About this model

A blanking plate to seal off the large central aperture in the Mini's bulkhead from the engine-bay side. Almost every classic Mini has this big opening in the middle of the bulkhead, and out of the box it lets engine heat, noise, fumes and fuel vapor pass straight through into the cabin. Plating it over seals the engine bay off from the interior — quieter, less smelly, and a much cleaner-looking bulkhead into the bargain. This is my own design, drawn and modeled to fit my car's specific aperture — and that's the important bit, so read on before you hit print. Critical fit notes — please read: My bulkhead hole is non-standard. I designed this plate around the actual opening on my own car, which is not the standard factory shape/size. That means this is unlikely to be a clean drop-in on a bog-standard bulkhead — it's shaped to my hole, not the "textbook" one. Tested on a Mk1 only, and only on my Mk1 at that. I can't speak to fitment on any other car. Later Minis differ, and even other Mk1s vary thanks to decades of restorations, replacement bulkheads and repair panels. Treat this as a reference and a starting point rather than a guaranteed-fit part. If your aperture matches mine you're in luck; if not, you may need to scale, trim, or re-model it to suit. Your mileage may vary — measure your own bulkhead before committing. Install / print notes: Fixes to the bulkhead using rivnuts (threaded rivet-nut inserts) — drill the mounting holes, set the rivnuts, and bolt the plate on. A rivnut tool is required. This gives a solid, removable, long-lasting fixing without chewing up your bulkhead with self-tappers. PETG, ABS, or ASA strongly recommended over PLA — this is an engine-bay part that sees real heat, and PLA will soften and deform there. A generous wall count and infill (4+ perimeters, ~30–40%) will give you a rigid plate that seals well. For a proper seal, consider running a strip of self-adhesive foam tape around the mating face and a grommet where the wiring loom passes through, the same way the commercial kits do. Shared as-is from my own build — if it fits your aperture, great; if it gets you most of the way and you adjust the rest to suit, that's exactly the kind of project these are.

Print settings

Layer height

0.2 mm

Infill

60%

Nozzle

0.4 mm

Assembly

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