71 sprint body / chassis sealing spacers

[bmcman.ie]

hi guys my 71 sprint is getting near painting and i am just trial fitting the body to chassis, as i bought it as a basket case, the body was just fitted on top of the chassis. question is, apart from the felt saddle on the chassis, was there any sealant applied between body and chassis? and what about these 'spacers' that are supposed to be fitted as well? i know that they are sometimes used to give clearance between cam cover and bonnet, but does every car have these fitted? i know i may sound stupid, but this rebuild really is a guessing game, as i did not dismantle it myself, any help appreciated, ian.

[alexblack13]

Don't think there was any sealant used at the factory..

Spacers ? well there was sometimes some shimming done to take up any space between body and chassis where the body bolted through, or vice verse The shimming was to prevent damage to body mountings and prevented chassis localised distortion by tightening or 'drawing up' the space (now occupied by shim / spacer?) helped stop some awful creaking and groaning from the body (around the bobbins) whilst tightening the bolts. It is not a good idea to just carry on tightening the fasteners until the 'spaces' disappear. You can easily pull out a bobbin or indeed damage the body / bend the frame. Shim up any gaps before tightening the fasteners.

I don't think sealants are good idea as it could just trap moisture between the body and the frame...

Alex B ....

[bmcman.ie]

thanks for that alex, but are these 'shims' available to buy, or would you just use ordinary washers? ian.

[alexblack13]

Me being me I made some up from what I had in stock. I had various thickness aluminium and steel sheet cuttings so I cut up the ally and painted it. Them when I was ready to final fit the body I just took up the gaps before tightening the fasteners fully. It's not difficult. just dont distort the frame or crack the bodywork when torquing up the fasteners...

From memory the shims ended up about 50 long x approx 30 ish wide. Some with center drilled holes and others drilled more toward the ends. Put the body on and see what you need at each attachment point.

Alex B...