SC autoheat console
 

I've been restoring the interior on my '83 SC. I was cleaning up the autoheat center console to put back in the car. It's got a crack on one side and bottom is chipped where the e-brake goes through the hole. For grins and giggles, I checked with our host on what a new console costs.

Hold on to your seat.

$2790.00

Holy unobtanium, Batman!

What's the deal on these things? Why does $0.30 worth of plastic and a $10 control knob cost almost 3 large? What am I missing here?

Part number 911.659.049.01

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1360106544.jpg

I'm not sure why the pic is upside down. Weird.

That's not just the plastic housing, that's the whole unit.

JR

Oh good. I think. Can I just get the plastic housing? I got the part number right off the plastic.

I don't think they sell just the housing. They do sell the access "door" on the side separately.

JR

Have you priced a new targa top recently? :)

Look on e-bay. That's where I got my "nice" one.

Mercifully, no. I'm a coupe man. :)

I'll keep looking. No dice thus far.

Bastages!

To repair the cracked plastic part, either find somebody in the RC model airplane hobby or visit your local hobby shop. CA (Cyanocrylate) glues (superglue) are great for this kind of stuff, you can get it in a very thin or thick formula and even one formula specifically for plastic. The trick is to rough up the surface on the inside of your part and for reinforcement either some lightweight fiberglass cloth (as in 2 oz. glass cloth used to fiberglass a balsa sheeted foam core wing) or a few of the CA hinges used on the model planes. The hinges are typically a small rectangle of mylar with a fuzzy layer on each side. That will give you some structure to the bond.

I did the same thing about 20 years ago. Mine was cracked and looked bad - so I went to the local dealer and order the housing (I thought!!). It came in and was $1800. - 20 years ago. Found out that they do not sell the housing separately - and the parts guy didn't say anything about it to me. So.......

I am redoing my interior (well actually the whole f'n car). I am going to build a custom center console and incorporate the auto heat unit into the console. Cover the console in stitched leather - kind of a 993 sort of continuous console. If this works - I will have the plastic covering - I am separating the cover from the workings.

I'll take pics as I go. If it works - I will post them

Backdated my heat to the 2 lever system so I have the console from the original autoheat and I have a brand new one that came as spare parts from the PO. Email me if you want an intact console.

3-D printing is your friend.

Michel