Lippy's ERA #797 build log

[KevinW]

Great pics, nice build.
Can I just ask, as I have sen this on a few US cars, why is Cool-It matting put on the floor and side of the car? I would not have thought it gets very hot there?

[lippy]

Originally Posted by KevinW

Great pics, nice build.
Can I just ask, as I have sen this on a few US cars, why is Cool-It matting put on the floor and side of the car? I would not have thought it gets very hot there?

The floorboards don't get hot unless you have undercar exhaust. When I installed the floorboards I realized they would vibrate, so I installed the Cool-it for sound dampening. The Cool-it in the footboxes and on the firewall are more to control heat.

[KevinW]

Thanks for the reply.

[lippy]

The right side wheel went on to the pins no problem. On the left side I used a lead hammer and "adjusted" the pins to slide into the template a bit easier, and the wheel went on with some coaxing.

But now I have another problem. On the driver's side, there is 1.5" between the back of the front tire and the fender, and when the wheel is turned, it interferes with the fender (the painted part, not the well). On the passenger side, there is 2.0" between the back of the front wheel and the fender, so it (barely) clears the fender when turned.

I assembled each side with both upper and lower A arms offset to the front, and I double checked this. The tires are correctly sized at 225/65-15. I understand the car is on the dollies and isn't yet loaded, but this seems like a problem if turning with the wheels unloaded (maybe I'd have to be flying, dunno). I'll speak with the guys at ERA tomorrow to see what they say. In the meantime any experience with this would be appreciated.

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by lippy

But now I have another problem. On the driver's side, there is 1.5" between the back of the front tire and the fender, and when the wheel is turned, it interferes with the fender (the painted part, not the well). On the passenger side, there is 2.0" between the back of the front wheel and the fender, so it (barely) clears the fender when turned.

I assembled each side with both upper and lower A arms offset to the front, and I double checked this. The tires are correctly sized at 225/65-15. I understand the car is on the dollies and isn't yet loaded, but this seems like a problem if turning with the wheels unloaded (maybe I'd have to be flying, dunno). I'll speak with the guys at ERA tomorrow to see what they say. In the meantime any experience with this would be appreciated.

What size front tire are you using? I have the same interference on the driver side because I'm using a 70 series tire which is slightly taller than ERA recommends. If you are using their recommended tire size and wheel offsets you shouldn't be having that problem unless the suspension alignment (probably caster) is way out.

They cover the possibility of this driver side interference in their manual - I think it has something to do with the slight differences in the right side and left side body panels that were duplicated from the orginal car. These cars (orig and most replicas) just aren't symetrical from side to side. I had to grind the lower lip on mine slightly for clearance. I haven't touched up the paint yet because I haven't aligned the suspension. The caster/camber will affect how much interference there is.

Good deal you got the knockoffs worked out. After they have been off and on a few times, they seem to go a little easier.