Progress

Well, Tonight I figured a great way to raise and lower the body for the second fit up. Four of eye bolts welded to the bodies frame , a chain pulley and a wooden A frame. Worked great... no flex on the glass. Found a few fit up issues. The DTM cooling system sits up 2 inches too far. I will have to cut the rear engine covers interior side to make fit. I am lucky I have extra paint. Also found out the front end has been narrowed 2 inches. I may go with spacer or just go out and buy a new front end.

Love that color man. Car looks awesome.

Joe,

She's looking great, Joe. I admire those of you that have built them ground up.

Jim

Joe, I had some fit issues with the DTM as well. I think I have some pictures on my build site.

Here is what we talked about before in your email so maybe Alan can shed some light on the problem:

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Chris Sutton [mailto:chris@chriskate.net]
> Sent: Thursday, July 15, 2004 8:30 AM
> To: Soltis, Joseph
> Subject: Re: your mail
>
> Yup. Before I did any painting I had the engine in and the body test
> fit.
> The deck lid closed but the fit on the DTM was really close.
>
> I painted the door jams and back sides of the hood, doors and deck lid.
>
> Then I did the final mount of the body to the pan, put the doors, hood,
> and deck lid on. Then I put the engine back in.
>
> When I went to close the deck lid, because the body was now mounted
> permanent, it was about a 1/4" lower, and the deck lid would not close.
> I had 2 problems. One was the DTM where the cooling hose back to the
> oil cooler came off the top was hitting. I did some bending to make the
> circle more into an oval. That helped a bit, but then I noticed that my
> other problem was the lid was hitting the rim of the alternator as well
> as the pulley. I tried to do a little grinding of the alternator
> housing, and I think I took some pictures of that. I did not want to
> hack up and put a hole in the deck like and re-glass things because I
> had just painted the bottom. In the end I did anyway and cut 2 holes.
> One for the DTM and one for the alternator. Reglassed them over, then
> went back to the booth and painted the outside of the car.
>
> I touched up the back side of the deck lid with a brush and it looks
> fine.
>
> Now, since you did major things to the deck lid, you might be OK, but
> you really won't know until you have the engine in. Also, because you
> have a custom pan, you body might ride a little higher and you will not
> have the same problems I did.
>
> I think worse case is you will have to modify the deck lid and maybe
> have it re-painted in a couple of minor (non outside smooth surfaces).
>
> I'm getting killed here with lack of time. The weather is perfect for
> speedster driving, and I have a gut feeling I will not have it on the
> road until September, and then I bet luck will have it that the Rain
> starts early this year in Seattle. Oh well.
>
> Good luck with the paint.
>
> Chris

I have installed the DTM into two different CMC bodies w/o a problem , odd that yours is hitting, how about posting a pic of the problem ? The speedy is looking great! Alan

I remember Chris. I did cut the complete under side of the engine cover down to flatten it out . I did not go far enough....I am a 1/2" shy. I will let Jake know that he needs to make a slight statement regarding some of the Speedster body's.
Joe

I think the problem is the rear of the body being a bit lower when riveted to the 2x2 steel pieces that support the rear section.
I had a problem with the 2" hose too,

I made a stainless oval adapter by using a piece of exhaust pipe adapter setting it between two pieces of wood on a vise, "adjusting" it to fit..

You may be able to refit the body 3/8 to 1/2" higher without a noticeable verticle door jamb gap change
Using a floor jack for support, set a 4 foot 2x4 across the rear of the body section then jack up on it until it has a bit of resistance,
drill out the exsisting rivets, gently jack the rear of the body up checking the door gaps and drill new body to 2x2 mounting holes replacing the rivets with 5/16" bolts ... five on each side are needed, for additional support, you can use a auto body type of adhesive between the body and the 2x2 steel.

Al ,
I thought of that fix. Unfortunately the body was fitted up with the proper door gaps. I cannot change ir. I'll just have to cut some glass. I just bought another quart of paint @ $75. Its no big thing. Thanks for suggestion.

Joe, here is what I finally ended up doing on my deck lid. Still need to patch the holes, but the cutouts are where I was having some major problems.

Chris's approach seem to be the right one, a little 'glassing and a shot of paint!

I've had to work fast . My painter is going to shoot it friday. The alternator was not an issue. I flattened out the engine cover underside. The DTM is the only issue. I used a plastic salad bowl as a form . Had to cut it up a bit. Used plastic tape to aid in forming the mold. Now I have to figure out how to get a 3" pipe in a 2 1/4" space. No problem ... I'll surprise you later!

The hump is done. No clearance issue now with the DTM. Now off to the paint shop .