November- Firewall Repair

Bring on the firewall.  The big thing I learned here is if you can cut your steel out in as close to a square/rectangle as possible - putting too many variances in that can make cutting out the patch panel and fitting a HUGE pain.  The driver's side I did poorly and did the passenger's side later.

The other thing I learned during this step was some of the difference between different companies and their panels.  The Canadian made panel from Nat Parts Depot was fantastic.  I can't say that the one from CJ Pony Parts was quite on that level though - I had to do a lot of work to get it to come close to fitting, including taking some of the larger bends out of it and redoing them with the assistance of a iron pipe, vice, and two by four.

Here's a shot of the driver's side prior to welding it in.  Let it be known - I LOVE these little gap holding tools.  They keep a really nice gap and also line up the panels if they're a little bit out of alignment.  I found myself blowing through in several places here unfortunately.  The panel fit was pretty good, just not perfect.

Here's a shot of the passenger side, with some tack welds holding it in place.  I had purchased a brass spoon from the store and used it on this panel.  What a world of difference.  never blew through, all that remains is some finishing on the engine compartment side, which I think I'll hold off on doing until I'm closer to getting the engine and transmission situated.

Tell you what - its a huge relief to see things slowly starting to come together!