I was a bit worried about refitting the body and aligning it. I had made and fitted a non standard heater box and although I took loads of measurements first, I was worried I may have missed something. So the heater could have interfered with the fit. And I was also concerned about alignment because once the body was sitting on its sticky, grungy sealant, it would be difficult to slide it into position if I needed to.
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| Many hands make light work |
So I decided to use the two bolt locations on the rear chassis rail that the body securing bolts go through as reference points and fit alignment pins into them. I drilled out the holes in the bottom of the chassis rail to take M8 rivnuts and then screwed long M8 bolts in from the bottom so they protruded out the top. I left one longer than the other to make fitting easier and made sure both bolts were perpendicular to the chassis rail.
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| Adding sealant to the chassis rails |
So when it came to the time to fit the body, six of us lifted the body off the trestle it was resting on, manoeuvred it over the chassis and lowered the rear first onto the alignment pins. We then knew the body was in exactly the right position over the chassis so were able to lower the front down. It worked a treat and there was a good 15mm clearance between the heater box and the clutch bell housing so that was a bonus as well.....!! All the rest of the bolt holes lined up perfectly. The only issue I had was that the alternator interfered with the stainless steel cladding on the inner wheel arch. The witness Mark's on the cladding showed that this was an issue when the body was first fitted at AK. I have filed a small amount off the fins of the alternator which has given some clearance but whether this is sufficient when the engine is running remains to be seen.
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| Lifting the body on to the chassis |
Once the body was bolted up I removed the bolts that went through the scuttle hoop and the two in the rear chassis rail. In order to provide a good electrical connection between the body and the chassis I removed the powder coating from an enlarged area around the bolt head and nut and then reinserted the bolts using penny washers under both the bolt head and the nut. I tightened them all up again and put a coat of paint over the bolts, nuts and penny washers to ensure no water ingress so that earth remains good. A quick check with a multimeter showed a good connection between body and chassis.
So it now looks like a Cobra again and I can start fitting her out.
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| Back together again. |
Many thanks to all the helpers who were successfully bribed with bacon butties for the occasion. The trestle has gone to a new home supporting another AK body which I am pleased about. Next job is the steering column.
