Michael,
My car is a wide-body NAS Plus 8 (R-11953) built in September-October
of 1998 with SPF wings. I know for a fact that long-doors were in production
in July, 1997, but that SPF did not come into regular use until perhaps
March-April, 1998. As it takes more than a little contemplation to note the
eccentricity you observe, I presume no good pubs were in the immediate
vicinity and you found yourself with too much time on your collective hands.
In all seriousness, my car shares the deviation you note, but I do not find
it objectionable. When you have some cars together again, it would be more
than a little interesting to discover whether this eccentricity is a function
of the long-door dimensions with the body itself having been altered to deal
with the changes in the cockpit, or whether it is merely a function of the
SPF rear wings. I suspect the former, so find a car with steel wings which
is a long-door and you will have your answer.
Regards,
Willie
P.S. Long-door Plus 4's are essentially the same chassis as Plus 8's and
can be fitted with SPF wings. 4/4's cannot, on the other hand, be
fitted
with SPF wings, even long-door versions like the Earls Court Show Car
I hired from Bill Wykeham last July. Is this a clue? From the photos I
have, it APPEARS to share this eccentricity. I will mail you a copy
of
the jpg. separately for your review.
At 10:58 AM 7/3/99 -0700, Michael D. Miles, PE wrote:
>On the recent beach trip with the club, one member pointed out that
>the four late model Plus 8s all had a slightly odd relationship
>between the rear wheels and the fender that Plus 4s and early Plus 8s
>did not have. When looking from the side, the later Plus 8s appear to
>have the rear fender arch centerline located slightly rearward of the
>rear axle by about 3/4 of an inch. It gives the tire/fender
>relationship a slightly eccentric look. We had 14 cars to compare
>with and only the four cars that were 1985 or later (all Plus 8s) had
>this appearance.
>
>Has anyone else noted this or have an explanation? We speculated on
>whether the fender shape was changed, the build process or body
>dimensions might have changed, or some other chassis or body change
>was incorporated without correcting the mismatch.
>
>I'm curious to hear if others can spot and/or explain the phenomenon?
>
>--
>"Entropy Happens!"
>Michael D. Miles, PE Consulting Design Engineer
>(503) 292-1234, FAX: (503) 292-1105
>email: mdmiles@home.com
>http://www.mdmpe.com/
>
|