68 Camaro Project

[johnnymac46]

Im finding the more I dig into my car the more cancer I find, and the more I realize I need to buy a plasma cutter.

I havent gotten the rear clip installed yet, Im waiting on some more parts...

One question, with the DSE firewall fill plate, is the general consensous to cut the firewall out or weld it in over the top?
- I was going to cut out the old firewall until I saw the rounded edges, and it looks like its designed to weld over the top of the existing firewall.

again any help is greatly appreciated, Im gonna cut and install in a couple of days unless someone can convince me otherwise.

I'm having shoulder surgery in 7 days and wont exactly be able to cut, hammer and weld after that...Im not sure how I'll spend my time.... Ill probably install my driver seat and make lots of engine noises during my recovery

[MODO Innovations]

Originally Posted by johnnymac46

One question, with the DSE firewall fill plate, is the general consensous to cut the firewall out or weld it in over the top?
- I was going to cut out the old firewall until I saw the rounded edges, and it looks like its designed to weld over the top of the existing firewall.

again any help is greatly appreciated, Im gonna cut and install in a couple of days unless someone can convince me otherwise.

I installed my DSE firewall fill plate over the top of the existing firewall. You will need to trim the flange off of your a/c hole in the existing firewall so that it will fit flush. Then again, if the firewall is rusted badly you could trim it out leaving about an inch or so below the seam at the top and also leaving that much on the rest of the profile fill plate. This will leave a flange to weld the new fill plate to. In my opinion, I think it depends on the shape that the firewall is in.
Either way is fine.

Be sure to prime the inside of the fill plate and the firewall that will be covered by the fill plate. Weld primer works really well for this.

If you look at DSE's site on their project page you can see how they walk around it when welding to keep it from warping. Be sure to grind the welds the same way, walk around it and take your time.

Good luck with the shoulder surgery.

[BBC71Nova]

Of all the DSE firewall installs I've seen in the various threads here and elsewhere I felt Jay's approach was one of the best. His thread can be seen https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=9421 but it looks like some of his older pics aren't showing up any longer.

I think plenty of installs are done on top of the original sheetmetal and given the rolled edge I think it would work ok. I was just concerned about the risk of noise/vibration from the gap between the panels but that could be mitigated with some seam sealer probably.

Or you just cut most of it out like Jay did and not worry about it. In addition, he drilled the spot welds and completely removed that outermost layer of sheetmetal. The added benefit there is your fender mount isn't pushed out any like it would be if you just added another layer.

I found these in his other sites gallery

[johnnymac46]

not a lot of progress on the car, I recieved my Floor pan and decided that it is not what im looking for....mostly because of the poor quality stamp.

I called NPD they are going to take it back without question and send off the one piece which i should have ordered to begin with as well as a full trunk floor.

Doctors said I'll have to wear a sling for 6 weeks... Im hoping to shorten that time up by about 4 weeks, we have an excellent Therapy program at my command that should have me back fully operational in 2 months instead of the doctor's guess of 4. Hopefully ill be able to cut and weld with one hand, I also have a few gearheads that are willing to help(Mopar guy) which should be interesting.

thanks for the help with the Firewall delete Im gonna try to get it in this weekend.

John

[johnnymac46]

The little progress I made today

Sorry about the iPhone pics

[johnnymac46]

I finished welding the DSE plate yesterday and got a coat of primer.

I havent ground the welds down yet due to my lack of tools. Im having 2-220V outlets installed on Tuesday and some additional lighting in the garage.

I had my surgery this morning so I'm using my down time to collect parts and hopefully buy an air compressor.

here's a few pics of the plate before primer...

[waynieZ]

Looking good John, nice work.

[bonecrrusher]

Why'd you leave that bolt on the block off plate?

[johnnymac46]

Originally Posted by bonecrrusher

Why'd you leave that bolt on the block off plate?

The plate ended up being slightly off center with the bolt hole, it's my temporary fix to the problem.... cover it up and pretend it's not there. I'll figure out a way to fix it when I can use two hands again

[Beach Cruiser]

Just read your build thread, nice progress. FWIW, I think your Garage is bigger than mine! Since we're both in VB we should share build stories, hope to see you at Cars and Coffee Sat. I also have an engine that you may be interested it, it's a built 377 small block.