Project No-Flight Update
December 2004
I had to take the car off the lift so Julie could get underneath the C-5, so while it was out I decided to get a couple of pictures to try to get a better color balance on the chassis. The motor isn't in it, and I haven't set the final coil-over ride height, so it is setting a little higher in the front than it will be. I've also added the rear valance panel, which I got from a forum member over a year ago, but have just gotten around to installing. It fit in with nothing more than marking where the mounting holes needed to go.
This is the view I hope most people will see :D
One last look at the engine compartment before I put the motor in. I need to get that moved up on my schedule as I really need to free up the garage space.
I still need to decide what I want to do for a grill treatment, I'll black out all the panels once the car is painted. It is setup so the only air that goes in the grill is what goes into the radiator, which will hopefully help keep the front end planted to the ground. I still may add a small air dam, but need to see just how much clearance I have once it is at the final ride height. I don't want to have a dam that is so low to the ground that I can't get the car in my driveway or up on the lift.
I pulled the door hinges out and installed new bushings and pins so I can get ready to hang and adjust the doors next. Here is a shot of them after the new pins were installed and cleaned down to the original zinc primer, then they were given a fresh coat of zinc chromate to get them ready to go back in the car. I also want to sand the areas where the hinges will sit as it should be much easier to get into while the hinges are out.
Getting at the hinge bolts turned out to be rather tricky as the inner bolts are now hidden behind the roll cage forward braces. I was in luck and have just the right length extension to get a socket and ratchet on the bolts between the roll bar and the side panels.
As seen in the door jamb photo above, the prior owners had ground the fender edge too far, causing a very wide door gap at the front edge of the drivers door. I built up a new edge using fiberglass roving. Here is still is awaiting being ground back to a final shape (which I transferred from the other side), and after trimming. I also had to patch a hole in the door sill from the prior owner grinding just a "little" too far.
While waiting for the fiberglass to dry I started assembling the window runs for the drivers side door. The doors were completely gutted when I got them, including cutting out most of the fiberglass inner panel on the drivers door. I was able to purchase new rear window runs, and use them to determine the shape for a new forward window run. I clamped two pieces of 'c' channel to a narrow strip of plywood and used my hydraulic tubing bender to curve the channel to match the curvature of the rear window run. You can see one of the curved pieces setting on the bottom edge of the door in the photo below.
Since I plan to use Plexiglas race windows, which I can cut to size, I didn't have to make the movable window exactly the same size as stock. It worked out best in fitting the new forward channel to make it slightly larger the a stock window. I was going to try and make a one piece window like the C-3's, but there isn't enough room in the door behind the hinge box. As a compromise I will modify the door to use a fixed forward "wing" panel with a "normal" movable window. Here you can see the new forward window run being fitted into place, with a carefully paralleled panel to hold the two tracks in alignment. I still need to fabricate a new bottom bracket to attach to the existing metal door reinforcement. I'm hoping that I can fit a late model power window mechanism in, but the distance from the bottom of the window glass to the bottom of the door when in the down position looks like it could make that fairly challenging.
The one thing in the doors that actually works is the latch mechanism, which cleaned up nicely and will be greased and reinstalled once the doors are hung and adjusted.
Driver side door is hung and rough gaps aligned. The front gap needs to be at least the thickness of a paint stir stick to get the door to clear the fender (the outside ridge is probably a little high from the prior owners new front clip installation). The rear gap is two tongue depressors wide. I may work on it a little to open it up closer to the front gap size. The door top is slightly depressed compared to the roof panel. It used to be higher than the roof so the prior owner had sanded it down. Now that is is hung a little better I need to build it back up slightly.
It was much easier to align the door after I removed all the old cracked weather strip, as it was holding the door out of place unless you really leaned on it. It is really nice to work on the car without the floor panels in, as I could stand up and tighten the door hinge bolts inside the car instead of laying on your head. Note to self: next time don't put the forward cage brace at the same height as the door hinge bolts!
To go with the new window opening I removed the old recess for the felt strip (which was now too short). I don't know if I'll fit a new, longer strip or just run without it since this isn't really going to be a "rain" car.
