Rear Trim Strip

[Guest robinj66]

I have a Sierra based S7. I have thrown together a boot lid from ply, foam & vinyl which should keep the SVA man's hand away from sharp edges inside the boot. However I want to fit the rear trim piece (of stainless angle) but I am at a loss how to do it without having any fixings showing.

 

The first picture shows how I want it to look

 

...and the second shows the rear without the trim

 

Any & all ideas gratefully received

[spg]

Glue !!

No nails or similar

 

Steve

[Guest a8dyc]

Hi Robin,

 

You must be getting near the end now then!!!!

Haven't had mine on the road this year but going to next year.

 

My piece of trim is mounted under the roll bar mounting.Doesn't hide the bolts but looks ok.

 

Andy

[Guest robinj66]

I was hoping to cover up those nasty sharp bolt heads and the (possibly) sharp edges on the mount plates of the roll bar.

 

Velcro possibly, although I suspect that MR SVA will say that's not permanent

 

Just waiting for the SVA date to come through the door

[Longboarder]

Cut another piece of ply/mdf or whatever you used for the boot cover to fit the gap between the cover and rear edge of the back of the car. Screw this down behind the boot cover on the top edge of the rear panel. You can leave a gap in this for the roll bar bolts. If they are too tall to go under make the packing strip taller and bend the front edge of the trim strip down so it will end flush on the boot cover when fitted, or fit some trim strip to it. Then stick the trim strip down with sikaflex and clamp it hard up against the rear panel and the boot lid so its edges are flush. Leave for 48 hours. Done. Might need to put some edging strip on the sides of the trim to cover sharp bits.

 

Nigel

[Guest robinj66]

Thanks Nigel.

 

I knew someone would come up with a good idea

[Guest bombhead]

Hi Robin

 

I see you have an s7.I went for my sva today (I also have an s7) and failed just a few pointers just incase you havent thought of them and and what i failed on.

 

I think you have it sorted but check the highest point of your seat belt as this is a commen fail I was told to weld a cross bar across the rollover bar then bolt harness at back.

 

I also failed on the rear fog light not being the brightest worth checking.

 

Check side repeaters and indicator mountings with measurments in lighting regs.

 

Check for steering wheel boss is collasible and steering shaft does not foul any metal work.

 

I also failed on self centering not sure if this is common to s7 or all hoods or if I was unlucky.

 

 

Hope this is of some help

 

Cheers Dan

[Guest robinj66]

Thanks Dan.

 

What are you going to do about the self centring issue? I have no idea whether mine does or doesn't yet - got to get the insurance sorted out.

 

Got any pictures of those nasty sharp external edges - especially interested in the front end

 

Here are a couple of pics of mine - any suggestions/comments re trimming gratefully received (the cycle wing isn't fitted and will have trim around the edge)

[Guest chris brown]

Thanks Dan.

 

What are you going to do about the self centring issue? I have no idea whether mine does or doesn't yet - got to get the insurance sorted out.

 

Got any pictures of those nasty sharp external edges - especially interested in the front end

 

Here are a couple of pics of mine - any suggestions/comments re trimming gratefully received (the cycle wing isn't fitted and will have trim around the edge)

I think it will need some protection around the chassis where the wishbone is mounted also the top ball joint nut needs covering. The roll bar nuts and front washers may also be an issue.

Have you measured the distance from the outer edge of the indicator lenses to the outer extreme of the car – usually the rear wings – as this must be 400mm or less?

[Guest robinj66]

Thanks Chris.

 

I had thought that the nuts should be covered but hadn't considered the washers. I was afraid the cross-member mount might need edging - what a PITA.

 

Yep - I did measure the indicators carefully and they do (just) meet the requirements

 

 

Is it any edge that the tester can see or any edge he can get his sphere to touch?

[Guest chris brown]

any edge he can get his sphere to touch

[Snapperpaul]

Edge trim everywere you can fit it including the cycle wings.

I used neoprene and heatshrink for the top ball joint nut.

Reversed the anti roll bar washers and used a big nut cover.

Track rod nuts were covered with ones from Tifosi but i think they are electrical armour cable glands for external use.

Run your hands over all surfaces and edges, if you can feel an edge you need to cover/blunt it.

For the seat belts i welded in a bar of the same diameter as the original roll bar, make sure it is higher than the SVA requirement when the seats are in place, i also braced the rear mount pick up bar with a straight angle from roll bar to support and a triangulated bar from rear hoop stay bolt to roll bar.

If the roll bar is only fitted with the U clamps provided this could be a fail so i put a 3mm metal plate under the bottom of the roll bar to prevent the roll bar pushing through the floor in the event of a roll, i had 2 anti crush tubes welded in to the roll bar and used 2 x 12mm bolts each side to attach the bar to the sides.

The steering support bar on my S3a was a simple squared off hoop and needed extra support to stop the column moving when the steering wheel was pulled and shoved so i added 2 simple flat bars bent at either end, one end bolted to the column support bar using the bolts that go through the column then the other ends were bolted through the scuttle with a length of angle the other side which makes the lot rigid the supports for the pedal box also come off this angle iron.

 

Self centering is helped by moving any washers for the top wishbone pivot to the front and pumping the tyres up to 30+psi for the test.

[Guest bombhead]

Hi robin

 

Sorry for the slow response. I covered just about everything in either nut covers or edging trim prob a bit over the top but my theory better safe than sorry and it worked as I had no failure points on sharpe edges.

As far as the self centering goes I have started to play with the castor angle by moving washers around to give me more castor. Just trial and error as long as it starts to self centre I think mr sva is happy. May take it to be properly set up by garage but I dont know if there are any correct settings for castor camber and toe has anyone got any info on what they should be ?

 

Cheers Dan

[Guest robinj66]

Thanks for the tips. Keep 'em coming.

 

I'm sure I'll drive you sall crazy over the next week