Restarting my SLC project in West Texas

Hector,

Ken Roberts ran into this and mine was off as well. Check out Ken’s post #793 where it is discussed. My chassis holes were just marked and pilot holes drilled and I had to adjust the height to even it out before I drilled the holes.

did you have to remove the floor or just the 2 bolts that attach it to the front footbox? Thanks for your help.
 
Hector,
Have you already confirmed the bottom of the chassis is level (left to right) with the garage floor (?) From the sound of it your (oh, sorry, looks like Ken said that) front floor side plates were not attached the the footbox upon arrival. I would imagine you would be able to see that much front floor twist just by looking under the car and comparing front floor to front chassis planes.
 
Yes, thanks for the feedback, I have the chassis resting on wooden blocks 4 1/2 inches at the front and 5 1/2 at the rear. That was my initial thought, that I used the 5 1/2 inch block on one side, but that was not the case.
I have the same problem Ken Roberts had, I will have to re-drill the holes on the footbox which really makes me mad because i completely finished the footboxes with insulation and everything. Not a happy camper right now.
 

Joel K

Supporter
Hector,

I did not have a roller. The holes were just small pilot holes but Ken’s thread got my attention so I measured and repositioned them before I drilled them out to make the floor level.
 

Joel K

Supporter
Joel, in the past I have purchased my safety washers from here, with excellent results.


Regards Brian

Thanks Brian, just placed an order for them.
 
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While finalizing the alignment using Howard's jig, I realized the front end assembly that holds the radiators is about an inch lower on the passenger side, which will create clearance issues as well as body fitment problems. I don't know if it was mounted lower on one side or it is bent.
Has anybody encountered this problem? Just another road block I guess.

Hector,

It would appear there is no rhyme or reason to how far this assembly is off from build to build. Just checked mine and the drivers side is 1/4” lower than the passenger side. Guess I have some extra work to do as well, just on the opposite side of yours. I should have checked earlier, I was forewarned.
 

Joel K

Supporter
Yes, thanks for the feedback, I have the chassis resting on wooden blocks 4 1/2 inches at the front and 5 1/2 at the rear. That was my initial thought, that I used the 5 1/2 inch block on one side, but that was not the case.
I have the same problem Ken Roberts had, I will have to re-drill the holes on the footbox which really makes me mad because i completely finished the footboxes with insulation and everything. Not a happy camper right now.

Hector,

How about welding up the holes on the front compartment side panels and re-drill them to compensate for the miss-aligned holes on the chassis? Just an idea.
 
Hector,

It would appear there is no rhyme or reason to how far this assembly is off from build to build. Just checked mine and the drivers side is 1/4” lower than the passenger side. Guess I have some extra work to do as well, just on the opposite side of yours. I should have checked earlier, I was forewarned.
Bummer. At least you don't have your footboxes completed . :)
 
Hector,

How about welding up the holes on the front compartment side panels and re-drill them to compensate for the miss-aligned holes on the chassis? Just an idea.
Yes, very good idea Joel, Thanks. I am tackling the project tomorrow, hoping that I don't have to remove everything in the front to get it done
 
So, the fix is not as simple as I thought, the panel is bolted 5mm lower on the driver side, but that is not the main problem, I believe the panel was bent at an angle , not perfect 90 degrees (where the panel is bolted to the footbox) therefore it sits at a downward angle. The bottom line is that at the front next to the footbox is only 5mm lower, but at the very front it is 16mm lower, the only way I can figure to fix it is using washers to make sure it sits parallel to the floor, but it will push the front side farther to the front hopefully that will not cause a major problem with the front clam and the wheel well fitment.
Can't catch a break lately
 

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Mark B.

Supporter
So, the fix is not as simple as I thought, the panel is bolted 5mm lower on the driver side, but that is not the main problem, I believe the panel was bent at an angle , not perfect 90 degrees (where the panel is bolted to the footbox) therefore it sits at a downward angle. The bottom line is that at the front next to the footbox is only 5mm lower, but at the very front it is 16mm lower, the only way I can figure to fix it is using washers to make sure it sits parallel to the floor, but it will push the front side farther to the front hopefully that will not cause a major problem with the front clam and the wheel well fitment.
Can't catch a break lately
I had a similar issue with mine. I ended up sticking a jack under the driver's side front (with the radiator unbolted to avoid damage). Kept the side bolts tight, but the floor bolts to the monocoque loose. I jacked it up to tweak the driver's side panel even with the passenger side. I was able to get them within 1/8" which I was happy with. After I got the splitter and body mounted, I haven't noticed any issues. I did also pray heavily during the jack/bend process though!
 
I had a similar issue with mine. I ended up sticking a jack under the driver's side front (with the radiator unbolted to avoid damage). Kept the side bolts tight, but the floor bolts to the monocoque loose. I jacked it up to tweak the driver's side panel even with the passenger side. I was able to get them within 1/8" which I was happy with. After I got the splitter and body mounted, I haven't noticed any issues. I did also pray heavily during the jack/bend process though!

Mark,

This is exactly what I was considering to fix mine. Glad to know it worked for someone else. Thank you for sharing.

It is scary sometimes to watch professional body men fitting steel panels on cars. The methods used are a little bit crude sometimes, very similar to your jack adjustment. I’ve used a jack numerous times adjusting a door into alignment.
 
I certainly thought about doing it that way, with my luck something is going to break or rip. But I am to the point that I may just do that. I will keep you guys posted, I may compromise a bit and move the mounting holes to make them even, by just re drilling the holes on the radiator box a bit lower, which is easy to do, therefore I won't have to bend the side panel as much. Thanks for the tip Mark. Lately I just feel like I am stuck and nothing is progressing like it should. Hopefully once the body and alignment issues are fixed, the electrical stuff won't be too bad and I finally hear this thing running and try to keep up with Kurt. :)
 
Mark,

This is exactly what I was considering to fix mine. Glad to know it worked for someone else. Thank you for sharing.

It is scary sometimes to watch professional body men fitting steel panels on cars. The methods used are a little bit crude sometimes, very similar to your jack adjustment. I’ve used a jack numerous times adjusting a door into alignment.
crude describes what I do nicely, LOL. hopefully crudeness will get me where I need to be on the body fitment issues,
 

Kyle

Supporter
Just measured mine, dead nuts on. My chassis is a 2014-2015. Only issues I’ve had with the chassis are a warped floor pan where the seat mounts, and my fuel tank being off.
 
Hector,

This is not a race. You are making great progress, keep up the good work. I am a slave to my schedule and am probably spending too much time on the car and not enough on the darling wife, she is starting to feel like a "project widow" and is letting me know as much. Do not make that mistake, trust me!
 
Hector,

This is not a race. You are making great progress, keep up the good work. I am a slave to my schedule and am probably spending too much time on the car and not enough on the darling wife, she is starting to feel like a "project widow" and is letting me know as much. Do not make that mistake, trust me!
Funny you say that. My daughter this morning asked why I spend so much time in the garage. You are right!!
 
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