32 cowl to firewall seal

[Ole Lou]

Should the raised lip of cowl to firewall seal be inside the car body or on the engine side of firewall?
Was a sealant used?
Thanks

[34pickup]

There is a gasket of sorts that goes between the two. Macs among others carries it. The raised lip is on the engine side of the firewall. The firewall will almost snap in place when its right. At least mine did on my 32.

[DavidG]

The raised lip of the seal faces forward and up. No sealant was used originally as the seal has a snug fit in the space provided on the top and sides of the firewall. The reproduction seals that I've seen are absolute junk and bear little resemblence to an original. If you can save the original, you'll be way ahead

[Ole Lou]

thanks all

[Gordon Ellis]

David G is right. I purchased an aftermarket seal for the firewall/cowl and it was not even close . In order to make it 'work' I massaged it considerably on my grinder and then slopped a lot of dish detergent on it as I put the body in place onto the firewall. After lots of frustration it actually worked and looks quite good. Surely it can't be a major problem to make this seal exactly as it was originally.

[rbullockv8]

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I just tried the aftermarket seal I purchased a few years ago--unfortunately, I threw away the plastic bag it was wrapped in, so I don't know if it came from Vintique, Drake, or someone else. The gasket is too thick, not allowing my cowl to settle enough so my side mounts can bolt through the cowl into the brackets that attach to the firewall. Fully a 1/4" too high even after tightening down the cowl.

I called Drake's, but the phone rep didn't have the actual dimensions of their seal, so I couldn't compare it to my original nor my repop. I think I'll do as Gordon did and use a bench-powered hand grinder to thin it down. I'm also going to put my original back down as a test fit. It's all cracked along the upper ridge that shows, so I can't use it; but at least I can see if it fits as it should.

[DavidG]

You can save originals with cracks in the outer bead by using black liquid rubber to fill in the cracks. I've done it numerous times.

[rbullockv8]

Originally Posted by DavidG

You can save originals with cracks in the outer bead by using black liquid rubber to fill in the cracks. I've done it numerous times.

David, do you have a product name for the liquid rubber? I see roof coatings--is that what you used? My old gasket has 45-year paint overspray on the bead, but I might be able to clean it off.

[DavidG]

I remove the paint with liquid stripper which does not seem to attack the rubber. The liquid rubber that I use comes in a small orange and white tube and is labeled "Black Rubber Sealant". It is a Permatex product and available at many hardware and automotive supply stores.

[rbullockv8]

Thanks, DavidG. Before going that restoration route, I decided to try "massaging" the seal. Here is a photo of the repop one I had. Sorry for the blurry pic; my camera was trying to "help" me by focusing on the driveway.


You can see the bumps top and bottom on the back, thinner edge, and the thick bump at the front before it turns up in the L. I sanded that off using a 1/2" Bandfile Belt Sander I picked up at Harbor Freight (Item#92158). Messy work, and it took about 45 minutes, being careful not to gouge the ridge that sticks up between the cowl and firewall (that's the only part visible). I flipped it over and sanded off both bottom bumps so it was essentially flat and very similar looking to my original.

After a quick wash to get the rubber grit off, and a dusting of Dri-Lube powder, it slipped into place just like the original.

[MCPO]

Originally Posted by rbullockv8

Thanks, DavidG. Before going that restoration route, I decided to try "massaging" the seal. Here is a photo of the repop one I had. Sorry for the blurry pic; my camera was trying to "help" me by focusing on the driveway.
You can see the bumps top and bottom on the back, thinner edge, and the thick bump at the front before it turns up in the L. ...

So that lip on the right sticks up on the engine side?

[glennpm]

[my4dv8]

The OP was from 10 years ago , surely a better seal is out there now. I have saved our original all be it missing some lip , would like to know if there is a repro one that actually fits out of the box.

[DavidG]

To my knowledge, no reproductions that "fits out of the box" exist

[Newc]

TIP; When modifing a rubber part FREEZE it. Newc