Minor Body Rub Question

[Elipper]

I have a new to me Series II. It is a 1969 FHC which just had a pretty extensive restoration by British European Motors in Cotati, California. When I looked at the car it had rubbed the paint off in a 1" area inside the bonnet in front of the right wheel on the panel that is behind the headlight and just above the bonnet hinge. The guys at British European adjusted the torsion bars so that the front end was at the same height as the rear and believed that sorted the problem. I noticed yesterday that if I turn the wheel all the way to the left that the tire will still rub slightly in this area as evidenced by a new paint blemish but does not appear to do it sitting static in the garage. The left side has no problem. The tires are 185's by Michelin. The car drives perfect and the alignment is exceptional so i don't feel like the front end could be set up wrong. I cannot see anything that is obviously wrong. Any ideas on what I should be looking at would be appreciated.

[mgcjag]

Hi Eric...first step would be to actually measure the front ride height as specified in the Jag service manual...A photo side on of the front would also let us see any obvious problems that we could help you with.....Steve

[Jeff Cecil]

Eric, these cars were not precision fit when made. While restoring my 69 fhc, I noticed an quarter an inch difference from right side to left side at the rear quarter windows. (Maybe that's why they call them quarter windows I thought). Jokes aside, I have heard stories that the factory workers would hold several doors up to the openings until they got the closest fit and would massage the best one into place.
Bonnets were somewhat the same, and were adjusted accordingly to how they fit the subframes/trapeze frame, etc.. There are lots of horror stories among the E Type owners about bonnet fit.

My guess is that the restorers moved the bonnet/cowl gap closer to get a nice gap look and in doing so, they moved the whole bonnet closer back on the side rubbing to close the gap. There are shims behind the bonnet hinges on most cars to adjust the bonnet away from the cowl. If they went for a close gap they may have removed the shims on that side or both sides. People have been known to weld a small bead of wire to the rear of the bonnet to bring it to a nice gap. All kinds of things can happen when fitting the bonnet. Moving the bonnet in tight for a smaller gap could bring your tire into play by rubbing.

Just my thoughts on your problem.

[Tom W]

Are your track rod ends set to equal length? If not, the wheels will turn more to one side than the other at full lock, as the lock stops are internal to the rack. This can still be the case as even if the car tracks straight, and the steering wheel is level at straight ahead.

[PeterCrespin]

Any ideas on what I should be looking at would be appreciated.
/quote]

For a minor body rub I'd recommend warm scented oils in front of an open fire. It will either work or you'll stop worrying about it. Win-win...

[Elipper]

thanks guys. still trying to sort it. I also have a bad Lucas 11AC alternator which has not been easy to find. Joy.

[Jeff Cecil]

Eric, If I were you, I would:

Drive the 2005 Ford GT on Monday
The 2005 NSX on Tuesday
The 2001 M3 Convertible On Wednesday
The 1999 Ferrari 355 On Thursday
The 1978 King Cobra On Friday
The 1967 Shelby GT 500 on Saturday
The 1963 Corvette Coupe on Sunday
And put the 2 E Types On display in my living room.

But to your Alternator problem, If you find a competent re-builder, he will insulate the wires going through the housing and it will cure your problem.

[Elipper]

Just to update the group on the body rub question. I ended up measuring the ride height per the book and found it to be spot on. I also confirmed that I have the right size tires and that the camber was correctly set. The torsion bars were new and had not settled. After that I looked at the bonnet shims and discovered that the right side of the car had no shims at all. When I added a .127 shim into the hinge it solved the body rub entirely. I guess the restoration shop was trying to make the rear gap too tight to the cowl and the rearward position of the bonnet (.127 off) was enough just to let the tire rub a small spot. I did notice that when I got the cowl correctly situated that the where the wheel arch lines up to the rocker panel is now correct (it was previously about 1/8" toward the rear. I think I have now solved it. So at least this outlines my efforts for anyone else that has this problem in the future.

[Jeff Cecil]

Eric, these cars were not precision fit when made. While restoring my 69 fhc, I noticed an quarter an inch difference from right side to left side at the rear quarter windows. (Maybe that's why they call them quarter windows I thought). Jokes aside, I have heard stories that the factory workers would hold several doors up to the openings until they got the closest fit and would massage the best one into place.
Bonnets were somewhat the same, and were adjusted accordingly to how they fit the subframes/trapeze frame, etc.. There are lots of horror stories among the E Type owners about bonnet fit.

My guess is that the restorers moved the bonnet/cowl gap closer to get a nice gap look and in doing so, they moved the whole bonnet closer back on the side rubbing to close the gap. There are shims behind the bonnet hinges on most cars to adjust the bonnet away from the cowl. If they went for a close gap they may have removed the shims on that side or both sides. People have been known to weld a small bead of wire to the rear of the bonnet to bring it to a nice gap. All kinds of things can happen when fitting the bonnet. Moving the bonnet in tight for a smaller gap could bring your tire into play by rubbing.

Just my thoughts on your problem.

You're welcome.