I made a quick template of the front edge of the Fiero dash by turning the dash upside down and tracing the radius onto a scrap piece of wood. Usually I would use cardboard but I don't have anything big enough at the moment.

I marked out the center of the template and using soapstone I marked the center point on the dash:

I then lined up the template so it was square and marked it out again using soapstone. Using cardboard would be much easier as you can make it fit the contours of the dash:




It turns out that removing this much material will prevent the defroster vents from lining up so I have decided to leave it as it is and make the fiberglass infill's to suit.

I was also concerned about the fit of the console. I think it is too tight in the pictures above and exerts too much force upwards to make the back end of the console lay flat. I have trimmed the mounting tabs as you can see:


Placing it back into the car was easier and feels better. I will have to devise some other method of attaching the dash to the console now.


Thats it for today, I think we will go enjoy some pizza and a movie!
Nolan

[This message has been edited by Sourmug (edited 05-28-2007).]

I know I said that was it for the night but I can't seem to stop putzing around with this. I'm very excited about this swap, I think it's still the honeymoon stage.

I was thinking about the ducting for the 4 front dash vents. I want to try to use the Stealth branch ducts for the two outer most vents as they likely have the required bends and offsets, or at least are close. I have to use the main plenum from the Fiero as it mates up to the flange on the blower box. So I started making some cuts to the Fiero ducting. The upper ductwork is for the Stealth and the lower for the Fiero with the cuts made:


The first thing was to see approximately where the two Stealth branch ducts would terminate. The left one would run full length but the right one will need to be cut shorter due to the Fiero plenum not being centered in the dash. I then marked out the plenum and cut where the stealth ducts are going to join. Here's the backside of the plenum:


The plenum once cut fit nicely behind the new dash but I could see that it is going to interfere with the left upper corner of the glove box Here's the glove box and it's upper shell:


I decided to notch the bottom right corner of the plenum to minimize the interference as much as possible.


So far this is actually quite fun, sort of a giant jigsaw puzzle.

thanks
Nolan

[This message has been edited by Sourmug (edited 05-28-2007).]

Here's a bit of an update:

I made a bracket to mount the air plenum under the dash. In the stock configuration the plenum and ductwork is actually mounted to the underside of the dash itself however I think it will be easier to install it independent of the Stealth dash and easier to align. The bracket is 10" long over all with a 1" offset using two 45 degree angles. The offset is about 2" from one end. Mine is actually 11" long but it doesn't need to be. I used 1 1/2" X 1/4" flat stock but it probably doesn't need to be that thick. It has also been predrilled so that I can use self tapping screws. Here is the bracket after it has been painted:


Here is a picture of the test fit in the car:

The bracket is attached to the hollow tube structural member that supports the steering column.

The duct connections on both ends of the plenum were then modified to accept a 2" ABS pipe coupling. I was thinking of using the Stealth ducts but they will need to be modified to fit. So the end result is that by using the couplings I have two options:

1. Use 2" ABS pipe and fittings. The pipe will simply insert into the coupling and the installation can be ridged. The draw back is that it will require more work and measurements to fit up.
2 Use 3" flexible duct. The duct can be clamped to the outside of the coupling. This allows me to ream out the ridge on the inside of the coupling resulting in a larger than 2" inside diameter, probably close to 2 1/2". It will also be easier to run the duct. The drawbacks are that it looks cheap (I know, no one can see it) the other is that the flexible duct doesn't flow air as well as smooth duct.

In order to insert the couplings I first cut multiple grooves in the two plenum ends so that it would give and allow the coupling to sit into the opening:




I used a thin cutting wheel in the angle grinder to do this. Make sure you wear long sleeves when doing this. Hot plastic burns

[This message has been edited by Sourmug (edited 05-28-2007).]

Then both ends were coated with fiberglass to seal them air tight and secure the couplings in place. I also gave them a quick sand to remove the loose strands and high points:


Kinda ugly. But it will work. The fiberglass does not have a super strong bond to the plenum but the shape if the fiberglass will hold it tight to the plenum and prevent it from coming off. After applying a coat of paint the plenum was then anchored in place:



I also attached a small bracket to the top. This bracket holds the top of the plenum so that the flange sits in full contact with the foam gasket between the plenum and the fan box. The bracket was formed from a small angle bracket:

[This message has been edited by Sourmug (edited 07-19-2006).]