Putting the car together for the first time means seeing problems, especially with a kit. Here’s a couple from the last few weeks.
- The rear lower shock mounts don’t clear the frame when there’s a shock bolted through. I shaved the bolt heads down to like 3/16ths and got the driver’s side to just clear, but the passenger side hits the frame rail. So now I’ve got th make studs or grind away a bit of the iron mount.
- The rear torsion arms are slotted too short to allow for the rear wheels to come parallel with the chassis and body. Alignment should be an eighth inch toe-in; these are roughly a half inch right now and there’s not enough adjustment to get them straight. It’s also not certain they’re going to line up square with the body when they’re square with the frame . . .
- Brake pedal is still low. Gonna bleed ’em again but wtf?
- Car won’t start. Weird. First start was like a regular car, now, after I tied all the wires up in looms. she cranks over but won’t catch.
- Came up just short of enough vinyl to trim the interior. I need a 24 x 5-inch piece to finish both door top rails. Hoping to borrow the material. . . .
Other than that, we’re rocking along. The windshield is on. I have the lower firewall, with foam padding to create a correctly Original Spyderesque shape, basically done.
This stuff really pops over the Voodoo Blue paint. The velcro will make it “convertible”—put it in for date night, take it out for track days—so it’s taking a little longer to make and install than it might otherwise.
I’ve not seen a plastic model of these cars with the interior upholstered correctly, so excited to get that done. A little wrinkle removal on this piece… the others won’t be nearly as complex or tricky.
Gonna tow her to the muffler shop this week to get the muffler’s racked and the tail pipes and O2 bung welded on. After that, when I get her to run again, I’ll synch the carbs and head to the DMV for inspection.
Along Came A Spyder 