rimmers

[Tanky]

Hi all,

I need to change the gearbox cover (the one onside the cab). I currently have the cardboard/fibreboard on in place but it's a bit knackered. I see Rimmers have a plastic one and fibreglass one. Does anyone have experience of both or either of these, which should I go for? Is there that much difference and do I need to sound/heat proof the new one when it arrives?

Many thanks Triumphers.

Charlie

[dougbgt6]

Charlie,

a number of threads on here about tunnels, worth a search.

First of the plastic one is £20 cheaper from the club shop than Rimmers, other suppliers may have it even cheaper. 

I have a plastic one and it did need some fettling, there was a spurious lip on the bottom which raised the tunnel 1/2" and made the rubber gasket thing ineffectual. Others have ground this lip off, I put in an additional layer of draught excluder tape. The gasket came in the fixing kit which is a complete waste of money £30! All you get is gasket that's too thin and screws and fixing washers that are already on the old one. 

Insulation, yes! I used Silent Coat bought from Ebay on the inside of the tunnel.

It's also worth cutting an access hole to get at the gearbox top up.

Fibreglass or plastic? Fibreglass is cheaper, but plastic more pliable and durable?

Doug

[Tanky]

Brill, thanks Doug. Club shop it is as I need another shed loads of kit.........

Charlie

[Clive]

26 minutes ago, Tanky said:

Hi all,

I need to change the gearbox cover (the one onside the cab). I currently have the cardboard/fibreboard on in place but it's a bit knackered. I see Rimmers have a plastic one and fibreglass one. Does anyone have experience of both or either of these, which should I go for? Is there that much difference and do I need to sound/heat proof the new one when it arrives?

Many thanks Triumphers.

Charlie

I have successfully repaired several of the card type tunnels using fibreglass. And in many ways I think it is better than the plastic type, which are better than the FG (too rigid, often distorted edges making sealing difficult) 

Fixing requires closed foam strip, glued to the tunnel edges. And these days I use hex head self-tappers like the originals. 

The original insulation is something like mineral loft insulation, and can be put into a heavy duty polythene bag and use cable ties like large stiches to hold it in place. My current spitfire has a steel tunnel (don't ask!) lined with 10mm of closed cell foam insulation on the inside (glued in place with sikaflex) and felt type underlay and a layer of carpet all glued inside the cabin. Pretty good at keeping the heat out of the cabin, but on a normal spitfire it is not an issue unless the tunnel edges are not sealed.

[Paul H]

4 minutes ago, Tanky said:

Brill, thanks Doug. Club shop it is as I need another shed loads of kit.........

Charlie

Another vote for Silentcoat and yes the Clubshop fixing kit is not worth the money . I used draught excluder which is a fraction of the price , others use foam as a sealant 

Paul 

[Colin Lindsay]

42 minutes ago, clive said:

I have successfully repaired several of the card type tunnels using fibreglass.

It works amazingly well, especially on the top edge along the underside of the bulkhead. Last few I repaired I insulated them with Dodomat, about £30 for 20 sheets which is enough for three at least.

 

 

 

[Badwolf]

Colin – Did you just use the resin to repair or add some matting. Also, did you use anything to degrease/oil the tunnel cover before applying the fibreglass?

[Colin Lindsay]

2 minutes ago, Badwolf said:

Colin – Did you just use the resin to repair or add some matting. Also, did you use anything to degrease/oil the tunnel cover before applying the fibreglass?

Yep, wiped it all down with panel wipe; but I was lucky in that the underside was quite clean so no oil to remove. I used matting along the top edge where it was badly cracked / motheaten then trimmed off to shape. You need to make sure it's completely flat along this edge otherwise it will be harder to seal against the bulkhead. In other areas I used the finest layer of matting, just to help strengthen the cardboard, and used some to fill in holes round the top where a radio bracket had been drilled through the top tray, but it all worked really well.

    

 

[Badwolf]

Thanks. Mine is in decent nick but, like many, ragged around the edges. May just give it a go.

[Tanky]

Me too!

[Clive]

I have used matting and resin, but for smaller repairs this stuff is superb

The fibreglass fibres are much finer than other such fillers, so it is quite "soft" to apply. And very strong once set. 

The other thing when repairing the inevitable front section, is to put that flat on the floor (on newspaper!) for the repair to make sure it is flat and perpendicular to the bottom edges. 

For degreasing I am a huge fan of brake cleaner.

[poppyman]

You can put a thick plastic bag on the floor Clive and to shape it even, as the plastic just peel's off leaving it nice and smooth.

Tony.

 

[PeteH]

Hi

Thanks for that insight, I have been mulling over the repair/replace conundrum for some time. I supect a "bonus" benefit of a "repair" would be the ability to ensure a closer "fit", especially as I have had to replace BOTH floor pans completely.

Now all I have to do is move tons of "stuff" in the garage roof space to find the cover!!!.

Pete

[68vitesse]

Have used M6 chimney nuts and gutter bolts to fit the tunnel cover, used some of the self adhesive foam backed foil for insulation sealing the joints and edge's with glue gun.

Have a glass fibre cover which I had to alter to get a good fit to the  bulkhead but bought many years ago.

 

Regards

Paul