I have test fitted the piece in place with the screws holding it in, and I thought about the fix as previously posted

But its not the entire piece that sits out of place, it's literally the "wings"

Everything else lines up properly, with the 2 pins fitting perfectly over the rear wing fixings to the top being level with the air intake
Lowering the height of the intake box might fix the side issue, but the cause the top to be too low

I think it's purely a packaging error causing stress on the "wings" bending them out of shape, because they do lne up with no gap when I apply a little pressure, it's just as soon as I let go they lift back up

I have made an improvement though by bending them back into shape, but I have been trying it very gentle over a number of nights, careful not to fold or crack them

I think after a couple more nights of massaging I should be there

If I get a result I'll post my findings and how it was done

Well I have had some great progress guys

As you can see from the last image below I have virtually no gap now, when you compare it to how it was it's a major improvement!

If you are interested in attempting this fix yourself here's what I did

Before you start remove the upper part of the air intake cover from the engine cover, this helps with heating and re-shaping

Step 1. Hold the engine cover over a naked flame, not too close that it melts in your hand, just far enough so you can feel the piece "warming"
Don't hold it in one place either, keep the part moving giving an even coverage

With reshaping, a low heat and alot of patience is best

Step 2. With the part heated and you feel the part has a little flex, put it into position ensuring the pins towards the rear are in place holding down the rear wing

Step 3. Press the front ends in place, making sure correct allignment along both sides

Step 4. Keep held in place and apply enough pressure to keep shape until cooled

Step 5. Release pressure and make sure new shape has been kept and the part hasn't sprung back into its previous shape

These steps may need to be repeated a number of times until the part holds un-assisted

Step 6. Re-attach the air intake cover, admire your new gap free engine cover assembly

I only done this because I am an impatient person!
I would only recommened doing this if you are the same

No doubt the fix from Tomick/Admin will yield better results and be less of a fire hazard!

Good Work Heinzy

You have proved that heat will work, I am a bit nervous about the naked flame, it will be so easy to damage the paintwork, I think I'll give the hair dryer another go.

I've had some good results with a hair dryer. First I tried with the engine cowl in place and heated it for a couple of minutes with a hair dryer, when it was nice and hot I held it in place with my fingers while it cooled, this got rid of about half of the gap so I then removerd the engine cowel and with masking tape I pulled the two sides in and heated the part again, this time when it was nice and hot I put it into the fridge to cool, when it was cold I removed it from the fridge and refitted it to the model and used masking tape to hold it in place while it returned to room temperature, now the gap is almost gone, I think one more go with the hot/cold cycle will have it right.

i think they give you a revised induction pod on one of the late issues as the original ones are mis-shaped which give the engine cover a gap. the new engine cover is shaped so there is not a gap

skiddy,I suspect you will be waiting a long time mate,my is fine with the new airbox,I think you might have something mis-aligned somewhere,I've had to undo front suspension and re-do it to get the steering to line up,so what I am saying is,check,check and check again that everything is as it should be.good luck.

Hi,

Some builders have been concerned that when fitting the rear cowl in place at Step 7 on page 15 of Issue 85, there is a visible gap below the outer edges of the panels, as shown in the first picture.

This is likely to be due to a temporary distortion of the panel, caused by the parts coming under pressure while in storage. It is simple to correct, but this should be done before continuing to apply the finishing decals.

Boil a kettle full of water and gently pour the water onto the inside of the moulding in the area where the panel starts to bend. Be careful not to scald yourself while doing so, as it will take a fair amount of water to soften the moulding enough to allow the sides to flex while you gently pinch the two outer edges together.

Hold the panel until the plastic cools, then try the cowl back in place.

Repeat if necessary until the gap disappears, as shown in the second picture. Then continue the assembly as shown in the following steps.






Some of you may not have been affected by this, as it appears to be only a small amount that have been affected whilst the parts were in storage, or if they have become a little squashed whilst in the postal system.

Thanks

Admin.

Didn't work for me either so I've took the whole of the left side of the car apart in an attempt to figure just why it doesnt meet up.

Ive also glued the radiator covers to the engine cowl to make one huge cowl. this seems to have improved things, but will update when I've got the side bits back on in place....

Hi people, been away for a while and have just been catching up reading the forum, (3 pages worth) im abit confussed as what to do
if i come across this problem, maybe iv just read to much tonight but do i follow the sticky fix that admin say doesnt apply to the uk
build, follow a fix of boiling water or naked flames or is there some sort of replacement part to be sent out, iv got all 85 issues now
and iv checked them all and iv not got any replacement/revised parts for this. sorry if im seeming abit dumb here but this thred seems to have just suddenly stopped so im assuming everyones model is fine now, so what did everyone do??

im just up to the carbon fibre decals so not quite there yet but would like to know whats what before i get to this possible issue.

Thanks in advance and i hope everyone had a nice christmas and wish you all a happy new year.

ja

Cheers spence, I wouldn't of used the naked flame technique, that sounds to crazy for me lol. How do I get the replacement then, iv been a subscriber from the start and iv not received it. Does it come as a separate piece or is the one iv got the replacement part?? Ja