SWB heater tubes...what is in them?

[endo911rs]

My 67S is going to be dipped on Friday. I just remove the inner and outer longitudinals to the point where I can see the heater tube. What is in the muffler looking portion? Is there just metal mesh work or is there fiberglass type insulation? If so, I may need to remove those so they are not damaged in the dipping process.

Thanks, Chris

[911scfanatic]

Andy Boyle can tell you. I seem to recall that the SWB cars you could leave intact, and the LWB cars had paper mufflers that needed to be removed. Ask him and post answer here.

[mshaver51]

I have a very early '68. On mine, it looks like the "muffler-looking portion" is pretty much the same as a 914, except the 914 had plastic end caps.

If I was having my car dipped, I'd remove those, not so much because of the material inside, but because the dip chemical is likely to get inside and stay there. With heat going through the tubes, the car could get smelly, or worse. Dipping is a good alternative to remove rust, and I am no expert, but it seems that the stuff finds ways to get inside of channels and chambers, and then dribble out. I just wouldn't want any of it trapped in those heaters/sound deadeners.

Like other often say, this is simply my two cents.

[chris_seven]

67 cars just have steel tubes running through the sills there is nothing inside them and it will be quite safe to dip.

Most dipping processes involve heating the shell in a controlled pyrolysis oven and then jet washing the ash and debris off the shell before dipping. The shell then 'flash rusts' and dipping followed by inhibiting cleans up the shell.


We dip them is a Phosphoric/Citric Acid and they come up quite well. We have processed about 30 cars now most of them have been 911s

[endo911rs]

Great! thanks for the advice/experience. I have the rear quarters and inner/outer longitudinals removed from the car so washing that are out should be pretty easy. I will update this thread with a pic of the completed shell when it returns.

Chris