wheel arch drawing required

Something is wrong with the Classic body style rear wheel arches on the wifes car. They are not as flat nor the same shape as pics I see on the web and now is the time to fix it before the body goes out for paint

My problem is that there are no other cars here that I can measure, other than one in Pattaya with the same crappy Classic arches that I have. I would appreciate if someone could point me to a drawing, or failing that, it would be greatly appreciated if someone could trace their arch and email/post it to me.

Beer Singh on me if you should ever be in Chiangmai

Are you after arches from a particular kind of car?
Speedsters aren't all the same; I don't think my car has the same arches as a Beck or an SAS, for example.
If my car answers the mail, I'll make some tracings for you.

Here are a few angles on a Beck. Look the same as Cory's to me.

This site has car "blueprints" and some have dimensions marked.

http://www.the-blueprints.com/blueprints/cars/porsche/

When I installed a widened front beam on my flared JPS, the right front wheel rubbed slightly at full lock. No sweat. Put a piece of string onto the wheel center. Traced out a perfect radius from the point of clearance with a grease pencil. Had at it with the old saber saw and a fine file. Removed a piece off the wheel arch that tapered from zero to nearly one inch and back to zero again. Hot rods are fun!

these pics bring me to my second problem - the rear wheel is not centred in the wheelwheel and I was planning to fix this at the same time as the shape.
Looking at the red car it seems that it is not centred either, and the print suggests that the wheel is further to the front, but difficult to tell without the vector drawing

Since I have to do this it may as well be right so which is true to the orignal design?

Wolfgang - thanks for the link, however one cannot simply buy the vector drawing I want, and must buy "credits" that are exchanged for the drawing. The catch is that the credits are only sold in increments 2.5 X greater than what I want - what a screwy system

Cory - a tracing would be great. I will PM you my mailing address, if you cannot scan and email
Beer Singh on me

I got your e-mail. I'll have tracings in the mail to you by this weekend.
Cheers!

Welcome to the common issue with the CMC's . I most cases the builder did not set the body on chassis correctly. Or worst case they cut the pan too short. I had the same issue . I re-set the body on the chassis. Make sure that the body is cenetered ( side to side) before making the final mount. Weighted string (a nut tied to the end)centered over the well openings and a tape measure work well to accomplish this task.

Hey Robert, are you refering to the cut shape of the wheel archs, the placement front to back or the left and right sides of the body in relation to the tires?

Please..., a little more info.

David / dd-ardvark

Referring to the fore-aft placement of the rear wheel in the opening. In my case the wheel is not centred.

Rear side to side is close enough, and when I redo the arch shape, I will bond in a 1/4 round bar rather than a simple 1/2 flange to make the lip a bit smaller and prettier. This should give me tyre/fender clearance when the car engine is removed as it rubs as is.

The shape of the arch does not seem correct either, and I am looking forward to receiving Cory's tracing - thanks a lot

Joe - On my CMC I had no choice front to rear - just a little side to side. The CMC sub-frame is pre-drilled for the 2 bolts either side just behind the rear wheels and the rear has a single bolt either side that attaches to the suspension shock tower piece. Side-to-side the body is off a bit so that driver's side has tad less clearance.

If you look at an original steel Speedster you'll find there is very little wheel opening lip. I cut back the fiberglass by about 1/2 to give more clearance - making it look more authentic was a side benefit.

I'm not sure i'd bond a piece of ferrous metal in the arch - it will surely rust and cause fiberglass to crack as it does. Metal doesn't bond very well to fiberglass.

Bob:

There are lots of fiberglass rod products out there. First that came to mind is driveway markers for snow plows, but you'll probably have a hard time finding those in Thailand, so try the rod for a bicycle flag - they're usually 5+ feet long and are resinized fiberglass strands. Rough up the gell with sandpaper and glass it right in (but you'll need something to hold it in place as it wants to be straight). They usually come in 1/4" diameters, too.

gn

Stainless Braided Cable:

When repairing fiberglass fender lips this is the trick. Glass this 0.25

And after thought: If you want a thinner cable I'm sure you could get away with 0.125", this will do a 3" dia. circle.

David / dd-ardvark

thanks for the tips on the fender arch rod. Will see what i can find and give it a go

Jig sawed the arch into the proper shape today (thanks to Cory's pattern) and it looks like it should.

There is currently no lip on the fender and even with the engine out the tyres do not rub. Am I asking for a cracked fender if I do not bond in the wire rope and just leave it as is?

I don't believe so, but you'll want to do something to provide a finished surface to the cross-section of the fiberglass. Somehow, add just a bit of glass over the porous cut, and I believe you'll have better longevity with your paint in that area.
The lip was most likely put there on the first cars in order to provide strength during the crated shipping process, which your body will not endure. If you're plopping that thing right on the chassis and reinforcing it against lateral or twisting movement, it shouldn't need that wire rope reinforcement.
I don't know why that didn't occur to me before now.
Glad you got the tracing, by the way.

It may endure however, the odd bump by inconsiderate drivers, of which there is more than a few over here.

It is all ground down now and if I am to bond more glass over the cut is is not much more work to stick a wire rope in there. Will play with is this afternoon

More thanks to Theresa