In the spirit of originality, I have a question about the M8 nuts that fasten the heat exchangers to the 1.8 muffler (1974). What was the original finish of these nuts? Were they zinc coated steel? There is a picture in the AA catalog showing these nuts as copper clad steel, just like the exhaust stud nuts. This has me wondering.

I've been waiting for someone more 1.8 knowledgeable than I to respond to this, but no one has, so I'll impart my "thoughts".

I "believe" that these nuts were zinc coated, not copper. However, I also think that copper cladded nuits would be an improvement over zinc. Better yet would be stailess, with stainless washers (That;s what I've used for years on my 1.7). These are available locally, for a lot less than copper clad.

Pat