Front Upper Splash panel fitting

[nick729]

I'm struggling with the front upper splash guard fitting, so wondering how did others fit these 2 panels?

At the hood - is it meant to be fitted like in pic1 or pic2?
viber_image_2025-01-07_23-48-47-433.jpgviber_image_2025-01-07_23-48-47-387.jpg

Any tips or tricks for fixing the pontoons in the right place to the upright splash panel? I noticed my driver side pontoon is twisted inwards by quite a bit, although passenger side is level.

Thanks!

[David Williamson]

Get the hood installed and lined up so the fender line matches the pontoons, put the lower splash shield in to hold the pontoons in place and then install the upper splash shields with the best fit to the lowers. It's an iterative process because you also have the doors to fit as well. The pontoons are flexible and can be moved to get the fit you need. Take your time, it will take several days to get it right. Mine are like your picture 2 but there could be minor changes to the body from one car to the next and mine is an early one from 2017 #16
David W

[edwardb]

Mine are also like your picture 2.

IMG_1870_cropped.jpg

[michael everson]

I do it like pic 2. The radius in the corner doesn't interfere when mounted like that.
Mike

[nick729]

Great, thank you!

I have already fitted the doors, only need to set the proper gaps all around. I went a different route, by fitting the doors first and leaving the hood last. I have set the rear of body in place and used 1 rivet on either side sill at the back to fix the body in place. Not sure if that was a good idea or not

From the manual i can see that the hood needs to be trimmed back and in my case about 3/8" to make it fit which will leave me with 1/8" to play around to get the gap right. I understand that the reference point is the the corner of pontoon and hood arch where they meet, that's how i figured how much i need to trim back the hood.

Should i mount the locating pins on the pontoon and the hood and then try to trim and line up the hood to the body? My pontoons are not fastened to the lower splash guards yet.. So trying to figure out the best course of action and get this body work stuff out of the way..

[nick729]

right, so i went about trying to set the hood, here are some pics. Any tips or help greatly appreciated since i have 0 experience with body fitting and fiberglass

Passenger side is more or less ok, need to trim the back of the hood to make it sit straight.

viber_image_2025-01-08_18-12-17-676.jpgviber_image_2025-01-08_18-12-17-700.jpgviber_image_2025-01-08_18-12-17-723.jpg

Driver side, i noticed that the hood sits 1.5-2cm higher on the driver side hence the gap. Not sure why it is sitting higher, since there nothing is interfering with the hood to make one side higher than the other. The same is for the DS pontoon, it is about 1-1.5cm higher than the PS pontoon (one obvious reason is that the PS side bottom of the body wraps around the frame more than DS, but i don't see any obvious way to lower the body on the DS side). Also, the corner of the hood is also sticking out too far. I would assume, i need to lower the pontoon on DS, but that would make the gap even larger...

viber_image_2025-01-08_18-12-17-774.jpgviber_image_2025-01-08_18-12-17-792.jpgviber_image_2025-01-08_18-12-17-811.jpgviber_image_2025-01-08_18-12-17-834.jpg

Any tips or thoughts on where to even start?

Thank you!

[David Williamson]

Looks like you need to lower the front at the hinge. Are the body door sills tight to the frame on both sides?
David W

[nick729]

Looks like you need to lower the front at the hinge. Are the body door sills tight to the frame on both sides?
David W

I have not fitted the hinges jet, the hood is resting on the panels surrounding the radiator.

Yes, the body door sills are tight to the frame, I have 1 rivet on each side at the back of the door sills to the frame. I did not fasten the front yet as i want to set the hood, and finalise the doors before locking it down completely.