Just wanted to follow up on yesterday's post, as it had a knock on impact on this...
Frame & Bodywork - Take 3
The body shell has been resting on the frame work for a while now, but it hasn't "settled" any lower.
So I still had some issues with the driver's side not lining up the way I would have liked it to.
The good news is that whilst testing the seat belts I discovered one of the reasons for this...
Yes, the seat belt mounting bracket was fouling the bodywork on the driver's side.
This quickly settled any debate about whether, or not, I would try to use this bracket.
As out came the angle grinder, I then propped up the body & was quickly left with this.
I will remove the rest of the bracket when the body is off again properly.
While the angle grinder was out, I removed the lower seat belt bracket from the driver's side too.
As I've already trimmed the passenger floor pan to fit, the bracket on that side can wait.
I love the new Ribble approach of re-using the Spitfire body shell as it makes for an easier build.
However, that is no longer an option for me, so I will just make the most of what I have got.
So taking my frustrations out on the frame with an angle grinder was very therapeutic.
As there is no escaping the fact this frame work really is a [American Slang]POS[/Cussing]!
Note:
When Andy re-launches the Ribble Navigator (son of Cordite) these issues will be fixed.
Anyway, small rant out of the system and back to where removing this bracket got me...
Instantly, I had a much better fit all round, the door cut out area was much better.
The side of the bodywork now
just covered the lowest frame rail.
Before:
After:
The body also came a lot closer to the pedal mounting plate (more on this later).
This just left the lower front corner on the driver's side as the remaining problem area.
I think I will be able to reclaim a couple of mm by removing the bracket on the left of this photo.
DonnySoutherner previously mentioned that this was surplus to requirements anyway.
It is to bolt the body shell to the frame, but it is next to the plate where the pedals are bolted on.
However, it does sit proud of the rest of the area which makes it the last point of contact.
I did have a go at getting the angle grinder in there without removing the body.
But there was just no room to play with & I just got a face full of sparks for my trouble!
Joking aside, I was grateful for the fact I did have safety glasses on.
Got some domestic stuff to do now, but hope to have more to post later today, Paul.
