1783 replies to this topic

[JG]

continued with tom's beautifully crafted heater - installation just works

my dash had never come off so you can imagine the hours of cleaning requied.

by the time tg was starting this was how far i'd got

[jules_s]

my dash had never come off so you can imagine the hours of cleaning required

Mine was a cursory dab with a hoover nozzle in the bits I could fit it in.

I can only imagine what your afternoon entailed

[ianrm]

That Heater looks very nice shame my standard heater works

[JG]

I had a good look at the OEM heater today. It's no wonder it doesn't work properly. The daftest thing is the temerature control. Mine was down to arond 50% movement (i bet most VX are either the same or less) and its no surpise when you see the flap which you're suposed to move with a tiny knob ( ). Add to that gaps which make barn doors look good in between the various parts of it and the fact that the heater even delivered anything is both a surprise and a miracle. The fact that the foam around the seal between the dash and the incoming ducting was strewn across the underside of dash makes the miracle all the more astonishing.

[hairy]

is your servo unit standard - it looks sort of crimped? although I've never looked at one close up before so maybe they're all like that.

[JG]

They are all like that

[MrGman]

The picture in post 987 is the answer i've been looking for!! now i know what to do with my front clam when i do my rad I've only had a quick look through this thread but it looks like a good project

[TazN]

I don't know how you do the fez conversion with the clam on - my back hurts and i can get a lot closer than with a clam in the way. My advice is to pay Tom to fit it for you

I gave up trying to clean mine to that level. I did remove about 1/2" of gunk from the bottom though so at least the drain hole now works...

For what Tom is charging it's seriously worth considering getting him to fit, I hated doing mine and I've not finished it yet. 2 days of leaning over the crashbox takes its toll!

[siztenboots]

whats this bit ? duct for pipes , main chassis leg?

[Gedi]

Might take the servo out too, and paint it. did look at a new one but £300 seemed a bit on the steep side for esthetics alone.

This is something I'm planning on doing too (painting, not buying a new one)
Hopefully you do it first, then I can see how it turns out before I take the plunge

[TazN]

whats this bit ? duct for pipes , main chassis leg?

Dont think it has any pipes running down it. Felt pretty solid when I cleaned it...

[chris_uk]

get that rad surround coated in plastidip :)/>

Why? To me, it just looks like you're trying to cover up some damage by doing that. Not like it's corroding away, unprotected. :unsure:/>

Why do people cover the dash?, hardtop?, windscreen surround? Or have their interiors trimmed, Etc etc its just purely down to presentation. I think the original state looks tacky and sh*t, lukes looks good covered.

[techieboy]

get that rad surround coated in plastidip :)/>

Why? To me, it just looks like you're trying to cover up some damage by doing that. Not like it's corroding away, unprotected. :unsure:/>

Why do people cover the dash?, hardtop?, windscreen surround? Or have their interiors trimmed, Etc etc its just purely down to presentation. I think the original state looks tacky and sh*t, lukes looks good covered.

All of those other things are cosmetic and can be seen/felt/interacted with on a daily basis. 91.75% of the rad surround is totally invisible and the remaining 8.25% is only visible with the bonnet open. It's like painting the crash box - why would you do that unless you were covering up a repair. Why not powdercoat or hard anodise the undertrays, they mostly look sh*t (if you lie on the ground next to the car)? Goddamn. I just realised I missed a trick and didn't get my ProAlloy fuel tank "stealth" coated.

Don't worry, I have a similar problem with sticking colour co-ordinated hoses, hose clips all lined up the same way, polished bits, blinged up filler caps and titanium cam cover bolts in the engine bay as well.

[TazN]

Techie I dont think people that do it can really help themselves. I'm very much like that, if I can make something look better even if I wont ever see it I know it's not clean and it bugs me.

[techieboy]

No issue with keeping things clean, tidy and honest but in 99% of cases, I prefer the original factory fresh finish to things. Christ, I did my full suspension refresh and replaced absolutely everything four years ago as it felt silly not to have new everything once I'd started. I'm even toying with the idea of doing it all over again this year, as it's been four years. It's just the extremes that I can't get to grips with and the resulting hours on end that need to be invested in keeping highly polished things gleaming and making sure bolt heads are all lined up exactly and cable ties some arbitrary distance apart. I think I basically hate concours cars and the OCD that seems to set in with them. P.S. Front compartment of mine is absolutely spotless after way too many heater removal/flood/refit sessions and the resulting floods of coolant.

[redvts]

No issue with keeping things clean, tidy and honest but in 99% of cases, I prefer the original factory fresh finish to things. Christ, I did my full suspension refresh and replaced absolutely everything four years ago as it felt silly not to have new everything once I'd started. I'm even toying with the idea of doing it all over again this year, as it's been four years. It's just the extremes that I can't get to grips with and the resulting hours on end that need to be invested in keeping highly polished things gleaming and making sure bolt heads are all lined up exactly and cable ties some arbitrary distance apart. I think I basically hate concours cars and the OCD that seems to set in with them.

P.S. Front compartment of mine is absolutely spotless after way too many heater removal/flood/refit sessions and the resulting floods of coolant.

4 years but how many miles?

[techieboy]

circa 20k, I guess.

[fezzasus]

whats this bit ? duct for pipes , main chassis leg?

Dont think it has any pipes running down it. Felt pretty solid when I cleaned it...

Main chassis, it's the curved bit when you look under the wheel arches - it mounts the wishbone at each end.

[RalphyBMW]

Just noticed the rubber cover is missing from your bonnet alarm switch!

[TazN]

I think I basically hate concours cars and the OCD that seems to set in with them.

I've never been 'diagnosed' (if you even can?) with OCd but I really wouldn't be surprised if I was the lengths I go to and thoughts that go through my head (think counting everything I pass etc)

For me anyway I guess in this instance though it is because I prefer the look of the black plasticoat to the oem rad surrounds grey/green colour.

Back on track again... I have a perfectly good looking oem radiator sat in my porch. No cracks or seams starting to come apart. The ducting to the dash entrance was made up of plastic drain pipes - a 90' a straight and a ~45' piece. Worked surpisingly well but figured Tom's solution would prove to be much more efficent.