General Build Help thread
- Thread starter Big-Foot
- Start date
BODY INSTALLATION AND ALIGNMENT
Often in these pages, I see people asking where to start in getting their bodywork mounted.
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It's no secret that the GT40 was designed and built using slide rules, levels and clay models rather than the nonexistent at the time CNC anything..
The GT40 is NOT a perfectly symmetrical body. It never was. The chassis are another story.
---
What follows is my $.02 worth on Body installation.
I struggled with my RCR40 MK1 until I followed the advice below that I gleaned from numerous members here.
I stripped everything off the chassis except the suspension.
My chassis was on a portable build table so it was a couple feet off the floor and easier to work on.
I removed the coil over shocks and lifted and supported the control arms to the point where I was at a simulated ride height. The lower control arms both front and rear should be perfectly level with the ground at ride height - that's the way that almost all automotive suspensions are designed.
Align your front suspension with as much positive caster as you can dial into the suspension. Set your camber angle to something reasonable like negative 1 degree. Toe in should be set to zero for this.
Align rear suspension similarly, paying attention to the 95" measurement for your rear axle centerline from the front axle centerline.
There are various ways and means to align the rear of the GT, but basically, you want the wheels placed where they are supposed to be at ride height.
Set the Sill covers in place, using tape to hold them in position temporarily.
Gaskets for the doors and clips (if used) should be ready and installed when doing body alignment.
Now, set the spider on the chassis loosely, then the rear clip making sure to support it well at the very rear of the body.
Next set the front clip in the same manner.
Place the windshield in the spider with at least a 1/8" gap at the bottom of the windshield to the spider. A simmilar gap should be at the top of the windshield to the spider.
At this point, you will need to make a support to go from the floor of the GT to the center of the spider's roof. You will need to make adjustments to this, but for now, just keep it (spider) from sagging.
Door hinges are on hold for now, but place the doors themselves in their gaps and tape in place to the top of the spider to keep them from falling in or off the car.
Here's the fun part. Move the rear clip into position to center the wheel arches over the rear wheels (tires mounted - recommended).
Start working your way forward.
If everything is right, your front and rear clips will match the Sill covers. You may need to slide the sill covers forward or aft..
Don't start mounting anything solidly until you have a happy medium in terms of how the body looks on the chassis.
Remember - mounting the non-symmetrical bodywork of a GT40 on a Symmetrical chassis will require compromise.
I will try to update this with photos as time permits.
Others please chime in.
Often in these pages, I see people asking where to start in getting their bodywork mounted.
---
It's no secret that the GT40 was designed and built using slide rules, levels and clay models rather than the nonexistent at the time CNC anything..
The GT40 is NOT a perfectly symmetrical body. It never was. The chassis are another story.
---
What follows is my $.02 worth on Body installation.
I struggled with my RCR40 MK1 until I followed the advice below that I gleaned from numerous members here.
I stripped everything off the chassis except the suspension.
My chassis was on a portable build table so it was a couple feet off the floor and easier to work on.
I removed the coil over shocks and lifted and supported the control arms to the point where I was at a simulated ride height. The lower control arms both front and rear should be perfectly level with the ground at ride height - that's the way that almost all automotive suspensions are designed.
Align your front suspension with as much positive caster as you can dial into the suspension. Set your camber angle to something reasonable like negative 1 degree. Toe in should be set to zero for this.
Align rear suspension similarly, paying attention to the 95" measurement for your rear axle centerline from the front axle centerline.
There are various ways and means to align the rear of the GT, but basically, you want the wheels placed where they are supposed to be at ride height.
Set the Sill covers in place, using tape to hold them in position temporarily.
Gaskets for the doors and clips (if used) should be ready and installed when doing body alignment.
Now, set the spider on the chassis loosely, then the rear clip making sure to support it well at the very rear of the body.
Next set the front clip in the same manner.
Place the windshield in the spider with at least a 1/8" gap at the bottom of the windshield to the spider. A simmilar gap should be at the top of the windshield to the spider.
At this point, you will need to make a support to go from the floor of the GT to the center of the spider's roof. You will need to make adjustments to this, but for now, just keep it (spider) from sagging.
Door hinges are on hold for now, but place the doors themselves in their gaps and tape in place to the top of the spider to keep them from falling in or off the car.
Here's the fun part. Move the rear clip into position to center the wheel arches over the rear wheels (tires mounted - recommended).
Start working your way forward.
If everything is right, your front and rear clips will match the Sill covers. You may need to slide the sill covers forward or aft..
Don't start mounting anything solidly until you have a happy medium in terms of how the body looks on the chassis.
Remember - mounting the non-symmetrical bodywork of a GT40 on a Symmetrical chassis will require compromise.
I will try to update this with photos as time permits.
Others please chime in.
Last edited:
