Now that you have the body assembled, it's time to line it up on the chassis.

The most critical area is getting the body on square and far enough forward that the tires don't rub the wheel openings or the inside of the nose.

I like to do this on the floor. First I get everything lined up as close as I can eyeball it. Then, I walk around the kart to see that the body is actually aligned properly. This is really the time when you should not be in a hurry. Take your time and mess with it until it looks right to you.

When you think you have it close, place a 1 x 2 or something of similar size underneth the nose at a point just below where you will be drilling the holes through the floor pan.

Next, you'll want to take some measurements to see that everything is lined up as good as it looks. Measure the distance from the tire to the edge of the body at all 4 corners. Of course the tires will not be the same distance from the chassis so these measurements could be different for each wheel.

Then measure at the wheel openings to make sure the wheel is position at or a little bit behind the center.

Another way to line up the body is to square the right side just as you would your right side alignment. Use whatever tools you use for your alignment except measure the side panel instead of the wheel.

Then, offset the body to occomodate your rear wheel width keeping all 4 tires inside the body work.

Don't worry about your nerf bars just yet. In fact, it's a good idea to take out the bolts and let the nerf bars float until you have the body completely mounted all the way around.

Once you are sure that you are sure that you are sure.., go ahead and drill a 1/4 inch hole in the 2 bolt holes towards the back of the nose.

You can re-drill or open up these holes to a 1/2 or 5/8 of an inch so that the body can be adjusted a little once you have the bolts installed.  Use large fender washers and 1/4 inch bolts with nylock nuts to secure the nose to the chassis. If you snug these bolts down and then back them off a tick, the body will slide back on impact and will reduce the risk of damaging the floor pan.

Is your back getting a little tired? Me too! Lets put this thing up on the kart buggy and see if we can straighten back up. Ah, that feels better!

Now, slide the body back over the wheels and line up your holes that you drilled. Then, put the big fender washer on a bolt and put it in one of the holes.

About now you may have realized that the nuts and the wrench are still on the top of tool box about 6 feet away from you! Oh well, take out the bolt and put the nuts and the wrench in the floor pan and then put the bolt back in the hole. Now you can reach around with your other hand and start the nut and tighten it down with the wrench.

A flashlight? I know what you're thinking... This is going to take all night, right?

Actually, I use the flashlight for a nifty little trick I learned. You see, unlike fiberglass, plastic is semi-transparent. So you can shine a light through a hole on the inside and it will shine through to the outside to show you where to put the drill. Pretty cool huh?

Go to the next page to see how we use this to mount the rest of the body bolts.