The old and new. No, we're not comparing veteran rodder Tex Smith (left) and Simon Allan, but the replacement '34 firewall with the original.
It's fact of street rodding life that good vintage tin is becoming scarce, and as a result original bodies that were well on the way to decomposing or were butchered almost beyond recognition are being brought back to life. While it is a noble gesture to save such a pile, there are practical reasons for it as well. Many of us have more time than money so buying something affordable that needs some work is a time-honored tradition for those who believe in sweat equity. Of course, in some cases sheetmetal modifications are a necessity no matter what the condition of the body; the firewalls on '33-34 Fords are great examples. Even if they're in good shape, changes are generally in order if an engine swap is planned.
At one time, modifying a Model 40 firewall meant one of two things: cut up the original, or, if complete replacement was necessary, a smoothed version was about the only readily available option-but for traditionalists, smooth is just another word for sacrilege.
As most of us have discovered, street rodding is popular worldwide and some of the most interesting cars and components are coming from the bottom of the globe. Waddinton Street Rod and Restoration, in Castlemaine, Australia, is producing steel '34 roadster bodies and a host of replacement sheetmetal parts, including new recessed '33-34 Ford firewalls with factory style reinforcement ribs. Available through C.W. Moss, they provide more room for a contemporary engine with a factory look.
These days, our very own street rodding legend, LeRoi "Tex" Smith spends a fair amount of time in the land down under, and he happened to catch the crew at Waddington Street Rod & Restoration Centre installing a fresh firewall in a "U.S." '34 Ford 3-window. He even persuaded proprietor Kelvin Waddington to describe the procedure for us:
Waddington's replacement firewall has a 3-inch recess and features a ribbed top section, as found on the originals.
"G'day Mate. Begin by setting up the body on a chassis or a jig and make sure the original firewall is square in the opening before removing it. Locate the spot welds, then use a wire brush to make them stand out. Firstly, you should drill and punch out the rivets that hold the radiator support rods brackets, making sure that you don't drill bigger holes than necessary as we need to use the hole to plug weld the new firewall back into the same place. Drill out the original spot-welds-we call this un-picking a panel or removing the panel by un-picking-this will leave the body in a basically undamaged state with only small holes.
"After removing the original firewall, hammer and dolly the edges to make sure they are straight, then de-rust the areas to be welded by wire wheeling or grinding clean with a fine flap disc, This will only remove rust and very little material thickness. After cleaning the surfaces, make sure the opening is still square (measure with a tape).
"Put the new firewall into place. After you are happy that the panel is in the correct position, use sheetmetal screws to secure it, then again check to make sure it's square.
"Now you can then start to plug-weld the panel into the car. Plug-welding is a system where you have a hole on the side you are welding and the inside panel is exposed to the welder. After welding all around, grind back the heads of the welds, but do not use too coarse a grit. Finish with a fine flap disc to leave a smooth surface that will not weaken the weld. After dressing up the welds, prime the new panel.
"Cheers from down under,Kelvin."
