Tag: firewall
Repairing the Donor Front Firewall
by Garage Weasel on Oct.15, 2024, under Body Work
Next up for repairing and preparing is the donor front firewall. This was cut out from a 1966 Beetle and is very close to the same design as the 1960. The main differences are the absence of a hole for the fuel reserve lever and a hole in the upper left hand side for the wiring harness. Other than these two things, it is exactly the same. To start, I lightly sandblasted the outside areas and treated them with Ospho.
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I decided to separate the inner panel from outer panel so that I could better assess the rust damage and simplify the replacement of any needed metal. There was quite a bit of rust on the bottom portions of both of these panels.
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I sandblasted the interior of both panels as well as the areas where they will be welded back together once the repairs are completed. The rust on the inner panel was mainly surface rust and there were no areas that needed to be replaced, and the pitting wasn't too deep. The bottom corners of the outer panel were both rust-damaged and distorted by all the welding done when being welded to the heater channels. It's just going to be easier and more feasible to cut out and replace those areas. I will also use patches that are of a little thicker metal to make them last longer and have more strength.
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I made patches that covered most of the bottom corners of the outer panel. I welded them on and ground down the welds.
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I also welded in a patch to the passenger side flange on the inner panel. This flange was cut through when the firewall was cut from the donor car. I ground down the welds and trimmed it to the correct shape.
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Since this firewall was originally for a 1966 Beetle, it had a hole on the upper left side of the outer panel so that a segment of the wiring harness could pass through it. The 1960 model harness doesn't route through the firewall, so I welded in a patch to close it up. I also filled in several unneeded screw holes and carpet nail holes on this panel.
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I prepared the inner and outer panels for welding by spraying the weld areas with U-POL Weld #2 Zinc Weld Through Primer, and the interior areas with Eastwood Matte Black Rust Encapsulator.
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After the panels were welded together and the welds ground down, I sprayed the outer areas with primer to protect the firewall until I get ready to fit and install it.
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