Fire wall smoothing

[danman987123]

I will be smoothing my entire firewall pretty soon and i wanted to know how are people smoothing the channel on top of the fire wall i know it usually is a good spot to run wires across the top of the firewall, but i have seen it done. For example on project sweet pea which is (bad6772) that guys firewall is beautiful, I am just wondering if any other people have done it. I already ordered the filler panels for heater and ac on the firewall, but do i just need to fabricate like a 1 inch strip of metal and weld it from one side to the other....thanks for any help guys

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=253584&page=5 that is a link which has his good looking firewall all smooth

[big_al_71]

My firewall is completely smoothe but I did not take that lip off the top....I should of thou...

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by danman987123

.... I already ordered the filler panels for heater and ac on the firewall, but do i just need to fabricate like a 1 inch strip of metal and weld it from one side to the other....thanks for any help guys

Yep, that's how it's done. I believe when I did mine the actual width was between 1.125" ~ 1.250" so I cut a few strips of each about 8" long & a couple more that were a little longer for the 'corners' of the firewall. I then test fit the pieces grinding excess off where necessary.

The hardest part for me was the corner where the fan blower motor was. It was a PITA to keep the metal @ the same level as the original firewall (it wanted to bow toward the cab).

[68 short step]

yelp, it was about 1.125, but make it just a tad langer and grind to where it needs to be.

[Painter D]

When you shave it , I would "CAP" the passenger side of the firewall so it matches the drivers side. As you can see I didn't do that to mine, and now I wish I would have.

[danman987123]

thanks guys for yalls input...i appreciate the advice...i have noticed the slight difference in firewalls as well my truck was factory ac and i can see the difference on the passenger side...that blue truck looks good up there...i prolly wont "cap" the passenger side though. Thanks guys

[cparman]

I was wondering if any one had moved the firewall forward, towards the radiator. I have been looking for a way to increase the leg room in my 69, and wondered how hard it would be to grind all of the spot welds near the lip around the firewall and move it forward a couple of inches. Kind of a modern cab forward, kind of deal. If you smoothed and moved the firewall forward a couple of inches it would creat a bunch of leg room, and no one would know until you popped the hood

[sixty8c10]

If I get off early tomorrow I will try to get some pics of mine, showing how I routed my wires.

[C10-Driver]

Here's mine... We cut the lip off, and welded the metal back together along the seam. Then, it was built out on the passenger side to match the driver's.

[NWD02]

Here's a few picks of mine prior to paint. I just picked the bed and cab up today so I'll post some painted pictures soon.

[tommypic]

I would like to see some pics of the wire routing . I have mine shaved but not the fuse box connector , like some I have seen . I will get some pics up so yall can give me some ideas on what else to take off

[LooseCannon]

Originally Posted by C10-Driver

Here's mine... We cut the lip off, and welded the metal back together along the seam. Then, it was built out on the passenger side to match the driver's.

This seems like a much simpler approach to "smoothing" the channel.

[C10-Driver]

Originally Posted by LooseCannon

This seems like a much simpler approach to "smoothing" the channel.

My bodyman suggested it and I thought it was a good idea... It turned out great and, as you said, it was pretty straightforward - A lot less fabrication and messing around.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by C10-Driver

My bodyman suggested it and I thought it was a good idea... It turned out great and, as you said, it was pretty straightforward - A lot less fabrication and messing around.

That's how I did mine.

[Stoney]

Those look sweet.

[BP68]

here are a few progress pics of my firewall.

[jlaird]

THIS is a smooth firewall!!!

[jorgensensc]

Originally Posted by jlaird

THIS is a smooth firewall!!!

WOW!! I do believe that is the definition of SMOOTH! Remarkable.
Shawn

[sixty8c10]

here's mine

[tommypic]

those are smooothhh . I like the look of them . mine aint that smooth but I want to know about the wiring . no hole for fuse box connector on mine either . like how are you going to wire under hood ? keeping an eye on this thread

[bad6772]

Here is mine.....Its alot further along than these pics. But gives you a general idea..

.

[NWD02]

My firewall after paint.

[sixty8c10]

nwd02- is that a 4.3l serpentine setup?

[NWD02]

It's a 5.7 off a 94 chevrolet truck. I haven't turned it over yet but the belt fits really nice. There's actually a guy selling one on ebay for like $200. I picked mine up for $100 then sand blasted the brackets and pulleys. The alt, a/c compressor and p/s pump all 94 chevy truck. I had to modify the p/s pump to accept the high pressure hose fitting for the older flange.

When it comes to wiring I'm considering bringing the wiring out of the cab over the tranny, then down the side of the motor. The lighting wire I'll run across the crossmember and around to the grille. All motor wires will either come up the back of the block or up the front (compressor and alt). At least this is tonights plan, but things change... haha. I'm replacing all wiring with the Ron Francis Express kit. There's actually a group buy going on through Mike's Bump and Grind Garage. He's a member on the forum but time is running out on the buy.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=309661

I'm planning on using high pressure braided lines for my brake line connecting to the master cyl. my hard lines are ran on the frame, directly under the front of the cab. The soft lines will connect there and then continue.

[cstm68]

what are you guys using for a heater?