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While I’ve been waiting on parts to come in, I finally decided to tackle some firewall Reoairs I’ve been putting off.
Some previous bubba owner obviously had a small engine fire which had burned a good bit of resin on the firewall leaving me with oil soaked fiberglass fibers.
After removing as much of the old fibers and delaminated fiberglass, I ended up with a decent sized hole in the firewall.
Being a newbie at fiberglass work, I did a good bit of research, and ended up ordering West Marine’s SMC epoxy resin and hardener in the pump cans.
After much tedious work, and probably close to 8 layers thick, here’s my repaired firewall.
I still have yet to do some sanding and use body filler to smooth out the repair.
I am doing an AC/heat delete as well, and have ordered a delete panel off flea bay to close in the hole left from the heater core.
If I had been a member of this forum BEFORE jumping into a basket case project, I would have looked more closely at the tell-tale problem areas.
FORTUNATELY, this has always been a Georgia car, and, for the most part, I have been very fortunate to not have any major rust issues besides the core support and one of the #4 body mount reinforcement brackets.
I know my fiberglass work is far from professional looking, but I was not about to replace the entire firewall.
I have a 75, if you need some pictures of the firewall let me know.
Thanks, Mod75.
It can’t hurt to have pics for comparison. Would you mind posting a few couple pics or messaging me directly? Many thanks!
One question I have is the grommet hole marked that I had to glass over for the repair. There was a rubber grommet in the hole with a few wires going through it. Early on, once I decided to replace the whole wiring harness, I ended up cutting those wires since there were bubba splices done to them.
Any help on identifying the wires that go through that grommet would be helpful as well!
If I remember correctly, the tach cable goes thru the other hole to the right of it.
Thanks!
Hard to get some decent pictures of the firewall with all the stuff there, even with the valve covers off, let me know which item to trace out for you.
The hole you have circled is a vacuum distribution block i think, i traced the line and it goes into the wiper cowl area and then down on the passenger side to somewhere. You can see where the lower line on the left side goes into the wiper area.
Thank you Mod75 and Doorgunner for the pictures and advice!
As I said before, this car was an almost-running basket case when I bought it, and looks like very little maintenance was done on it before I got hold of it.
Everyone on the forum has been super helpful in helping me get it sorted out.
Many thanks!
Quick update!
I got the firewall repairs completed, and painted in POR15. Yes, POR15 works on fiberglass too.
Welp, here’s the completed firewall repairs, plus I did a major overhaul on the wiper trough as well.
Why not? While-I’m-at-it….. Now to install the ac/heater delete panel. Looks good as new. Waiting for a new(er) wiper transmission setup. What color should I paint the wiper parts?
PS: After zooming in on the pics, I’m not sure I like the glossy firewall. The reflections make the paint job look horrible in the pictures.
Maybe I’ll topcoat in a semi gloss or matte paint? Any recommendations?
Last edited by Jarhead 74 Vette; Feb 17, 2023 at 11:52 PM.
IF you drive in the rain ONE time, Mother Nature will put a Satin finish on theGloss paint for you.
Just be sure the new layer of Satin paint will NOT peel off if you go that route.
(cameras never do justice to gloss black "on anything" except the body)
There is another way to not be so bothered by the glossy finish on the firewall. Close the hood. But in truth, that is some very good Glass work. And the glossier it is the less stuff sticks to it.
IF you drive in the rain ONE time, Mother Nature will put a Satin finish on theGloss paint for you.
Just be sure the new layer of Satin paint will NOT peel off if you go that route.
(cameras never do justice to gloss black "on anything" except the body)
Thank you for the words of wisdom!
I think for now, I’ll leave it be. It was never intended to be a show car, just a cruiser, but with all the work (and money) I’m pouring into it, may as well be a nice looking cruiser, for those times when people stop and ask questions and want a closer look.
There is another way to not be so bothered by the glossy finish on the firewall. Close the hood. But in truth, that is some very good Glass work. And the glossier it is the less stuff sticks to it.
Thank you DerekDerek. I watched countless videos and researched a good bit before attempting my first fiberglass project. I wasn’t too overly concerned about the firewall, as they are not a flat or smooth surface, but I am FAR from brave enough to attempt any body work on my car.
Thank you DerekDerek. I watched countless videos and researched a good bit before attempting my first fiberglass project. I wasn’t too overly concerned about the firewall, as they are not a flat or smooth surface, but I am FAR from brave enough to attempt any body work on my car.
You will not regret putting time in the wiper tray. On many C3s this area is downright ugly. I redid mine and ran some new sealer. I also finished it up with a bed liner spray to ensure it was water proof. I also relubed the wiper trans area and had the rods powder coated. Looks nice now...
You will not regret putting time in the wiper tray. On many C3s this area is downright ugly. I redid mine and ran some new sealer. I also finished it up with a bed liner spray to ensure it was water proof. I also relubed the wiper trans area and had the rods powder coated. Looks nice now...
Firewall repairs
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