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Finally set the body on the pan to mark and drill the mount holes. But the body is fitting poorly. There are two issues. The first is front to back. I’m about 1/2-inch short of where I need to be. The front sits on the frame head and the back sits on the rear part of the chassis but is butted against the main rear support bracket on the right side. The second issue is there is a body part inside (I think its the inner firewall) that gets two bolts on each side to bolt the front to the floor pan. Not the two corner bolts, the bolts I mean are part of the inner firewall lip that rests on the floor pan. Only with mine, the lip on each side is an inch above the floor pan.
I plan to take up the space between the floor pan and the firewall lip by using a wood strip all along the bottom. As for the rear fit I’m thinking of grinding some metal off the top of the rear support bracket so the body will slide over it and allow the body to move reaward that necessary 1/2-inch. Has anyone building their TD come across these problems with theirs? If so, what was your solution? Any thoughts from the rest of the group is appreciated.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackMy firewall is the same way @ the pan. I’m going to use a thin gauge square stock to prevent a wood pc from holding water.
Doug does your body sit over the rear support bracket?
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackPhotos of the fit issues.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackTry again…….hope it works.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackAllen,
I have yet to weld up the rear bumper support bracket (if that is what you are showing in the picture…)I should think that the body might have enough flex in it to make up a 1/2 in shortfall (if the front mounts properly, try to push the back into place… (just thinking “out loud” here) Never hurts to try.I have that same gap at the bottom of the firewall (kick wall). That is where I’m planning on the square tube stock.Certianly, we are not the only two with kits with these gaps… Anyone else have these? and what did you all do to fix them?Doug.
The rear main support bracket bolts to the chassis and uses three washers between the chassis and the support bracket. I’m going to remove one of the washers and see if that will fix the front to rear fit problem.Also, if I’m correct, the carpet will slide underneath that space between the floor pan and kick panel. Add in floor soundproofing material and that might take up the space but I think we’ll still need to add a thin strip to anchor the kick panel better. If the carpet doesn’t slip between the kick panel then we’re just dealing with the thin strip of metal. Either way the carpet on the kick panel should be unbound and the extra lay on the floor pan with the floor carpet piece covering it. Just something to consider before we get to far along. Hopefully the others building kits will chime in.newkitman2013-02-24 10:48:27
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackThanks for the info. I’m quite a ways away from these steps. Tons more chassis work than I had anticipated.
If you have extra body pan gasket, that might be worth a try with the floor gap…Well I finally got the body correctly lined up on the chassis and now a new problem crops up…the support bracket won’t let the body sit down on the rear frame of the chassis where the 4 bolts go through. I tell ya…this project has been fighting me every step of the way but I’ll get it completed and with quality. My question now is do I really need the part of the bracket that runs from the left side to the right? It doesn’t appear to support or connect to anything.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackI was thinking exactly the same thing when looking @ your picture yesterday.
It looks from the plans that most of the support of the bumper mounting barcket iron comes from the vertical support clamped from beneith the transmission… I don’t think that the cross member would do much more than provide some additional lateral stability. If the body fits better without that cross member, just weld the horizontal irons (that bolt to the bumper brackets) to the chassis at the bolting location… just my .02Yep. That’s my plan. I’ll recheck the instructions in both the Fiberfab and the CMC Assembly Manuals. Still hoping to hear from others that are building there VW based TDs. Or you and I the only two? newkitman2013-02-24 18:54:47
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackUpdate. I took another look before starting to drill the holes for bolting the body and think I found the problem with the fit on the sides. Think of the side parts of the body as an inverted letter U (with the opening on the bottom). This part of the body fits over the floor pan outside edge. Its my belief that the inner leg of the inverted U has moved torward the outer leg of the body making the opening smaller and preventing it from fitting over the outside edge of the floor pan. Possibly because it has been sitting unassembled for over 30+ years. My thought anyway and in no way does that mean I interpret the installation correctly.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackCan you simply shim the two legs apart with pieces of wood to give you the needed spacing?
Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...If the body is supposed to sit down on the pan with the pan between the inner and outer body portions, then I’ll have to carefully pry the inner edge inwards toward the tunnel until the body slips down onto the pan. Slow going but I only have to mov each side about 1/3-inch.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackAllen, if you can carefully wedge something into the “U” to spread it as much as you need and then heat it with a heat gun, you may be able to get the fiberglas to “relax” to the point it will fit. You might have to make a couple of tries at it. I had an area on the floor of my Cobra cockpit that was “bucked up” and I was able to get it to lay down with this method.
Sam
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