FTO AUSTRALIA

sorry guys,but its a no go on the hinges,i just cant get past the rubbing on the fender,i wish they were just a bit wider,ive tried just about everything now to get them to work,the hinge looks awesome though,works like a dream until i put the fender back on.
Check out the pics on my gallery if your interested.ive also made some custom incitaor plugs to add something different to the look of the car,also on my gallery.

awww no you almost got me interested as well, lol

why don't you get some second opinions on the hinges movement?

Aftershock i know its frustrating mate i think it sounds like you went down exactly the same path as me.......... FARKEN FRUSTRATING

SG wrote:why don't you get some second opinions on the hinges movement

The problem is there's just not enough space between the fender and the frame of the car. I was working around 3 different hinge designs and either the fender would rub or it was wobbly due to inferor metal. It is possible to do but without going to a different type of metal its structually not sound. Different metal more expensive.

i think there is a way around it which im not too keen on doing,i figure that if i get rid of the support arm which runs down to the lower bolt holes and weld the top part of the frame to the car body,then i will be able to position the strut at the bottom,this will surely give me the room needed,but that means getting a longer strut and welding,im not a fan of welding bits onto my car.

Yeah i wanted to keep mine completly reversable its relatively easy if you arent worried about that

hmm i think lambo doors are a plus when you're selling your car...i'd have non-reversable bolt/weld-ons on my car if they were cheap enough

the other thing i was going to get for my car was this for racing...its a 3 point fender bar to help strength the chassis from door mounts to front struts.........

if you can do a two-in-one thing for that i'd pay like, double! cos it saves me having to choose between ma two loves

Would making it a widebody fendery thing help with clearance issues?

Mmmm... widebody

HEy... im going widebody, so clearance shouldnt be an issue...

could i perhaps purchase your trial hinges or something?

Just found links to one on Yahoo Japan. Does the following picture provide any inspiration on how to fix your scraping issue:

http://page17.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/v25340025

widebody is an option but without seeing the new fenders i couldnt say if it will help,in my opinion i dont think it will help as the fender will still need to meet the door at the same place and that is where most of the problems occur.
have you got a photo of a wide body one????

Widebody will fix ONE of the problems, the scrapping issue but most ppl dont want to spend 1k on hinges another 1k at least for widebody then painting of the new fenders on top of that. But there stil remains the issue of stability......

Im going to explain this as simply as i know how.
The doors of the FTO are F%^ken heavy and LONG. Which puts massive amounts of pressure on that little gas lifter. The gas lifter can handle the pressure easily but what cant, is the connector that connects the gas strut to the hinge. Its a little ball socket and and with the massive weight it breaks the ball joint thread (i went through 3).
OK, how to get around this is by replacing the little shock with a longer one that goes through the door and connects in side the door panneling. This is easy to do, no dramas at all. Even using this method reduces the rubbing factor, one problem though. Once you take into consideration the cost of cutting holes in the door, the hinge itself, you are looking at over 2k and they will definitly not be reversable without paying a similar price.

i agree with you 100%,i have looked at using 2 long struts,1 through the door and the other from just above the wheel to the arm,i know that it is heavy,i was trying to hold it up by myself this weekend.........
its probably gonna end up on the get round to it one day when i win lotto list......

thanks for your input mate.

aftershock wrote:i agree with you 100%,i have looked at using 2 long struts,1 through the door and the other from just above the wheel to the arm,i know that it is heavy,i was trying to hold it up by myself this weekend.........
its probably gonna end up on the get round to it one day when i win lotto list......

thanks for your input mate.

In the same boat mate i have mine packed away in the GET ROUND TO IT ONE DAY PILE hahaha

i would be interested in em for sure when you've got em all worked out.