Anyone have any experience with repairing rust in the firewall or know of a website with some pictures of how they made the repair?

I've got bad cancer in the lower portion of the firewall where leaves/debris have settled in a wet condition that has eaten through. I'm sure I haven't cornered the market on this one! I'm midway through a degree in Autobody Collision so I have access to all of the tools neccessary just no experience.

Thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions!

Dan Latta

Jdan

I repaired mine using POR-15 and the patch fiber glass cloth. It seems to be holding very nicely and does not require a lot of cutting and patching with welded metal.




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Texas_Tom 69 Coupe in progress, in progress, in progress ....

I have always been told this is the best area of the car to start to learn to weld!

Whatta opportunity! (gotta look at it this way)

Start out by tryng to locate a donor car with a solid lower firewall. You can form these pieces, but easier to graft from a donor.

If you can find a good donor do more trial fitting than cutting, better to cut & trial fit more often than to cut too much too fast!

Let us know how it goes.

Even if you get someone else to weld the final pieces in, the majority of the time is in the cutting and fitting.


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Springfield, Ohio

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>name: D.G. & my 70 Malibu
<LI>http://www.wright.edu/~adams.41/chevy.htm
<LI>TEAM Chevelle Member #0086
<LI>eBay username: dg98adams
<LI>"Failure is not an option. It's bundled with your software"
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[This message has been edited by DG (edited 02-11-2002).]

[This message has been edited by DG (edited 02-11-2002).]

In this case, forget POR15, you need real metal. You can weld in pieces or if that's not an option, look into bonding in metal with bonding materials such as Fusor or Dura-Mix available at body shop supply stores.
Gordon

Thank you for the suggestions-I'll put up some pictures to show progress. This ugliness is probably of interest to more than a few folks here since I found the rust by accident. The fender is rust free and while removing the front clip I discovered the rusty fire wall.

Thanks again-



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Dan Latta
Student, Santa Monica City College
1970 El Camino
Current ground up restoration in progress: Everything brand new except rear end: GM 350 crate motor w/ Weiand dual plane intake & Holley 600 cfm carb, long H20 pump, fuel pump, starter, shifting cables. K&N exhaust. Doug Thorley Headers w/ Flowmaster pipe & exhaust. Rebuilt transmission from A1 w/ shift kit & 2500 stall converter, Hurst pro-matic II shifter, re-balanced drive shaft, 15" Powder Coated Rallys w/ BF Goodrich tires, disc & drums & lines, Chevelle SS steering wheel, portion of wiring engine wiring harness, booster/master cylinder, tranny and motor mounts, 4-core radiator, combo oil/tranny cooler, tranny cooler lines, ARP bolts everywhere.
Short Term: replace all suspension bushings, fabricate lower portion of left side rusty firewall, weld in replacement right side rocker, weld new panel behind rear glass, brighter headlights, 3 pt. Retractable seatbelts or racing harness. What color to paint????
Long Term plans: Extensive guage package, New rear-end to replace the 3.08? More radical cam w/ roller rockers, lifters and beefier springs including a new aluminum head-zz5? Convert the interior to black.

I'm real interested in any replies on this matter. I took the fenders off my '71 Malibu. The fenders are in GREAT shape, but underneith... The bottom of the cowl is gone, as is the piece that extends under the rocker panels. My worst problem is that the body mounts (at the bottom of the firewall) are both rotted away (and the body now sits on the frame). I have someone looking for a whole new tub, but if that falls through I need options.

Thanks
Jeff

Jeff, I have replaced the "torque boxes" you are referring to at the bottom of the cowl. You need to find a used cowl section to get this piece. Drill out the spot welds and weld in place. I have also had someone fabricate the lower section of the "torque box" and welded that in place as well. These pieces may be hard to find now, but all GM intermediate bodies would be the same. E-mail for more info and pictures.

Gordon VM

relive the old!

I am repairing the upper portion of the firewall where the cowl is with the vents for the heater over the wiper motor

my question is, all 68-72 chevelles the same there? 4 doors as well?

dont get much eaisier than this..

http://www.ss396.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=chevellecamino&Product_Code=RFP-1461A

its got the torq boxes installed too. im waiting to put mine in still

dont get much eaisier than this..

http://www.ss396.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=chevellecamino&Product_Code=RFP-1461A

its got the torq boxes installed too. im waiting to put mine in still

that sucker has the body mount boxes built in, too