Door Latch

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Major System Category: Body (Door)
Task: Install door latch
Parts: Door latch
Prerequisite Tasks:
Additional Costs:
Time Requirement: 4 hours
Date Started: November 19, 2012
Date Completed:  November 19, 2012

Originally, I had the door latch and striker as part of the same task (i.e. the latch closes around the striker and that's what keeps the door closed). I started working on the doors prior to putting an engine and transaxle in the car. The only way to get the engine and transaxle into the car is to remove the body shell. This is already complicated by the rear hatch hinges and the front hood latches. Both of these have to be disconnected before the body shell can be removed. Installing the striker, adds a needless complication to the removal process. So this part will have to wait until after the engine and transaxle are installed (sometime in 2014).

This is the latch attached to the mounting bracket. Factory Five purchased the latch from a third party. I am pretty sure they machined the mounting bracket.

Likewise the doors have to be removed from the car before the shell can come off. The doors seem less problematic that the hatch hinge and hood latches, because by the time I have to remove the doors - everything related to their fitment should be in place per the arrangement of the hinges on the doors.

The curved part is the cut out area where the latch is exposed as part of the door. 

The latch has a similar arrangement in terms of adjustment as the hinge does. The work area for the latch is very tight, and difficult to work with. The hinge and the latch need to be tightened down together. This happens prior to window placement, since the internal frame needs to be solid so the window tracks can be attached. There are a bunch of pieces here and they all have to work together.

This is the latch mounting bracket connected to the internal frame on the rear side of the door. To the right of the internal frame, the opening for the external door handle is in close proximity to the latch controls. This will be covered up and closed in as I am opting for shaved door handles and internal door poppers.

Placement of the latch is dictated by the formed cut out area for the latch and the depth of the latch inside the door. In other words, enough of the latch needs to be visible so the striker can properly mate with the latch. I already have some issues with the drivers side hood latch and I don't want to repeat that mistake here. Eventually, I am going to have to adjust the hood striker to line up a little better, but I am holding off until the body shell goes back on for good (i.e. after the engine and transaxle are installed).

This photo shows the internal frame connected tot he latched, the rear window track and the  cables going back to the motor, and the internal door popper. The items still missing at this point is the glass, the fixed tracks, the filled in exterior door handle (i.e. shave door handle), and the internal mechanism to open the door from the inside of the car.

I used the Dremel with a cut off wheel to cut the fiber glass and open up a slot for the latch mechanism. The fiber  glass is very thin here as it is on the hinge side. Once I had the latch comfortably exposed, I tested the latch mechanism by pushing the striker into place.

Rear Hatch Louvers

<< Rear Hatch Release Popper                                            Rear Body Louver >>

Major System Category: Body (Hatch)
Task: Install rear hatch louver
Parts:

• Rear Hatch Louver
• 8115 3M Bonding Kit
• Fiber Glass supplies

Prerequisite Tasks: Assemble and mount hatch latch
Additional Costs: $42
Time Requirement: 2 hours
Date Started: September 14, 2012
Date Completed:  September 20, 2012
The build manual calls for mesh to be used for the rear hatch screen. This is the cutout located between the hatch window and the rear edge of the hatch. I have read repeated posts where people talk about heat issues related to the engine bay. One guy indicated that after 20 minutes the hatch glass was too hot to touch. Recently, I saw photo where someone had built a beautiful engine cover. My thought was how hot does that sucker get.

The louvers are shipped flat. They need to be bent and secured against the  brackets for each set of louvers. 

The mesh supplied with the kit restricts air flow too much. This is the conclusion of the builders who have gone ahead of me. This is one of the benefits of starting on chassis #402. Just like there isn't a silver bullet to provide instant horsepower, there isn't a single modification that provides the cooling and venting necessary. The solution is to attack the problem from multiple angles:

• Vent the undercarriage.
• Install the roof scoop.
• Replace mesh with louvers:
• Side vents ahead of the rear wheels
• Rear hatch
• Vent the diffuser.
• Vent the rear body
• Install a second louver below the hatch louver
• Install additional vents below the tail light assembly

Louvers are bonded and painted.

Since heat is the enemy (and this car will only be driven on bright, sun shiny days), I need to do everything possible to vent the heat from the engine bay. I purchased the rear hatch louver from Vraptor Speedworks. If you are serious about doing the job right, you will purchase Vraptor parts. I had my parts 2 days after I ordered them (Shane provides super service!)

The louver is clamped in place and the 3M 8115 is allowed to setup for 24 hours.

Most of the work is already complete. All I have to do is:

1. Paint and/or powder coat the parts.
2. Bend the louvers into place.
3. Attach and bond the brackets.
4. Bond to the hatch.

Finished install.

Rear Hatch Latch

<< Rear Hatch Gas Struts                               Rear Hatch Release Popper >>

Major System Category: Body (Hatch)
Task: Install latch
Parts: Latch parts
Prerequisite Tasks: Assemble and mount hatch latch
Additional Costs:
Time Requirement: 2 hours
Date Started: September 12, 2012
Date Completed:  September 12, 2012
The actual work on the hatch is fairly straight forward, but it took me 2 days to figure what the procedure was telling me to do. Once I figured out the orientation and understood that one of the parts was reversed from the mechanical drawing, things fell into place.

Striker and striker plate with the washers inserted for temporary assembly. I probably could have tightened this down for real, but I was just being slow and cautious.

Consideration: There is very little room for error when assembling this piece. So measure twice, then measure again. Take your time.

These are the rivet inserts located on the inside of the hatch. Factory Five has done a good job in creating  mounting  plates for rivets and rivet inserts.

The first thing I did was assemble the striker with a pair of washers. This was so I did not tighten down everything into the nylon locking nut. This allowed me to have the striker assembled to the correct length. I taped and clamped this to the hatch. I clamped the latch to the body shell tab.

These are the holes drilled for the latch into the tab that hangs down from the body shell. You can see my scribbles with the Sharpie. Orientation: looking towards the rear from inside the engine bay.

The manual says to measure 15/16" from the body shell to figure out where to mount the striker. In a perfect world, this might work. In my world, this isn't quite far enough. I eyeballed the striker plate (minus the striker) and the latch. When everything lined up, I marked those locations with a Sharpie. I then put the striker on the striker plate. This caused me to back off the striker plate from the body shell so the end of striker slides between the latch and the body shell.

This is the big hunk of metal that acts as brace for the  latch. These holes are for the  same rivet inserts drilled for the latch in the previous photo. This is Factory Five's solution to reinforce the tab for the body shell where the latch is attached. I think this area may require additional reinforcement.

I marked the locations for the rivet inserts. I drilled pilot holes with 1/8" bit, then drilled the final holes with the 25/64" bit. I attached the striker first. My thinking is there is more wiggle room for the latch (i.e. it can be adjusted prior to final install to match up with the striker). Once I was satisfied, I drilled out the holes for the second set of rivet inserts. Insert screws and tighten everything down. It is either going to work or fail. The final test was seeing if it works and it did - wow!

This the is hatch latch and striker closed. I plan to get a shaved door handle kit that includes a  trunk popper. I may have to fabricate some sort of brace for the popper solenoid, but it seems much more reliable than running a really long cable into the cockpit.

Rear Hatch Gas Shocks

<< Hatch Hinge                                             Hatch Latch >>

Major System Category: Body (Hatch)
Task: Assemble and mount gas struts
Parts: gas struts
Prerequisite Tasks: Assemble and mount hatch hinges
Additional Costs:
Time Requirement: 30 minutes
Date Started: September 1, 2012
Date Completed:  September 1 , 2012
The gas struts install very easily. There is another mounting pad along the edge of the hatch. Carefully drill a couple of holes and rivet the mounting point in place. Attach the struts.

Gas strut components.

The one thing I found was I had to readjust the hinges after the struts were installed.

Gas strut installed.

Rear Hatch Fitment

<< Initial Measurement and Mounting                             Rear Hatch Hinge >>

Major System Category: Body (Hatch)
Task: Sanding and fitment
Parts: Hatch
Prerequisite Tasks: Preliminary body mount
Additional Costs:
Time Requirement: Unknown - take your time
Date Started: August 30, 2012
Date Completed: August 31, 2012
I decided to start with the hatch, because it is really a fairly simple piece for fitment. Unlike the doors that can take weeks to get right.

Again, I am referencing the appropriate YouTube video for this section of the car. This video covers more than just the hatch.

Hatch upper right.

Hatch upper left.

Hatch Lower right.

Hatch lower left.

There is nothing fast about this process. I set up a sanding station. I put on a 3M mask, safety glasses, and ear protection. I am using a Dewalt 4 1/2 inch angle grinder with a medium sanding disc to trim material off the edges of the hatch. The passenger side seemed to fit perfectly. I was high on a number of areas on the driver's side.

The area where the hatch narrows proved to be a problem. I discovered the high spot was underneath the hatch piece. Eventually, I got that sanded down so the hatch lay inside the opening with a fairly even gap. This is the easy part. The hinges and the gas struts can alter this fitment.

The bottom of the batch is going to pop up, because the latch is not installed. With regard to the latch, I am investigating a popper mechanism.