Cabriolet boards, Part I
I tried to install the cabrio running boards the other day using the same approach that worked on the coupe. Sure enough, it didn't work on this car! I couldn't get the rear portion of the fender to fit into the running board without the risk of damaging something. That is, with the fender still attached by the lower front cowl bolt. So rather than mess with it, I waited until friend Paul Austin could help me. He came over yesterday and the good news is that the RH board now fits as it should. Here's the story.
The cabrio fenders were reworked by Ken, but we didn't have the RBs to match them up to. Their dimensions must be slightly different as a result. So we removed the entire fender, loosely connected the RBs mounting bolts and pulled it as far away from the body as it would go. Next we lowered the fender into the RB "slot", fitting it into the cowl and in front of the rubber "horn." It fit OK, but wouldn't slide far enough forward to fit correctly.
So after considerable observation and conversation, we figured the rubber front corner needed to be cut back further to allow the proper fit. We did that with a pen knife, as shown below:
While we were at it, we also filed the RB mounting holes even wider to give us the most flexibility. Then came the mounting of all the fender and cowl bolts, plus the rear mounting bolts. It worked! Once it could slide back as far as it needed to, it fit as it should. All nuts and bolts were tightened once we knew we had the proper alignment.
Here's the result -- ain't it pretty! Looks damn good to me after 4.5 years of waiting. We ran out of time, so will do the LH board next week when I get back from a visit to our Tennessee kids.
BTW, we had removed the valve adjustment panel on this fender to give us more wiggle room.
Once installed, it looked like I could have left more rubber in the area that fits up against the rubber weather seal. You don't notice it on the black coupe, but the tan cabrio paint can be seen in that area if you look hard enough. No big deal, but if you're doing it, you might try leaving more rubber in the middle (door) section.
The cabrio fenders were reworked by Ken, but we didn't have the RBs to match them up to. Their dimensions must be slightly different as a result. So we removed the entire fender, loosely connected the RBs mounting bolts and pulled it as far away from the body as it would go. Next we lowered the fender into the RB "slot", fitting it into the cowl and in front of the rubber "horn." It fit OK, but wouldn't slide far enough forward to fit correctly.
So after considerable observation and conversation, we figured the rubber front corner needed to be cut back further to allow the proper fit. We did that with a pen knife, as shown below:
While we were at it, we also filed the RB mounting holes even wider to give us the most flexibility. Then came the mounting of all the fender and cowl bolts, plus the rear mounting bolts. It worked! Once it could slide back as far as it needed to, it fit as it should. All nuts and bolts were tightened once we knew we had the proper alignment.
Here's the result -- ain't it pretty! Looks damn good to me after 4.5 years of waiting. We ran out of time, so will do the LH board next week when I get back from a visit to our Tennessee kids.
BTW, we had removed the valve adjustment panel on this fender to give us more wiggle room.
Once installed, it looked like I could have left more rubber in the area that fits up against the rubber weather seal. You don't notice it on the black coupe, but the tan cabrio paint can be seen in that area if you look hard enough. No big deal, but if you're doing it, you might try leaving more rubber in the middle (door) section.
posted by Bob Shafto at 4:56 PM
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