Do it first, trust me on this!
Caterham go to great lengths to document the requirements for the IVA process and what needs to be included in any build to achieve a pass. I’d read the documentation and knew I needed for example to apply the trim around the apertures for the front suspension and exhaust. For some reason I didn’t consider whether it would be sensible to fit the trim before or after installing the front suspension components. After fitting all of the upper and lower wishbones and then performing a test fit of the head lamp brackets I came to realise fitting the IVA trim first was a better strategy. In my defence the build manual doesn't state the order in which to install the trim.
My first error!
I therefore removed most of the protective bubble wrap and cardboard to gain clearer access and began installing the IVA trim.
It’s not difficult, just fiddly and time consuming.
So far I’ve found the Caterham has two types of fiddly tasks, those which are time consuming and fiddly, and those which test your patience to the extreme, such as the headlamps (post to follow). IVA trim is just time consuming.
Passing the trim around some of the tight radiuses and sections where the upper wishbone mount nears the chassis is difficult. My solution was to simply cut the back section using of slits or cut a large portion of the rear edge out where it neared a bracket.
I guess some of the work on the inside looks a little inconsistent but on the outside it looks great.
Towards the end, and on some of the more difficult pieces I warm the rubber with a hot air gun, not the sort to strip paint, but a small craft type tool. It was able to warm the rubber so it was much easier to work with.
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