575M Air Conditioning Panel Mounting Tabs Breaking

Otto- Definitely one way to do it and and lot less intricate cutting and bending than mine. Also explains why you needed heavier metal. The bracket cantilevers over a pretty long span.

No problems with wiring? The long bracket does take up more space in there.

Might as well pump out two designs, then, and folks can take their choice. Should not take long to draw that one.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Victor- I do not have a photo, unfortunately, but I should be able to describe it. To use the driver's window switch, I use my right index finger to push on the upper left of the panel to keep it seated and open the window with my middle finger on the switch. On the passenger side, I use the opposite fingers. On the middle switches, they are so light flipping one of them is normally no problem, but I push on the top of the panel anyway. Should keep the tabs from breaking.

If not, we now have two ways to fix the tabs, which I will document sometime next week. JOtto has already done a good job of documenting his repair.

JOtto- I see you actually turned the long span into a piece of channel. That really stiffened it. Not sure there is anything on the sides to sink a sheet metal screw into and make a connection. Would have to be at an angle to get a screwdriver through one of the switch holes.

Taz
Terry phillips

 

Here is the dimensioned drawing for the two separate pieces, and I have the dimensions for JOtto's single span and will convert that to a dimensioned drawing next. Will then see what thickness aluminum will work best. I have .050" and .080" aluminum sheet, the thinner of which may work for the small pieces and the thicker of which may work for the single span without reinforcement.

May also draw one that reaches to the side and only covers one tab on each side, but probably not necessary.

Drawing is relatively crude, but I have a jpeg in full size, which can be glued to a sheet of aluminum for cutting on a bandsaw and drilling the hole. Just confirmed with cardboard that it fits nearly perfectly. If anyone wants a correct size copy, I can e-mail it to them.

Drawing is not quite square on the paper, but square to itself.

Taz
Terry Phillips
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

As promised, here are drawing for JOtto's solution. Aaron and I will cut this fix and the two smaller repair pieces from aluminum and see how they work. Robbie's will be fixed with the two small pieces because it is in pretty good shape already.

We shall see on mine.

It is possible to make the center piece of this particular single repair piece wider without affecting switch and panel fit if you are worried about stiffness (no Viagra jokes). Just modify the drawings if you like that idea. Either of these solutions can be glued onto a piece of metal for cutting on a bandsaw. Both fit well when cut out of cardboard.

Drawings are crude, but work. A bit of trial and error to get a good fit.

Taz
Terry Phillips
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

J- I am going to use some 0.080" (2 mm) aluminum, which is really thick, and see if we can get away without having to form a channel. If we can, it will just be a matter of gluing the pattern onto the aluminum, cutting it out with a bandsaw, bending to shape, checking location of and drilling the holes, and gluing. I am going to try JB-Weld, a reinforced epoxy, and see how that works. What adhesive did you use?

It looks like these repairs can be done without completely removing the switches and panel, which should make it an easy repair for professional or amateur. Having Robbie's (Sticky No More) spare panel has made this pretty easy and he is getting a free repair out of it.

I also thought of a compromise repair part that would use two of your end pieces, but only reach to the other side of the tab with the other side looking like half of my repair piece. Will see if I am gung-ho enough to draw up that one as well. It would offer the advantage of the big gluing surface on one end, and the shorter spans would be stiffer.

Wondered why the 550 was not having any problems, and note the A/C panel and switch panel were separate pieces. We got the "improved" part.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Scott- Thanks for the offer. My techs and I are going to try tomorrow and see if we need different thickness aluminum and I will let everybody know how we do. I am still not sure the 0.050 aluminum is not too thick for the small parts. After twe know exactly what works, you could probably sell a few if you want to make some. It appears it will eventually be a problem for all the 575s. A shear and a brake are better suited for this job than a bandsaw, but you use what you have.

Robbie would probably be interested in your fix for the 550.

Hope your stereo business is doing well. You have been a very useful and helpful member of this community for a long time.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Scott- You are busy. Glad business is good.

Here are the full size patterns. Took a bit of fiddling to get them the correct size in Word, but eventually got it done. All you or your tech has to do is glue the pattern onto whatever metal you choose to use and cut it out and bend it. Aaron and I will see if the thicknesses I have will work or not. I already have the patterns glued to the aluminum sheets. You can get a bunch of the small ones on a 12x12 aluminum sheet.

Taz
Terry Phillips
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

After spending most of a day at Aaron's shop, I learned some valuable lessons, some of which completely changed the drawings for the Taz repair pieces, and others of which made only minor changes to the JOtto drawings.

First lesson on the small repair pieces is there is no way you can bend relatively thick aluminum (0.050") to make a foot at the bottom of two small repair panels like I originally drew them. Plus, even if you could, the lengths would probably not be precise enough to do you any good. Some modifying (sanding, filing, grinding) will be required due to imprecision on the bends.

Second lesson is there is no way an industrial band saw can make angle cuts like those on the small repair pieces and on the long repair piece. I am talking about the 105/165 deg angles on both pieces. So I converted both of those angles to 115 mm radius curves that you can cut with an industrial bandsaw.

Third lesson is 0.080" aluminum is too thick for either application. On the JOtto repair piece, 0.080" is thicker than the indentations on the end of the A/C panel where the end pieces will be glued. It turned out the 0.050" 5052 aluminum worked great for both applications and was plenty stiff enough.

Fourth lesson is taping the templates to the sheet metal does no good at all. As soon as the cuts are made, the template falls off, and you need it for the bend lines.

So here is a checklist for repair. Robbie's panel was in pretty good shape and the small Taz repair pieces worked great. A bit of JB Weld and his panel will pretty much last forecver. The panel on my car is much worse, with even one of the pieces between switches missing, so the JOtto full length repair piece is far superior for that application. So look at your panel and see what you need. If you want to preempt a failure, the Taz pieces will work fine. If your panel is trashed, the JOtto single span repair is what you want.

1) Print full size template(s) and cut them out with a pair of scissors. The templates are attached here.

2) Glue the template to the 0.050" aluminum sheet. I used Elmer's and it worked fine. A spray adhesive would work just as well.

3) Cut the rough repair piece(s) with a bandsaw or similar tool. The small curves on the JOtto piece are too tight for a band saw and will need to be sanded/filed after cutting off the majority of the corner with the bandsaw or similar tool.

4) Use a belt sander, grinder, Moto-Tool, or file to smooth the pieces so you do not cut yourself. Smoothly finish the end radii on the JOtto repair piece.

5) For the bend lines, use a triangular file, the edge of a half round file, a hack saw or a power tool to cut through about 1/3 of the metal at the bend lines on the inside of the piece where a 90 deg bend will be required. I used a triangular file, which worked well, but was not too precise. The more precise you are on this cut, the better the repair piece will fit.

6) For the small Taz repair pieces, drill the holes before bending the two 90 deg bends. Tough to do afterwards and a chance to stick yourself when the 6 mm or B bit grabs the aluminum. Clamp the pieces to the drill press table with as big as piece of wood as will fit. The JOtto repair piece can be drilled after bending, but still needs to be clamped during drilling.

7) Put the pieces in a vise and make the two (four) 90 degree bends.

8) Adjust the lengths of the end pieces as necessay for a good fit. Before bonding a slight interference fit will keep any clamping from being required.

9) Rough up the aluminum repair pieces with a file or abrasive where they will be glued to enhance adhesion

10) Use J-B Weld or your favorite epoxy or adhesive to bond the pieces permanently in place.

11) Even though this was a pain in the neck, pat yourself on the back for saving $2500 with this repair.

Taz
Terry Phillips
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I would make the aluminum piece a little shorter than my templates and take off the top of the broken plastic mounts. That will make sure she snugs up when you tighten the screws. Elongate the screw holes in the aluminum piece a bit and you should not have any trouble with fit.

 

This is the only thing that has broken on my 575M in five years and it can be repaired for $10.

Read some more and make your own decision. There is a big difference between a Porsche and a Ferrari. I have also owned four Porsches over the years, including a 356A and a 69 911S. There is no comparison with a Ferrari and the 911S was sold to buy a Dino 246 GT.

900 posts, eh?