A Couple of K20 Items That Make It Easier

I keep going back and forth on the dash for this swap. I have 2 early dashes with cracks in the usual places. I was thinking I would experiment on refinishing them, but it looks likes the results will most likely not be stellar, and will probably be short lived before something else appears as well. I'm not really concerned with originality as there is nothing less original than a K20 swap ;). @homegrown32 inspired me to take a second look at this and I think I've found something that fundamentally fits the bill. Thinking black wrinkle powder coat - no UV worries, no more cracks, splits, or who knows what.

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Now that I think about it, I do recall having my body shop move the tube back as per the directions. Even still, it was interfering with the shifter, so that is when I made the cut in the brace and bent the tube down a bit.
 
Why do you not flock it instead?
That was my original plan after repairing the cracks, but I'm not convinced about the long-term durability. I know it's been done before but there has never been any follow-up on how it holds up after some time passes. I also considered having it recovered but I've never seen one that has ever looked right. Some are passable, but they look like what they are - recovered. Other finishes that are applied after crack repairs, specifically texture end up looking like the dash was sprayed with bed liner which is not a good look. One could always part with $1,200 and have the dash remanufactured by Just Dashes but I think there are better uses for those funds on this project.
 
I wanted to add my return to the top of the tank because of the limited real estate available down below. Works well, but if you consider doing it make sure you get the narrowest -AN6 bulkhead fitting you can find, they are clearly not all created equal. Even then the sealing rings will need to be centered between the nuts and ground down to the outer circumference of the nut to fit.

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During the K20 build that @Rodger was doing, I seem to remember that he fitted a Hurricane unit that was tight but fit. A/C is not on the list for my build but I would like to get rid of the original heater box. I have used the Vintage Air heater/defroster in other builds in the past (not an X), but I don't have a unit in front of me to test fit. I think the unit will fit, but if anyone can see an interference issue that I'm overlooking, please let me know. The 2nd and 3rd photos are the Vintage Air dimensions.

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It looks like it should fit. The dimension of the Hurricane that was the issue for me was the width at 11.5. The fan housing on the left hangs into the space above the gas pedal. I have small feet, so it does not seem to interfere with my foot, but it would have been better if it was a little narrower. Also, mine required cutting the console sides some. The unit you are looking at seems smaller, but of course, it is only a heater.
 
It looks like it should fit. The dimension of the Hurricane that was the issue for me was the width at 11.5. The fan housing on the left hangs into the space above the gas pedal. I have small feet, so it does not seem to interfere with my foot, but it would have been better if it was a little narrower. Also, mine required cutting the console sides some. The unit you are looking at seems smaller, but of course, it is only a heater.
This unit has less width by 2.25" than the Hurricane. If you lost that amount of width would you still have an overhang issue?
 
This unit has less width by 2.25" than the Hurricane. If you lost that amount of width would you still have an overhang issue?
No, it should work out just about right. I guess my question is where do the hoses for the water connect? It looks like on the side. Not sure how that would work out.
 
No, it should work out just about right. I guess my question is where do the hoses for the water connect? It looks like on the side. Not sure how that would work out.
They use 90 degree -AN fittings with a barbed end that will position anyplace on the degree scale and they exit on the right side. Taking a rough measurement from the center line of the console to the stock pipe location of 4.5" it looks pretty good. Really will depend on how far back from the bulkhead the unit is mounted. Worse case looks like the barbs would have to be locked in at about 45 degrees up and toward the front of the car so that the hoses would run up to the bottom of the dash and loop back down to the pipes. That would keep them from intruding in the passenger foot well (technically they intrude into the foot well but are so high up they wouldn't be visible). The depth on this is 3" less than the Hurricane so I think it can be moved a little closer to the console too. The other option is shifting the unit to the left about .5-.75" if the overhang doesn't impede the gas pedal access.
 
Forgot to add something on boxing the access panel in the spare tire well. It's a time consuming PITA but maybe this might be of some use to someone facing it for their project?

Cardboard is your friend, so use it to you maximum advantage. I decided to weld the panels to the outside of the frame. Seems like mission impossible to grind the welds if you do it on the inside perimeter. The firewall has all kinds of undulations, depressions, and anything else you can think of except flat. I decided to leave the panels quite long so I could position the box easily in the opening. Once in, I tacked it in a few places and then trimmed short sections, flap disc'ed it flat and welded it up. Kept moving along like that until the entire perimeter was done. Some sections need a little more coaxing than others, so a bottle jack and short length of 4"x4" works fine for a "third hand".

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