Bert, I think the RTV would probably do a fine job. No oil or other pertoleum products would be in contact with that area, so the RTV is an excellent candidate.
I have always found my VW's to adequate or better in the cold...on trips! In town in rush hour traffic at 30F or below is iffy. I have had some of the marine blowers for several years that I am going to mount inside my wife's Ghia engine compartment and push the air with them....she only has a 6 mile comute and has decided that her Ghia is her daily driver. Please let us know how the felt material works out! Cheers, dave -- ------------------------------------------------------------------- Enough sunlight reaches the Earth *every* hour to meet the world's energy demand for an entire year.....so, what do we do with it? On Thu, 27 Nov 2008, Bert Knupp wrote: > Hi, Asad and Volks, > > Unfortunately, my part of the globe (Tennessee) needs heat in the winter, > and cooling in the summer. Spring and autumn are beautiful, but too short > for a VW enthusiast's hobby. The VW heating system can be marginally > adequate in winter if it's in good repair, well sealed, and the engine is > running at proper temperature. Unfortunately, it's dependent on engine > speed, which is unreliable in urban commuting traffic. > > My local experienced VW shadetree mechanic assures me that a ring of RTV > silicone sealant around the bakelite pipe flange will create a good, > heat-resistant seal on the flange where the heat tube enters the body. I'm > not convinced, so I will probably attempt to cut a pair of seals from > something else. Your red rubber gaskets might be some kind of > high-temperature silicone rubber. I'll ask around. > > The good news is that I found a couple of VW carcasses with the short > underseat warm-air tube insulation intact, and used them as models for my > recreations. I cut new covers from scraps of vinyl-coated canvas from a > local sign shop: it's the stuff they use for banner signs and it has a > texture and apparent strength identical to the factory material. An > upholstery shop gave me some pieces of jute insulation (about 15mm or 5/8" > thick and colored grey) that matches the original almost perfectly. I found > two of the flaps that fit inside the pipes to open the rear footwell > outlets, and they cleaned up very nicely. I bent new control wires from a > scrap heater cable. > > I'll report back when it's all together. > > Salaam, > > Bert Knupp > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of asad ishaque > Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2008 9:52 AM > To: vw mailing list > Subject: Re: [vintagvw] Gasket material > > > Bert et all, > > Sorry but Im a bit grey in this area due to the fact that this part of > the world is quite warm and VW heaters are almost always disabled in my city > at least. In fact I have yet to see a bug with working heaters. Thanks to > irresponsible mechs who throw out heater parts everytime the engine is taken > off or the car goes for any work. > > I did not know there were bakelite parts down there. Is it the short > tube which clears thru the body under the rear seat?? Will try to knock on > the ones in my 68 next time I pop the rear seat butt rest up. I thought they > were metal. > > I have seen rubber gaskets at the boneyard. I thought they went where > the big accordion pipes joined with the body with the mentioned bakelite (?) > pipes. Could this be what you are referring to?? They are bright orangish > red. I think I have seen these advertised on websites. Could this be the > crumbled material you found?? Ironically Ive always noted these to be in > very good shape, even with 40 odd years of abuse in our tropical weather and > no love. > > Best wishes and regards, > > Asad > Karachi, Pakistan. > >> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected]> Date: Sat, >> 22 Nov 2008 19:30:06 -0600> Subject: Re: [vintagvw] Gasket material >> >> Volks, >> Mike and Gerald, >> Thanks for the ideas. Yes, these are the seals used where the heater box >> outlet pipe goes through the steel body panel above the torsion bar > housing. >> When I hold a couple of the crumbled fragments up to light, it shows that >> they are translucent -- probably not asbestos. But also not very durable >> over time, obviously. And both of my bakelite flange-and-tube assemblies >> were also badly granulated when I unscrewed the flanges -- they fell apart >> into multiple pieces. >> >> The insulated heater tubes under the rear seat are wrapped with "blankets" >> that feel like old-fashioned jute carpet padding, wrapped with a vinyl >> jacket, and held together by 15" cable ties. But the insulating material > is >> noncombustable: it won't light with a match. I'll look around. >> >> Thanks, >> >> Bert Knupp in >> Music City USA > > _______________________________________________ > vintagvw site list > [email protected] > http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vintagvw > _______________________________________________ vintagvw site list [email protected] http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vintagvw
