Left Side Heater Block Off- DIY (No Can-No Clamp)

[snbush67]

Really got tired of the can and clamp. Thread inspired by Tom .



Removed assembly, actually I did not have to pull the distributer.



30 Year old plastic ....



I used tin foil to form a basic shape;



Flattened the foil back out and used as a template on a sheet of thin alu from the hardware store;



Cut out the shape;



Shaped the alu and marked holes, made cuts and shaped;



Sanded the edges and fine tuned.



Painted and mounted;



Im happy. $13.67 and 3 beers.

[turbobrat930]

Let me the first to say...GOOD JOB!!! that looks very good! and to think they charge something like $80 bucks for one of those panels....

[KFC911]

Nice job!

[Paulporsche]

Nice. Did you bend the alu by hand, w/ pliers, over wood blocks or what?

[Rot 911]

Very nice work!

[JBO]

How do you get any air flow through the heat exchangers when you do it like that (or do you have headers or does it not matter?). When I did the left side I ran the left side hose down to the left side heat exchanger, but have no flow through the right (passenger) side, and it does not run hot at all.

[JeremyD]

Excellent Job! and that gives me an idea to be able to use the Aluminium form to make a mold for me to fiberglass... (I am a fiberglassing fool)

[3.2 CAB]

Yep, a roll of the aluminum, roof valley metal and a can of PVA, you could go nuts making molds. Tony.

[DasBoot]

Got mine for $40. No "DIY" gratification, but no hassle either:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PORSCHE-911-LEFT-SIDE-BLOCK-OFF-FOR-ENGINE-SHROUD_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1205Q7c39Q 3a1Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c240Q3a1318QQ_trksidZp3286 Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem150304035833QQitemZ150304035 833

[snbush67]

Thanks for all the comments!

Paul, I bent it by hand to get the basic shape and then used small wood blocks and a hammer to get the exact shape and yes I used pliers too, the aluminum was pretty easy to bend by hand.

If you are thinking of doing this it's really not that hard, but buy enough back up aluminum, the first one I made was just about perfect and then I bent it flat again and it split so I used it as a template for the final one.

JBO, No flow to the exchangers, to do that you would need to back date to the older style left and right side covers that route the heat to the exchangers.

[snbush67]

Originally Posted by DasBoot

Got mine for $40. No "DIY" gratification, but no hassle either:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PORSCHE-911-LEFT-SIDE-BLOCK-OFF-FOR-ENGINE-SHROUD_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1205Q7c39Q 3a1Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c240Q3a1318QQ_trksidZp3286 Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem150304035833QQitemZ150304035 833

Damn! I had only seen those for 80$ + before. Looks like a good buy. But I would have missed out on the scrapes and cuts associated with the experience.

How is the fit?

[dfink]

Is the part small enough to trace to a piece of paper so we can all benefit from your hard work. Sounds like you have a nice template. I was just looking to order but I have the aluminum so will have to try.

[RoninLB]

thx for a great thread

[Paulporsche]

snbush67,

I see you have MSD wires. Do you have a part number for that set? Have you had any problem w/ the fit? I had a set because I got an MSD CDI but the plug ends were so difficult to fit I swapped in an unused set of Fyrebraids I had lying around which have Beru ends. The fit is much better.

[snbush67]

Paul,

You actually referred these to me some time back. I have a thread detailing the entire process and part numbers.

MSD Wire Install

I actually saw this same set for sale in a "Checkers" (automotive store) for $ 79.00the other day.

The plug ends are very hard to line up, but I have acquired the finesse needed, sometimes if I am really bored I go out and pull the plug wires off just to see how long it takes to get them back on, it gives me a good reason to drink a few bears and cuss in private.

Aloha, Shane

[snbush67]

Originally Posted by dfink

Is the part small enough to trace to a piece of paper so we can all benefit from your hard work. Sounds like you have a nice template. I was just looking to order but I have the aluminum so will have to try.

I thought of doing this, but once I had it as a perfect fit I did not want to flatten it again to trace a template. This weekend I can trace the old one and post it as a photo with a grid for printing reference, it will be PDC (Pretty Damn Close) but not perfect.

[snbush67]

I would recommend you use an editing program to get this to scale and then turn the brightness up on your computer monitor and trace it onto paper.

It wouldn't hurt to add 1/4" to the edges just to be safe, you could trim it after final fit.

Use the gray arrows for scale.

The bottom tab is about 1 and 1/2 " its not really needed.

The bend at line A should be angled slightly it is not straight up and down.

Aloha to all.

[Ole Petter]

Whow.
Great idea. I will try doing the same...
Thank you!

[dfink]

Thanks for the template it looks great. However I just dove in last night and made one myself. Kind of the same process made one then traced and made another. It didn't come out too bad. One thing I did do was roll all the edges to prevent cuts. Also instead of makeing the bolt hole bracket at the bottom I simply extended the bottom it now sits between the cam chain housing and the cylinder. No need for the bottom bolt. I had some trouble with the top getting to curve. It eventually split forming one of your red lines. I cut a piece of 3/4" X 1/16" aluminum strap to follow the top curve and reinforce it. I will try a picture later my picture taking abilities are sub standard to say the least. For reference mine in for a 1984 3.2

[safe]

Super!