Horrible Firewall

[Charlville]

Hi All

This is the firewall on my 29 Sport Coupe.
I'm intrigued to know if anyone has a clue why anyone would have bashed the large hole?

I understand the one for the manifold heater with the valve, but the other

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

I would venture a guess that one type of heater manifold was used until it became damaged (i.e.: also obsolete) and thus a new type was installed. The valve became the "plug" to stop the draft. The two small holes above the sediment bulb are for the Data Tag, and the two to the right could possibly been from mounting an oil can bracket.

Quite frankly, I have seen firewalls in much worse condition than yours. It is like their owners worked at the local Meat Market, ....as a Butcher!! Their metal skills followed suit!!

[wayne1953]

yep I'd say i different heater all the holes on an 80 year old car,,,,its called patina lol

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Dog here, Meybe he didn't have a drill, ur no electricity!
HEY! Ur pic is backwards! I kin do thet, but I cain't lurn how to puttem' back! Buster T.
(Ol' Bill flipped it fur me, he's my HERO!)

[700rpm]

Originally Posted by BILL WILLIAMSON

Dog here, Meybe he didn't have a drill, ur no electricity!
HEY! Ur pic is backwards! I kin do thet, but I cain't lurn how to puttem' back! Buster T.
(Ol' Bill flipped it fur me, he's my HERO!)

Dawg, Ol' Bill got it wrong. The original pic was correct.

[glenn in camino]

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The big one looks like a first attempt at a manifold heater. The others look punched rather than drilled.

[wrndln]

My 28 special coupe had a hole made with about a thousand drill holes for a manifold heater - rough as a cob! I trimmed the hole to have smooth surfaces and made a cut out to fill the hole with 16 gauge metal. Unfortunately, the hack job was where the firewall was curved on the bottom and inside, make the patching a lot harder to patch. It turned out well.
Rusty Nelson

[Joe K]

Likely the owner had an Otwell heater. Or some other brand prone to corrosion on the inside. (the hump/depression in the Otwell is particularly sensitive.)

I wonder if he got nervous or had actual problems and replaced the unit with the higher up installed Autolite heater. The autolite can be inspected by taking the cover off.

Joe K

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by 700rpm

Dawg, Ol' Bill got it wrong. The original pic was correct.

I DID??????? I never saw a Model A setup like that??? "Maybe" my Dr. did a LOBOTOMY on me when he dug out a Basal Cell Cancer on Tuesday???
Bill W.
(I think it was an optical delusion, that curve in the upper R/H corner made it look like the LEFT side of the firewall, WELL, I'm STUPID, cuz there's the MANIFOLD also!!! NO, I haven't been DRINKING!!)

[Charlville]

Thanks all, metal eating rodent was another guess
I like the patina comment might leave it as summer A/C, not that we get a great deal of summer here

[Tim Armstrong]

Gun port !

[Charlville]

"Gun port" get's Tim the amusing answer of the day