Rear Arch Measurements?

[Benn]

Since fitting my side skirts i've found that the drivers side arch fin fits very oddly. That arch has been replaced and i'm wondering if the shape is off enough to give me this issues.

Can any one is factory arches take a few measurements for me?

1. Front door shut to arch edge along the swage line.
2. Lowest part of door shut to arch edge.
3. Door shut to Start of the arch curve down.

I think that will help me work out if it's to far back.

Thank you

[HouseAtreides]

If you give me until tomorrow, I will have a look at mine and take said measurements for you. I, too, have replaced both rear quarters, though if my memory serves me correctly had no problems lining them up (and clamped in place) when marking the sills for drilling the holes for the rivets which the side skirt clips slot on to. I'm pretty (in fact very) pedantic when it comes to these sorts of things, so can't see them being out lol

Best,
Tony

[Benn]

Thank you, i would like standard factory arches tho. But yours will be a good start.

[HouseAtreides]

Thank you, i would like standard factory arches tho. But yours will be a good start.

No sweat, will pop up to my lock-up tomorrow morning and get back to you in the afternoon when I get hangry. Standard, factory and arches, are three words that don't usually go together when speaking of Novas lol Finding one that hasn't undergone some form of jiggery-pokery will be hard to come by, though there must be someone on here with a 3dr Nova that fits the bill.

[Benn]

Thank you very much.

And yes that is the issue. It only came to me when i fitted the drivers arch end bit. And again when it touched the tyre on a bump, which is really wrong. So i guess the shaping of the arch is wrong. Or my fin is badly warped too.

[Lee H]

Mine used to catch the tyres on harsh bumps as well due to being so low. Caught the top part near where the expanding rivet goes. Genuine GSI with original arches.

[HouseAtreides]

Mine used to catch the tyres on harsh bumps as well due to being so low. Caught the top part near where the expanding rivet goes. Genuine GSI with original arches.

I had my suspicions that Benn's problem might be that he has the car sitting too low, which clicked when I saw his motto "Go low or Go home". He might need to change that to "Go low but Don't leave home" lol.

[HouseAtreides]

Anyway, so. I did take some measurements of both the N/ and O/S, and are as follows:

15 1/4" from door along the swedge line to arch edge.

14 3/4" from bottom of door above the vertical indent on the sill to arch edge (i.e., measured from edge to edge on quarter, not actually from the door if you get my meaning).

18 3/4" from door to where curve begins on rear quarter (measurement taken from 4" above the swedge line). (Again, as with all measurements, when I say from the door, I really mean from edge to edge of the quarter.)

It should also be noted that on the O/S I fitted a full genuine GM rear quarter, whereas on the N/S I only fitted a replacement/repair section, which did extend down to the bottom of the arch. Despite this, both sides are mm perfect, and have no reason to think why the fitment is not as good as factory.

Hope that helps.

P.S. I am of the mind, however, like Lee H that it is not the rear quarter panel(s) that are at fault here; but rather that the car is possibly sitting too low. If the rear quarters were out by, say, a few mm's (even a cm or so) I still wouldn't think that this would be the cause of your problems. It would take some serious misshaping of the rear arch with, say, cataloy or panel misalignment (or both) to make them rub.


Best,
Tony

[Benn]

Mine used to catch the tyres on harsh bumps as well due to being so low. Caught the top part near where the expanding rivet goes. Genuine GSI with original arches.

Ah that is where mine catches. So maybe its just the way it moves being low. Thank you very much.



I had my suspicions that Benn's problem might be that he has the car sitting too low, which clicked when I saw his motto "Go low or Go home". He might need to change that to "Go low but Don't leave home" lol.

lol my thinking does cause problems... But looks great.


Anyway, so. I did take some measurements of both the N/ and O/S, and are as follows:

15 1/4" from door along the swedge line to arch edge.

14 3/4" from bottom of door above the vertical indent on the sill to arch edge (i.e., measured from edge to edge on quarter, not actually from the door if you get my meaning).

18 3/4" from door to where curve begins on rear quarter (measurement taken from 4" above the swedge line). (Again, as with all measurements, when I say from the door, I really mean from edge to edge of the quarter.)

It should also be noted that on the O/S I fitted a full genuine GM rear quarter, whereas on the N/S I only fitted a replacement/repair section, which did extend down to the bottom of the arch. Despite this, both sides are mm perfect, and have no reason to think why the fitment is not as good as factory.

Hope that helps.

P.S. I am of the mind, however, like Lee H that it is not the rear quarter panel(s) that are at fault here; but rather that the car is possibly sitting too low. If the rear quarters were out by, say, a few mm's (even a cm or so) I still wouldn't think that this would be the cause of your problems. It would take some serious misshaping of the rear arch with, say, cataloy or panel misalignment (or both) to make them rub.


Best,
Tony

Thank you so much, they will be a great help, i can check now to see what's what now.

I see/under what you mean. I know being that low and made in Spain will probably be the cause of this.
I'll have to make the best of what i can.

[HouseAtreides]

You're more than welcome fella :thumb: Oh, and nice build thread btw - had a read through some of it last night to see if I could see how your side skirts fitted but ended up reading further and further back. A lot of time and effort went into that car, and the debacle with the doors (for the sake of those door handles) was slightly amusing (though probably not to live through) - I can only imagine the steam that was exiting your ears and nostrils lol

Best,
Tony

[Benn]

Thank you very much, glad you enjoyed the read. I think you can see in one pic that the drivers side sits alot closer to the wheel..
Yeah the doors turned out to be a nightmare, if i had known what i do know i wouldn't have fitted them at all. Still might remove them, unsure.

[HouseAtreides]

Thank you very much, glad you enjoyed the read. I think you can see in one pic that the drivers side sits alot closer to the wheel..
Yeah the doors turned out to be a nightmare, if i had known what i do know i wouldn't have fitted them at all. Still might remove them, unsure.

I couldn't find a picture of your car with a good enough view of the skirts fitted, though given that you say the o/s skirt sits closer to the wheel than the n/s, that might be part of the issue after all. Despite how good she looks sitting that low, I still think that, combined with the possibility that the o/s quarter is a fraction out, this will cause problems. Only solution, at least for the short-term, is to raise her a little and see how you get on.

As for the door handle mod, I personally think the car would look much nicer with the original handles - possibly in the grey you had the skirts sprayed in, or just plain grey or black plastic.

[Benn]

Raise it? hahahahahahaha no.

When i had Nova handles on it they where grey. But the blue smoothed in ones look better as they look much smoother.
If i went back they'd be blue to look more hidden.

[HouseAtreides]

lol possibly not an option, then. Might need to undergo a spot of arch surgery (if that's what's causing the problem), which would be a bit of a nuisance, albeit not the end of the world.

I (personally) love the shapes and lines on these old motors (original door handles and all), which is why I think anything smoothed detracts from the basicness (if such a word exists) of her beauty, but equally see why some people like a few of the compenents/parts smoothed. I see what you mean about wanting to keep them blue, however, as it probably would look better in this instance with that particular colour.

[Benn]

I'm gonna check it by your measurements tomoz and then go from there. If it can be adjusted in a nice way then i might do that...

And i do and dont like the looks, i think most of them look better with a bit of smoothing. Removes untidy bits and cleans the look right up.