Scuttle And Fire Wall

[Guest tom-zero]

hi

 

i have been out in the garage for the last couple of nights doing various bits on the car and keep looking at / thinking about the scuttle and firewall panel i have looked at all the build blogs and pictures but still just can not get my head around how it works/ fits together, im sure im just missing something simple, but cant work it out lol anyone got any tips on how to tackle it,

 

how does it stay together i always thought the metal tabs kept it together but after reading some of the blogs it would apear these get cut off after completed ?

 

also when trying to line up the firewall pannel with the chassis cross member i assume this is held on with rivnuts where gbs have already drilled the holes in the panel but the issue here is when i line the back edge up with the back of the cross memeber the pre drilled holes will miss the chassis as in its to far forward ( i will upload some pics to hopefully explain what i mean better ) the obvious answer i thought was to move the firewall pannel back slightly but then i was worried nothing would line up if i got this possitoned wrong eg. scuttle and bonnet the other option was to drill more holes in the fire wall panel but further back so they will hit the chassis rail where i will have the rivnuts ?

 

if anyone can make sence of what im trying to say and has any tips or advice it would be greatly appreciated (pics to follow)

 

thanks Tom

[Guest tom-zero]

pics

[Guest tom-zero]

in the fist pic u can see the overlap im trying to describe

 

in the second pic i have postioned it flush with the back of the rail altho this means the holes wont line up with the chassis

 

the third pic is roughly how i thought it should look

 

in the fourth pic the black dots i have drawn nearer the left is where the holes would be with the pannel siting flush at the back and the holes further to the right are more inline with the middle of chassis cross memeber

 

and in the last pic i have marked to show the over lap as the flash on the camera makes it hard to see

 

also i forgot to ask should the battery tray pannel sit on top of the firewall pannel or the firewall panel on top of the battery tray pannel ?

[gr8nomad]

G'day Tom, I share your concern/pain. I am fitting the scuttle at the moment but I have found that the rivnut holes in the flange on the firewall did in fact match up and the vertical plane matched the back of the chassis cross member - give or take... It seems at times that offering the piece up for the tird or forth time seems to make the difference. It is a real pity that there is no difinitive answer on the GBS/Kitspare website, but there you go. I found the various build blogs/diaries to be most helpful. I am planning to put the battery tray on top og the flange ( mainly because I think it will look neater) but there is nothing anywhere to suggest this s the right or wrong way. What I would say is that you need to take into consideration the fitment of the pedal box as well , and I an not sure how the battery tray on top of the firewall flange and under the pedal box flange will look in my build.

 

Having given you my 6 penn'th worth, I have to commend you for being out in the garage in the weather that you are having at the moment. I find it much easier to think in the 30+ degrees we are having

 

BTW, if you think this part is difficult, wait til you get to the electrics!!

Geoff

[Guest tom-zero]

thanks Richard im busy tonight but hope to get back out in the garage tomorrow so will get the firewall pannel fitted with the rivnuts as best i can in the correct postion that might make things easier to work out if i get really stuck i will let you know about coming up to look at yours thanks for the help

[Guest iank]

Tom,

 

You should be able to get the holes to fit in the centre line of the chassis tube. The firewall can be moved back or if necessary forward to sit correctly.

 

Make up a former to that matches the chassis rail layout to hold the scuttle in place and while you fit the firewall and dash panel. This will help you get it in shape.

 

Have a look here - you will need to scroll down a few pics until you see the scuttle being built up.

 

https://plus.google.com/photos/100634882461714965002/albums/5791737494808418145?authkey=CJi7op_Gv9aAygE

[Guest tom-zero]

i like the idea of using the wood as a former may give that a try and will be bookmarking that page i can see those photos will be helpful again in the future thanks

[Guest tom-zero]

also what size rivnuts do you use on the chassis for the scuttle i mean the ones down each side of the chassis ( 3 each size)

[gr8nomad]

Hi Tom, I am going with M10 rivnuts to hold the scuttle sides to the chassis; used M6 along the front. Probably a bit of over-kill on the side, but I fugure it is going the be the area of most stress.

 

I have a question for you and the rest of the community - what is the set-back from the rear edge of the scuttle to the dashboard? I have put the former in at the depth of the tabs i.e about 30 mm, but I now find that the (pre-cut) hole for the steering column and switch stalks does not fit. What has everyone else done - before I go cutting large chunks out?

 

Geoff

[Shaft]

I just drilled and tapped the chassis rail M5 for mounting the scuttle. Not a fan of rivnuts due to the massive holes you have to drill in the chassis rails. The panels can add stiffness to the chassis if fitted 'taut' but the scuttle isn't one of these in my opinion. Going M10 bolts is way oversize, the alloy would tear long before they sheared.

 

I loose fitted the nose cone and alligned the bonnet sides to position the scuttle. If not there's the risk of the bonnet looking a pigs ear.

The cut outs for the column etc are only a rough guide as the factory have no idea of where any one individual is going to 'set' their steering column position.

HTH,

Nick.

[Grim]

M10 rivnuts need a 13.1mm hole! that's a large hole in your chassis. I'd go for shaft's suggestion.

[gr8nomad]

Thanks Shaft, Richard and Grim.

It is all good advice that I will follow. Must admit that the M10's did look a bit big for the job - not to mention the hole in the chassis Grim!

 

Shaft, I am a little intrigued by your comment about setting the steering column, It doesn't appear to me to have any room for adjustment. I would like it a little further out from the dash panel, but cannot see how to achieve that in the column, which is why I was querying moving the dash forward. BTW, I have your build blog bookmarked, and it has been a great source of enlightenment for me thus far.

 

Richard, just to clarify, I should be looking for the bonnet to overlap/sit on top of the scuttle by about 2 cm? Yes, mine is a GT or wide body' as it was known when I purchased it.

 

Many thanks again, and I love the time zone thing. I can ask a question and as I sleep on it, answers are there when I wake up

Geoff

[Shaft]

The fore aft adjustment can be set by what spacers you make and fit between the column and chassis mounting plate. The steering wheel can then also be spaced once you have your seat set up sorted.

 

Thanks for the kind words regarding my blog and pics.