Even purists who strictly stick to the original Aurora chassis for their T-jets will sometimes find a need for a tiny amount of additional clearance beyond that which is afforded by screwing the chassis to the body. This becomes a common need when using the Auto World chassis or aftermarket wheels, or both. The solution to this is to have some shims on hand in order to insert them at the bottom of the screw posts.
There are many different types of shims available. Ideally you should seek to use something non-metallic, but these are not easy to find and are often too thick to allow the screw to bite into the post enough to keep the body on the chassis.
The best and cheapest solution I have found is to buy a set of tiny lock washers. I get these at Ace Hardware for $0.02 each, and they should be readily available at most similar types of stores. Although they are metal, they are so small that they will not add any appreciable weight to your car. Of course the shape of a lock washer would create an uneven mounting surface, but it’s simple to use 2 pairs of small needlenose pliers to pull the washer apart enough to butt the ends together, creating a flat shim instead of a ramped lock washer. In 95% of applications, I have found these to be the perfect diameter and thickness. On those rare occasions when the outer diameter rubs up against the front axle, holding the washer tightly with pliers while using the Dremel to grind down one side of it almost always provides the needed clearance.
The best part: these shims are thin enough that the same screws you normally use should hold the car together with no problem.
On occasion, thicker shims may be needed. Care should be taken not to raise a T-jet body too far off the chassis, as doing so upsets the center of gravity and makes the car less stable in turns. There are cases where this is not a concern, such as when making a model of a pickup truck with a lift kit look, or when building a dragster. At one point I had a ’67 Nova that I wanted to look like a ‘60’s style gasser, so I fitted it with oversize wheels and added several shims to the bottoms of the screw posts. Thicker shims are available from various specialty hardware stores, but when using something thicker than 1 or 2 mm, you should seek to use something plastic or nylon, as thicker metal shims are likely to add enough weight to your car to affect its performance.
That title made me laugh out loud! This looks like a great solution and very creative!