Brookville fire wall mounting prob

[qmdv]

I have a 32 Brookville roadster project. I am installing the firewall and the frame mounting brackets are interfering with the body.


In order to slide the bracket back the last 1/2 inch, do I need to cut away this part of the body? The only thing between the body and frame is the adhesive backed frame webbing.

Or should I raise the body a bit.

Tim

[32phil]

You didn't say what type of firewall you are using. I have a Brookville roadster and had both a repro and an original firewall in the car during the build and both fit fine. Make sure the rubber gasket is installed properly and the firewall "feet" are over the correct holes. No trimming needed.

[qmdv]

Brookville body and Brookville stock wall and feet. Stock 32 Ford rails and I know what holes to use. I did the left side and to make it work I just bent the little bit of body up a tiny bit. Hard to do on right side because of compound bend.

Tim

[1931 flamingo]

Pictures of both sides??
Paul

[qmdv]

Here is the left side


And my mistake, it is the bottom of the firewall that interferes with the foot.

Here is the front of the right side. If the fire wall would up a bit more it would work but it is up pretty tight with a c clamp

Almost there.

Thanks Tim

[Fordors]

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Tim, it has been my understanding that there is clearance there to provide a means of adjusting door fit. The brackets riveted to the body typically do not meet the firewall feet.

[qmdv]

I made a mistake. What you see coming down on approx. 45 degree angle is the upper part that is part of the firewall overlapping the feet. The feet do not touch the body.

Tim

[Fordors]

This may be a difference of terminology Tim. What I call the f/w feet are the pieces with that 45° angle that are riveted to the f/w. The brackets I'm describing are riveted to the body with two rivets. On a Henry body they are steel forgings and I believe Brookville might use bronze castings.
The f/w feet bolt down to the frame with a thin webbing between frame and feet and the brackets riveted to the body are used for door adjustment. In your first photo there is a sheet metal 90° piece spot welded to the body, right below it and directly behind the 45° angle is the adjustment bracket. In the second photo the same bracket is seen (other side of car) and there is clearance under it shown as a shadow in the photo. The clearance is OK, tightening or loosening a bolt there will move the door fit around.

[32phil]

It's hard to tell in the pictures if you have the rubber gasket in place. That's the one that goes between the firewall and the body. The gasket is about 4 feet long and you have to make two holes at the top center to put the hood hinge bolts thru. Your interior pic of the left side looks correct I'm not sure if a little piece of the gasket is showing. Install the firewall without the gasket, put the bolts thru on top(on the repro you may have to drill them) where the hood bracket goes and thru the frame/feet. It should go in really easy&loose. If all goes in OK then put the gasket in. It should all be snug/tight but go together OK. The gasket is about 8+in. too long so just trim it before you install the firewall. if it doesn't fit without the gasket it won't with the gasket. If all else fails try to borrow or at least look at/measure an original firewall. You may have a RARE case of a repro part not fitting as an original part......

[xix32]

Is the body webbing supposed to be under the firewall feet also?

[32phil]

Yes, some webbing is required under the firewall feet. It is separate from the webbing under the body itself. It can be thicker or thinner depending on how much is under the body. It helps to have enough under the firewall to make adjusting the doors easier. The cast or forged brackets riveted to the cowl are used to adjust the doors and they are present on all 32 Bodies. A large bolt & nut go thru the bracket and into the frame hole that is set into the edge of both frame rails. No washers or spacers between the frame and cowl bracket so as to allow free movement of the cowl and the door angle when closed.

[qmdv]

Originally Posted by xix32

Is the body webbing supposed to be under the firewall feet also?

Brookville tech says no. Going to Turloc this weekend and see if there is a stock firewall to look at.

Tim

[Krylon32]

I've done quite a few Brookville roadsters with both original and repro firewalls. I always assembled the bodies with an original firewall and then switched to the repro when assembly was complete with no problems. On all the cars I have done (which were highboys) I ran the webbing from just behind the back body mt. hole to the front edge of the firewall. I encountered no problems except the firewall gasket being a little thick. On the cars with original gaskets they went right together.

[32phil]

Krylon32 hit the process on the head. What matters is that there is something under the firewall feet. The whole idea is to prevent squeaking, hence the name "anti-squeak" webbing. If it is too thick or thin under the firewall it will change the way the door hangs. You can ''dial'' the doors in with the bolt but be careful, too much dialin' will cause the cowl to crack. Many original cowls I have seen are cracked where the A pillar meets the top of the cowl. Late 32 bodies had reinforcing plates welded into the top(inside) of the cowl because of this.

[qmdv]

I went back into the shop this afternoon and came away victorious. I was able to raise the firewall just a bit and it went together.

I do not have webbing under the firewall feet (mounting bracket that bolts to frame). Brookville tech said nothing under feet. If webbing is under feet that will raise it an eighth of an inch and make it harder to get together.

Will not be bolting feet to firewall tell I am sure about this.

Tim

[Krylon32]

If you put webbing under the body and feet as I described above nothing changes!

[qmdv]

Originally Posted by Krylon32

If you put webbing under the body and feet as I described above nothing changes!

Right now I have it under the body and not the feet. The fire wall is as far up as I can get it with c clamps etc. The feet are bolted to the frame (no webbing). If you look at the pic in my first post you can see that the part of the feet going up at about a 45% angle are very tight under the adjoining firewall. If you add webbing under the feet they have to go up. For them to go up the firewall also has to go up. I do not think I can get it to suck up any higher.

Tim

[DavidG]

Something is amiss. The original webbing used under the body was 1/16" thick, not 1/8" thick and small pieces of the same material were used under the feet of the firewall. The reproduction rubber seal between the top and sides of the firewall and cowl isn't even remotely similar to the original as it is far too thick and that thickness isn't uniform, unlike an original.

[qmdv]

Originally Posted by DavidG

Something is amiss. The original webbing used under the body was 1/16" thick, not 1/8" thick and small pieces of the same material were used under the feet of the firewall. The reproduction rubber seal between the top and sides of the firewall and cowl isn't even remotely similar to the original as it is far too thick and that thickness isn't uniform, unlike an original.

Thanks. I will find some 1/16 material and try it under the feet when I get back from Turloc Swap Meet.

tim

[Krylon32]

All the webbing most of the suppliers such as Drake/Vintique etc is 1/8. I've never seen 1/16? Who supplies it? It's never a problem on any of the deuces that have I've built but they've not been restorations.