Figure 1.Cardboard pattern
Figure 2. Trashcan after cutout
Living in Arizona, I need all the cooling I can get for my 911 in the summer when ambient temperatures regularly reach 115F. It has been recommended by several people that you should box in the area between the notch under the front bumper and the oil radiator to make sure that all the air that enters is forced through the radiator and cannot take the path of less resistance out the bottom.
After talking too several body shops about building a metal box and receiving very expensive estimates I decided to try & do something myself. After reading an email from Capt. Robert Mueller on the Rennlist.com Porsche list-serve, where he said that he had created one using plastic held into place simply by bending it and then letting it expand into the space I decided to build one out of plastic as well.
First I looked around the house for something I could use in the same way. When I did not find anything, I went to Home Depot to see what I could find. What I found for less than 5 $US was a small rectangular plastic trashcan.
After buying the trashcan I went home, jacked up the car and studied the space in front of the oil radiator. I cut a small piece of cardboard to use as a template. I first made a template of the curve of the fender with the idea of clamping the plastic between the fender and the front valence. I noticed that if I did clamp it between those two pieces that a straight surface would be below the luggage compartment floor so I needed a bend to allow it to make contact with the bottom of the luggage compartment. So I bent the piece of cardboard and traced those undulations (see Figure 1)! I then transferred those markings on the plastic trashcan and cut it accordingly.
Figure 1.Cardboard pattern
Figure 2. Trashcan after cutout
After several fittings and modifications it fit perfectly (See Figure 2), but there was no way to hold it in place on the interior side. So I used two pieces of 14 gauge electrical wire. I attached the first one to one of the horn mounts & the second to one of the loops at the bottom of my radiator (see Figure 3). I drilled holes in the appropriate place in the plastic ran the wire through it and then through a large washer to dissipate any heat and spread the load.
Figure 3. View from back
Figure 4. View from side
Figure 5. View from front
