Nose cone and side panel problems

[Mastertech5]

As some of you may know I've been trying to get these 3 panels to fit properly. I finally got the rt side to fit good. I traced the grill contour to cardboard and transferred it to the Lt side panel and made the cut, sanded it down and fitted it. It seemed to be fine but it sits almost an inch higher than the other side in the front on the grill. Now I'm upset. I started measuring things. Frame height on both sides, same. I adjusted the grill height down about an 1/8" so it matched the Rt side. I mounted the nose cone and it sits about 1" higher on the upper flat section between the lower the lower control arms. WTF. When I bonded the two nose cone halves together and extended the front as 33fromSD did per his suggestion I didn't clamp them on the car and check where they landed. I guess I just assumed they would be right. I ran a 4ft. level across where the sides panels sit and the Rt side sags a little in the middle and the Lt side is bumped up in the middle causing the side panel to skew up in the front leaving a 1/4" gap at the front on top of that, that side of the nose cone being higher already. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do about it. I'm contemplating cutting a slot in the nose cone so I can cut out a small section and rebond the 2 halves together again so that both sides end up in the same place on the grill. I might have to add fiberglass on the underside of the Lt upper leg center so I can sand it flat. This sucks. I thought I could get get these done today and start on smoothing out the body seams. It's always something.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[33fromSD]

When you added glass, were the side panels & nose cone mounted on the 33 as if they were there permanently? I bolted everything to the 33 first including side panels to the nose cone, & the side cowl and making sure the gaps at the back by the side of the cowl and the belt line along hood were correct, this way when I added the aluminum templates so I could use that to add the glass I knew everything would line up after I disassembled everything.

Guess I should have asked that as my first question, but I assumed you had everything bolted together, and you were just looking to add material to the nose cone.

[DanQ]

I can relate to what you are going through, as I am at that exact stage right now. My nose cone halves did not line up either-the left and right pieces where they join together under the radiator are almost 1" difference in length, so if I bonded them together first, it would never have lined up. I verified my distance between the firewall and the grill and they are within 1/16", so I can assume the two lower nose cone halves are molded that far apart. My only issue I have right now is I need to add about 1/2" of fiberglass to the nose cones where they meet the grill. It almost seems like the lower nose cone and side panels are "floating" as it seems they are attached to each other, but barely attached solidly to any major body or frame part. I added several aluminum struts to strengthen their mounting and that helped a lot. Two on each side from the frame tubes to the side panels where the front fenders attach, and two under the radiator from the front LCA mounting point on the frame to the lower nose cone halves. I am very pleased how well the fenders and running boards fit. Yesterday instead of laying on the floor to make the filler strips between the cone and grill, I decided to drill some holes in my cowl to test fit the windshield. F5 needs to make a full size template for the seven studs, and the three center ones lined up, but the four end studs were almost 1/2" off. They tell you to use the foam gasket for the hole locations-might as well use a piece of spaghetti! I now have two holes that need to be filled next time I have a batch of fiberglass resin mixed-not a big deal. The windshield was a rough brushed aluminum like the grill was, so it too got sanded from 320 to 2000 paper, then three steps of metal polish, finished by a good polishing with Mothers aluminum polish. It now is like chrome, as the grill is. Boy, am I sore this morning after three hours of sanding and polishing the windshield frame, but it sure looks nice.

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[Mastertech5]

Very nice! I ended up putting the hood on after sanding the left bottom edge down to the rounded 'molding', which is where the Rt side was already and sliding the side panels under it and taped them to the hood. The I made marks on the grill where the side panel top and bottom edges landed. I then cut the nose cone down the middle and cut the bolt together strips off. I mounted them back up and enlarged the holes from before to bolt it to the grill. I adjusted as needed to fit correctly this time and then sanded the left ones cut edge so they both fit properly. I am fiberglass them together from the bottom so they are stuck together in the correct relationship to each other. After it dries I'll take it off and fill the gap with more cloth and glass on the top side. I had a moment this morning when trying to get everything to fit and almost decided to forgo everything but the hood. One more try I decided and now I'm happy it's coming together at last. I have spent 2 months off and on screwing with these panels. Hardest panels to fit on any FFR replica, period!

[J R Jones]

From the peanut gallery with an AF background, a nose cone is the leading part of a fuselage, or AKA the radome. Preceeded by the pitot tube.
In a 33 Ford that might be the radiator shell or in this abbreviated case, the grill surround. After pondering this description, I guess you have to be an owner/builder to understand the jargon.
In my experience not only is the fit of individual parts important, the subassemblies have to fit too.
jim

[DanQ]

JR Jones, the nose cone is the two halves under the grill, shown in this photo held together by the four clekos. The engine side covers attach to the two nose cone halves at the red spring clamp seen on the passenger side. Getting the hood, grill, engine side panels, and the two lower nose cones all lined up with each other is tough, as each one affects the others. After two weeks, I went from the first photo to the second, and I am counting that as a win!

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[Mastertech5]

Now that I have everything fitting satisfactory I am going to have to add some material to the rear upper edges of the side panels. They now sit lower in the front and I had trimmed them to fit in their former positions. The procedure in the manual is still for a Gen 1 so that's at least 2 years out of date and it was 1 piece already.
DanQ, that ridge you have bolted together on the nose cone won't clear the radiator/hose and the grill in the front section. Something tells me you've probably already figured that out. I had left a 4 inch section between the grill and the radiator before the redo. Have fun with the doors if you haven't done them already. On tip, measure the depth that the striker will stick out from the front door jam and make sure the door is an 1/8" or more further away where the latch sits. The end will interfere with the latch. Now I have to move the door to the rear a smidgen and maybe add some material to the front edge and sand the rear edge more. Its a learning curve unlike when I was wrenching where you do the same things over and over so its second nature and much quicker.

[Mastertech5]

When you added glass, were the side panels & nose cone mounted on the 33 as if they were there permanently? I bolted everything to the 33 first including side panels to the nose cone, & the side cowl and making sure the gaps at the back by the side of the cowl and the belt line along hood were correct, this way when I added the aluminum templates so I could use that to add the glass I knew everything would line up after I disassembled everything.

Guess I should have asked that as my first question, but I assumed you had everything bolted together, and you were just looking to add material to the nose cone.

I was a Tech for over 40 years and have done some minor bodywork, but fitting panels is new for me although I'm familiar with the procedures. I guess I assumed they should fit, they're molded after all. Live and learn and spend more money.

[33fromSD]

I was a Tech for over 40 years and have done some minor bodywork, but fitting panels is new for me although I'm familiar with the procedures. I guess I assumed they should fit, they're molded after all. Live and learn and spend more money.

You're fine, it's all part of the process on body work. Heck, I just bought a NOS driver's side front fender for a 67 Mustang and got it installed and low and behold even that needs modification. I figured that coming into it, so I wasn't frustrated but just giving the example that even original Ford tooling was not a perfect fit.

These kit cars are normally 5 steps forward, one step backwards, etc. but in the end the pride you'll have once it's all finished is unexplainable.

Jim

[Mastertech5]

It's just that I got the trunk lid and doors done in a week so I expected the front end to be similar. How wrong I was! I got it now except for the hood where it's like squeezed in at the back against the body. I bought a piece of 1/2" conduit that I was planning to use as a bar bolted on the underside of the hood to spread it out as you mentioned other guys have done. I have to figure out where to place it so it won't interfere with the engine and be far enough back to do any good. When I checked out other Hot Rods at the FFR Cruise-in I noticed that their hoods had scape marks where the side panel bolts hold them to the body. The design engineers can't figure out everything I guess. I sanded down the mounting strips and the inside of the hood in those areas but it's not much better. There has to be a better way. Something else to figure out. I'll get it one way or another.