm all ears.

[GoDadGo]

Don't put the bubble seal on the dash or the center of the rear area of the cockpit.
Also, consider putting BLUE Painters tape on the dash to protect it.

[j.miller]

Bulb seal on fire wall. No foam on dash hoop. Don't try to line up the dash with the hoop. What you want to see is 3/16 in of dash hoop above the dash on the outer ends of the hoop. If you mount it even with the corners of the hoop or above the body will be sitting on the top edge of the dash making the doors harder line up. Hand roll the drivers side of the dash to tuck in the space near the windshield leg. I cut 2.5 in off the dash on Pass side and hand roll to tuck back to the firewall extension .

[Straversi]

Bulb seal on fire wall. No foam on dash hoop. Don't try to line up the dash with the hoop. What you want to see is 3/16 in of dash hoop above the dash on the outer ends of the hoop. If you mount it even with the corners of the hoop or above the body will be sitting on the top edge of the dash making the doors harder line up. Hand roll the drivers side of the dash to tuck in the space near the windshield leg. I cut 2.5 in off the dash on Pass side and hand roll to tuck back to the firewall extension .

Al_C, I was about to ask a similar question.

This photo is zoomed in to the DS corner of the dash and the end of the hoop. The center of my dash is flush with the center of the hoop.

J. Miller says 3/16" of the hoop is supposed to be exposed at the ends. Is this what you are referring to?



I still need to trim and roll the ends. Am I safe to wrap the dash in leather at this point or do I need to fit the body first?

-Steve

[j.miller]

That is exactly what I was talking about for dash placement. You are also going to want to trim the rolled edges of the cockpit . I trim them to .5in on the return. I just flip the body over and trim them. If untrimmed A. It limits body movement for position and door fitting. B. The front rolled edge will eat it's way through your dash covering...da Bat

[CDXXVII]

I mounted my dash as in the photo. Flush in the middle with the ends as shown. My Mk4 body sits really low and it hit the dash at the ends. I trimmed the dash so that it did not rise above the frame hoop any where. Took very little effort.

Al_C, I was about to ask a similar question.

This photo is zoomed in to the DS corner of the dash and the end of the hoop. The center of my dash is flush with the center of the hoop.

J. Miller says 3/16" of the hoop is supposed to be exposed at the ends. Is this what you are referring to?



I still need to trim and roll the ends. Am I safe to wrap the dash in leather at this point or do I need to fit the body first?

-Steve

[Norm B]

I ended up having to trim the drivers side more than the passengers. When I test fitted the dash, placed in the same position as the picture above, the drivers side was about 1/2 inch low when compare to the 2 inch cross frame. It was very noticeable when you looked at the car from the rear.

Norm

[Al_C]

Thanks, everyone. Good info here. We'll see how it goes in the garage tomorrow!

[Mark_M]

I'm in a similar spot and was just working with this issue as well. Previous owner had car mostly together, but I took the body off to do some things. The dash vinyl is coming off of the aluminum and before I re-glue it I think it needs to be trimmed as well. Pictures are great, but you'll notice the dash is dragging against the door hinges. I assume I need to cut the ends? And then should I bend them inward and screw them down with a bracket or something or do the ends just sit there? If I need to trim the ends how much should I cut them?

Thanks,
Mark

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[j.miller]

Mark, Bend them in so the driver side tucks back where the WS post bolts. Cut 2.5 in off pass side and roll it in. They shouldn't contact the hinge. Don't make a bracket or screw them to anything. Just let the float back there.

[Mark_M]

Fantastic! Thanks for the quick reply! No need to cut any off the driver side?

[j.miller]

correct, nothing off the driver side

[AC Bill]

On the MK3.1 it was common to leave the vinyl all along the top of the dash, extend above it slightly, not wrapped behind the aluminum and glued. This excess was then tucked in under the body. Perhaps now, on the MKIV with the fiberglass having the roll in that area, now negates that?

[AC Bill]

On my MK 3.1 it was common to leave the vinyl all along the top of the dash, extend above it slightly, not wrapped behind the aluminum and glued. This excess was then tucked in under the body. Perhaps now, on the MK 4 with the fiberglass having the roll in that area, now negates that?
I also trimmed both ends of the dash slightly, before rolling it back, and did fasten it with an L brace.

[Al_C]

We did the test fit yesterday (Sunday) afternoon. It went pretty well. Rather than bore you with too many photos, here's a shot from the rear that shows the body on with the dash in place.



As "da Bat" warned, the ends of the dash were a challenge. But, we bent them a little more and everything lined up. Keep in mind that the whole idea here was to determine the vertical position of the dash. This was somewhat important because I plan to put a veneer on the dash and don't want any screws showing. The idea is to countersink rivets into the dash connecting with right-angle brackets on the back of the dash that I can attach to the bottom of the hoop. My plan was to put the body on, get the dash oriented, and mark it. Not an original idea - it came from Frankeeski. That mission was accomplished! But here's the rub: I had an interesting conversation this afternoon and it hit me. I just might be (gasp!) over thinking this whole thing. I can put the dash wherever I please and if it's too high, we can just trim it, can't we! It's probably good that I have the vertical position for a rough measure, but we can always trim as needed when it's time for final body fitment. If I don't mount the dash a bit higher the steering shaft oval is too low to get the Thompson turn signal sleeve on. Let's just hope that Kleiner agrees.

I probably should paste this into my build log. Nah - too soon to update that. Scott's going to be all over my case if I update that too often.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Dash looks low Al. Ought not to have that big gap at the top and "wings".

Jeff

[carlewms]

I just finished mounting my dash this week ... after the body was fitted into its final position but before removing for painting.

There no gaps visible; the dash fits about even with the hoop in the middle and there is a slight part of the hoop exposed at both ends.



Here are a couple of other views ... While it amy appear as a gap that is actually the shadow from the lighting





I have the Russ Thompson Turn Signal System and just had to make sure that the steering shaft was centered to allow room for the larger diameter of the system.

I would not consider installing it and then trimming to fit later ..

Carl

[Al_C]

My photo may be a bit misleading, as that was taken before we started adjusting things. The way I marked it, the ends are exposed (3/16 or so) as recommended, and the steering shaft opening has almost enough vertical space for the turn signal sleeve. I can tweak it as needed and we can always trim later if necessary. It's going to have to go up higher, in my estimation, for whatever that's worth.

[AC Bill]

I just might be (gasp!) over thinking this whole thing. I can put the dash wherever I please and if it's too high, we can just trim it, can't we!

You could find that your dash gauge's will conflict with the upper dash hoop. That may limit just how much you can move it around.