I finally got one of the air guides (aka dual flapper boxes) installed. It was quite a fiddly bit. I undoubtedly marred my paint, which is frustrating.
First it wasn’t obvious to me how it fit between the fins of the head. I was going to have to bend some metal to get it to go either way.
Part of the fiddly is the air guide is only held to the heater box by a single bolt, and of course the mounting tab does not align properly. Hello rubber mallet! And the whole assembly (air guide plus heater box) is only secured to the head with two M8 nuts. These nuts are 12mm ATF, and difficult to find. Luckily a kind soul on the 356 Registry Forum took pity on me and share some from his stash.
Also, the parts catalog shows quantity 4 Connecting Flange 369.54.103 between the head exhaust gasket and J-tube part of the Heater Box and presumably between the gasket and muffler. It is quite thick, and if was true, it means my studs were too short. It appears those flanges are only meant for repairs or modifications. Luckily Sierra Madre allowed me to return them, as they’re over $30 each.
Finally, I was only able to complete one side. The engine stand yoke that I have is about 1-inch too wide, and prevents the air guide from being able to slide into place. I guess it will have to wait until I switch to the running engine stand. Sigh…
