Sean's RCR GT40 build

[Sean Starkey]

I put the windshield back in to measure. Centered up it’s ~1/4” top and bottom and closer to 1/32” on the sides in the middle of the A pillars, top and bottom of the A pillars are closer to 1/4”

I will see if anything can be done on the A pillars first, I f not I’ll take it to a glass shop to have it shaved down slightly on the sides.

 

[NickV]

I had to sand (by hand) the sides of my windshield from RCR. The bottom corners and about 1/4 the distance up the sides needed a “wedge” of glass removed. I used 80g very lightly and then 320g wet sanding. It took many hours, but I was told a new windshield would cost $2,000 USD - So I just made the time. I had 1/8” clearance top and bottom. The sides I had as little as 1/16” In the areas I sanded.

Wow…. Thanks for the heads up…. Idk if I would have thought I could just simply sand the windshield to fit. Thanks for the tip. This gives me confidence we can make things work now.

 

[NickV]

My windshield was tight it rubbed against the posts, more so on the passenger side. I had to have it shaved by my glass guy.

What did he do to shave it? Do you know? Any alternative to just using sandpaper?

 

[Vinny P]

What did he do to shave it? Do you know? Any alternative to just using sandpaper?

He used a belt sander; I don't remember which grit paper he used I can find out. It's easy enough now that I watched him do it. You have to follow the direction of the edge of the glass moving the sander up and down the edge, not in one spot.

 

[Sean Starkey]

I decided to go ahead and get the parts I don’t want to do out of the way.

I started manipulating the spider to fit everything better. Used a lot of clamps a lot of weights and a lot of heat. I now have things moving in the right direction and the doors are getting close to fitting. The clamshell lines up pretty good with the spider now. I needed the back edge of the spider to go up to match the clamshell, so I made an aluminum bracket to hold it up that bolts to the firewall. This seems to be doing the job very well. I will plan to glass it in when I remove the spider.

I decided to go ahead and fix the horrible lines from where the fender flares were glued in. This has been bugging me from the day I received the kit. I used some body filler to smooth out the lines then 2 layers of fiberglass mat to reinforce the whole thing. This should blend right into the panel once it’s painted.

Did I mention I love fiberglass? I think my wife is ready to move out due to the fumes.

 

[Sean Starkey]

I think I’m finally at a point of alignment that I can start adjusting the gaps. I’m pretty impressed of how things have lined up thus far. The only gap I have sanded at this point is the front of the doors as they were a 1/2” too long. Nothing else has been touched yet

 

[Sean Starkey]

Working on body gaps today. I built up the clamshell with fiberglass then smoothed it out with body filler to make the gap touch the spider. My plan is to sand down the gap to 1/8”, having it built up this way gave me a good surface the whole way around and should only need to take material away now.


I do have a question about door fitment. I’ve got the door where I want it and the gap is 1/8” all the way around it, but the door touches the spider when opening and closing. I’ve heard others had this issue as well. Any suggestions on a fix for this? I’ve already undercut the the bottom of the door where it touches and that helped a lot but still not enough. I don’t want to open that gap up anymore and was thinking that it might be possible to roll that lip on the spider a bit to clear, but not sure how that would look after paint.

 

[Ian Anderson]

Are you fitting eyebrows on the outside of the spider? If so will they cover them part of the spider that needs fettling?

if so it will not be seen after paint

Ian

 

[Mark Turner]

Are you fitting eyebrows on the outside of the spider? If so will they cover them part of the spider that needs fettling?

if so it will not be seen after paint

Ian

Are you fitting eyebrows on the outside of the spider? If so will they cover them part of the spider that needs fettling?

if so it will not be seen after paint

Ian

Working on body gaps today. I built up the clamshell with fiberglass then smoothed it out with body filler to make the gap touch the spider. My plan is to sand down the gap to 1/8”, having it built up this way gave me a good surface the whole way around and should only need to take material away now.


I do have a question about door fitment. I’ve got the door where I want it and the gap is 1/8” all the way around it, but the door touches the spider when opening and closing. I’ve heard others had this issue as well. Any suggestions on a fix for this? I’ve already undercut the the bottom of the door where it touches and that helped a lot but still not enough. I don’t want to open that gap up anymore and was thinking that it might be possible to roll that lip on the spider a bit to clear, but not sure how that would look after paint.

Working on body gaps today. I built up the clamshell with fiberglass then smoothed it out with body filler to make the gap touch the spider. My plan is to sand down the gap to 1/8”, having it built up this way gave me a good surface the whole way around and should only need to take material away now.


I do have a question about door fitment. I’ve got the door where I want it and the gap is 1/8” all the way around it, but the door touches the spider when opening and closing. I’ve heard others had this issue as well. Any suggestions on a fix for this? I’ve already undercut the the bottom of the door where it touches and that helped a lot but still not enough. I don’t want to open that gap up anymore and was thinking that it might be possible to roll that lip on the spider a bit to clear, but not sure how that would look after paint.

Are you sure that 1/8 is enough? Add in paint and primer thickness x2 and you won’t be left with much gap.
I made this mistake on an aircraft project,
The designer called for 1/4 and I thought 1/8 was better I wish I would have listened

 

[Davidmgbv8]

Have you fitted the doors with the seals in place yet?

 

[Bill Kearley]

IMHO, You are asking a lot when hopping for a 1/8 gap at the doors and the spider.

 

[Sean Starkey]

Are you fitting eyebrows on the outside of the spider? If so will they cover them part of the spider that needs fettling?

if so it will not be seen after paint

Ian

I’m still on the fence with the eyebrows. I have a set but not sure if I really like how they look. Unfortunately they don’t cover the area of the door that’s rubbing. I’m debating something that ties into the roll bar to hold the doors in place as I have seen others do.

The part that hits is the corner where it starts to transition from the roof to the side of the car. Both sides hit in the same spot pointed out in the picture

 

[Sean Starkey]

Have you fitted the doors with the seals in place yet?

Yes sir all seals are in place including the clamshell seal.

 

[Sean Starkey]

Are you sure that 1/8 is enough? Add in paint and primer thickness x2 and you won’t be left with much gap.
I made this mistake on an aircraft project,
The designer called for 1/4 and I thought 1/8 was better I wish I would have listened

I’m actually thinking 1/8” is on the large side of what’s needed. Guess I can make a more educated decision if the need to be bigger when I get to the primer stage. I feel 1/4” might be a bit big for the doors and clamshell though.

 

[Sean Starkey]

Still have some tweaking to do but having the body gaps done makes a huge difference on how the car is looking.

 

[Adam]

I couldn’t get a gap like that to work on mine. Maybe have the door sweep in high and have the striker drag it down into position.

 

[bryanf]

I’m actually thinking 1/8” is on the large side of what’s needed. Guess I can make a more educated decision if the need to be bigger when I get to the primer stage. I feel 1/4” might be a bit big for the doors and clamshell though.

I went with 3/16" everywhere.

 

[Sean Starkey]

I went with 3/16" everywhere.

Thanks Bryan. After revisiting your build showing it painted I think I will do the same thing. The lines looked perfect on that car. This will most likely open up the doors enough to keep it off the spider.

 

[NickV]

I’m still on the fence with the eyebrows. I have a set but not sure if I really like how they look. Unfortunately they don’t cover the area of the door that’s rubbing. I’m debating something that ties into the roll bar to hold the doors in place as I have seen others do.

The part that hits is the corner where it starts to transition from the roof to the side of the car. Both sides hit in the same spot pointed out in the picture

I was on the fence with the door eyebrows as well... but I haven't seen people use something that ties into the roll bar, and searching the forums didn't yield any results. Could you point me to an example?

BTW, I have no problems at 3/16" gaps as well around the doors. I had the same problem with the doors dragging during opening until I opened them up slightly. 3/16" is my target everywhere but I had to take a break from the fiberglass work... lots to circle back to in the future.

You're flying through this body work!!!!! keep up the great work.

 

[Randy V]

Sean, take a look at how I addressed the interference problem. The part of the door (rear roof corner) gets chamfered from the bottom and that leaves the corner with a relatively sharp edge, but that chamfer clears the spider. Once it’s painted, you’re not going to notice the bevel in the spider. I’ll see if I can find another pic and upload it.