Need body help MK1

[Davidmgbv8]

So now I have my front spindles back and wheel mounted the front hits the fender on turns. The front tyre is 215/60-15. Placing the front clam forward to where the opening is almost centered and allows the wheels to turn gives me a 1” spyder gap. Wheel base is precisely 95” or 2413 mm. Sills are butted up against chassis at rear. Rear wheel centered in opening, car sitting with lower A arms level.

Need advice and suggestions please. Front clam molded off of 1017 and rear off of 1054, spyder molded off steel unit and is 2 5/16” wide above scoop.

Thanks for opinions and help.

 

[Davidmgbv8]

 

[Bill Kearley]

Some suspension pics may help !!

 

[Chris Kouba]

Placing the front clam forward to where the opening is almost centered and allows the wheels to turn gives me a 1” spyder gap.

Is the gap all between the spider and the rear clam, or is there some gap at the base of the windshield as well?

If it's all at the spider/rear clam, I would keep the sills against the aft surface of the chassis and gap the spider to clam appropriately (3/16", 1/4"?), and then split the remaining gap difference (in theory 13/16" or 3/4") by offsetting the wheels from center in the wheel wells. Do you have enough adjustability to accomplish this?

Just make sure you can get to full lock through the suspension travel.

Also, is your front wheel at the appropriate ride height? It may be a product of the camera angle but it appears a little more in droop than the rear. It clearly won't make up for an inch of gap, but it may get you marginally closer.

 

[Brian]

First suggestion, fiberglass bodies move more than steel or aluminum, so don't set your gaps too tight. I would give 1/4" absolute minimum.
Front suspension is can't be easily adjusted for to aft, but I'm guessing you have the long link correct rear suspension, and I think it can be adjusted a little. Worse case is turning a threaded end off and rewelding x4.

I learned on the Cobra, wheel base is a suggestion. Adjust to make the wheels fit the arches as that's a simple lateral move. Adjusting the body cascades into many more adjustments to not mess up body lines and flow.

Also, do you have mock up fixed length tube in place of the coil overs set at ride height? If the wheels are not at the neutral ride position, you're not seeing what you'll see when the car is at finished weight and on the ground.

 

[Brian]

Just had another realization about the body gaps between spider and rear clam and spider/door and front clam as opposed to most car bodies. The hard mount on both clams are at the far extremes, so expansion and contraction will all be seen at those joints. This isn't typical. Most cars will have the door sills fixing the lateral position of the front and rear, and the movement will be in overall length of the car. This needs a little extra room for movement.

 

[Morten]

Test fit windshield, could be that you need to pull in the windshield frame base/ A pillars / raise the front of the roof. This can result in shortened centersection. Suspension can be adjusted to fit arches. Its not all replica bodies that are true to the 95in monocoque wheelbase, so if you end up with 94 3/4in nobody will notice the difference.

 

[Brian]

Good point. The windshield glass is not so easy to adjust.

 

[Davidmgbv8]

The rear suspension is centered in the hole and I cannot move the lower sill any further forward so moving the rear suspension is out. The front upper and lower A arms are all aligned the only way I can see to move is to redo the spacers and move them back about 1/2" The only thing that would affect is the shock mount. Since I have the left side does not have it in place I will try that, if that works then I can just cut and reweld the brackets on the lower A arm. Will give it a try to night. Thanks

 

[Ian Anderson]

A lot of cars, like GTD era had to limit the steering movement in order not to have rubbing on lock. In effect a jubilee clip on the rack that bumped up against the rack case.

Some gave the turning circle similar to a supertanker, others managed to get a much better compromise.

Ian

 

[Paul Hendrickx]

A lot of cars, like GTD era had to limit the steering movement in order not to have rubbing on lock. In effect a jubilee clip on the rack that bumped up against the rack case.

Some gave the turning circle similar to a supertanker, others managed to get a much better compromise.

Ian

is that the reason they created the roundabouts in the uk?

 

[Brian]

I've found in the Cobra, in tight quarters without power steering, a quick blip of the throttle and pop of the clutch helps tighten turns.

 

[Randy V]

Your front tires are wider than the 205 16 15 that came with my RCR.
The only way I could get 215's to fit was to get 215-50-15 and trim the inside edge of the sill to clear while turning.
Also - you should put the windshield in that spider, gap it at the bottom/top and sides - then cut a piece of lumber to fit between the tunnel and the bottom of the spider (in the center of course) to hold that spider in position.
Make sure - also - that you have your door and rear clip gaskets in place while fitting.... They make a huge difference.
I set my gaps at 3/16" which would yield a 1/8" gap after paint.

 

[Davidmgbv8]

 

[Davidmgbv8]

Update, Moving the suspension arms completely back solves the body rubbing issue. Pulling the front clam forward moving around the spyder with 1/4" gaps finish getting the center of the wheel opening and the center of the wheel aligned. Now what I do not know is any bump steer implications. I will have to remake the upper shock mount to align with the bottom A-Arm. Will uncrate the windshield and see if it fits...about time..

 

[Brian]

That A arm movement shouldn't change bump steer, but will add more ackerman. Also, I don't really think that small an angle in the shock will make enough of a difference to matter. It looks stout enough to not deflect laterally under the load. The reduction in spring rate will be well under 1%.

 

[Davidmgbv8]

The shock will physically not fit. if it had rod ends may have been possible it cannot deflect 1/2".