The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors firewall cover

looks like a few options for replacing the firewall cover and insulation on my 54 1/2 ton. Any opinions as to which vendor to go with? the ABS plastic one is about 125.00 from classic parts. The other vendors offer rubber ones for about 50.00 with the fasteners.I'm more concerned with fit and function than price. Thanks

I heard the rubber ones fit better and look more like the original but it is all personal preference.

my original one is a cardboard type material

I have never seen the rubber one. Does it have any insulation?

The fit and finish of the ABS plastic one is superb. As neswes posted, the original was cardboard with a little insulation on the back.

thanks TC does the ABS one from classic parts have insulation on the back? .I know it's cheating but I hope I can put a small slit in it around the holes where the wires go thru so I don't have to undo all the harnesses.What do you think?

I bought the one from The Truck Shop, its like fiberglass w/insulation on the back.Yes you have to remove everything off of your firewall or cut the cover around whatever.(i cut mine and glued it onto the firewall) hindsight is 20/20 lol!

neswes,

What vendor will you be buying from?

Jim Carter's is black fiberglas and Classic Parts is ABS (has leather-like grain). Both vendors give the impression that they have insulation.

The original pieces that I have seen (on a COE, which originally had a non-standard cover) were not grained. Both vendors above state that their covers are grained.

This is an original ’50, 3600 Tim, don’t know if it’s the same as a ’54 but you can clearly see the grain in this picture I took when I had the heater out.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/113960201/large
Are ya starting to studder in your old age???
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Nice photo, Denny.

That will cause me to more carefully look at the pieces of cover I took off my COE. Do you think that the original color was black or dark brown (mine is a black cardboard material, with insulation, I think)?

I cleaned up my stuttering, too (you cannot see my drooling).

It looks like we are all chasing the same bugaboo. It looks like I will have to replace the padding and fiberboard (original) with repop jute and rubber mat. Did you ever find anything to freshen up the cover on your truck Denny? I thought about suggesting saddle soap, but I am sure you have plenty of ideas thrown at you.

I was not concerned with the texture. I'm not building an all original type truck. Just a clean driver. My question is ----Does the ABS one from classic parts have some type of insulation pad attached to it?
No problem if nobody knows I'll call Classic next week and maybe they can tell me. Thanks for all the input.

Yes, there is insulation.

Thanks TC as always for your help.

The cover in the PU was originally that brown that you see in the picture Tim. It's faided and since its panel board (cardboard) I haven't tried much in the way of cleaning fluids on it, mostly just wiped it down with a dust rag.
No Jim, never did get any thing that sounded viable from anyone here or over at the VCCA Chatter. I think one of the Vinyl paints may work if I could find the right tint.
My cover is really in quite good shape, it's not coming apart anywhere and the backing is still there and in good shape. It's just the surface finish that has deteriorated some.

I think if I had to replace one that my choice would definitely be the ABS panel. With the right paint you probably couldn't tell it from the original. I would like to see a good picture of the texture on the one of the ABS repros so I could add it to my reference file.

As far as the insulation or sound deadener on the back goes, no it will not be the same as the original. That was a natural fiber called Chor, which was the same material used under the floor mat and as a formed rubberized pad between the seat springs and cotton padding. What the venders are selling now is an inexpensive synthetic carpet padding available at any carpet store anywhere in the world. If the question is, "Is it glued to the back of the replacement panels?????" Simply call the vendor of choice and ask if theirs has the backing on it.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

neswes,

My responses are OK for you and your 54 but people with pre-54 trucks should heed the first-hand experiences of people who have 47-53 trucks.

From Denny's information and photo, and from 1954-truck information sent to me by Greg Hill, it looks like:

- the firewall cover through 1953 was brown and had a leather grain (and had insulation)

- the firewall cover for 1954 (and maybe 1955) was black and had little or no texture/grain on it (and had insulation)

The ABS covers I have seen for 1954 (and, I recently bought a cover from JC and it looks like ABS, not fiberglass): they are black and they have a leather-grain-texture to them (and have insulation).

Maybe someone will report on the 47-53 reproduction ABS (or JC fiberglass or other vendors' rubber) covers color and texture (and insulation)?

I just put one on my 58. It is a heavy vinyl with insulation on the back. It was easy to install as I cut a slit where the harness goes through. It is soft & easy to tuck the new carpeting under the edge. I am very pleased with it except the fasteners didn't fit. I used some large X-mas tree fasteners I had, which fit good but don't have the hole in the center like the original. I got it from LMC.

I painted the original one with 3 coats of por-15 before I took it out. http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2346140010103315458hTVIeg It came out all in one piece and is holding its shape on the shelve. My intentions are to try to match the color and paint it. It might fall apart when I try to put it back in but so far the por seems to have it in pretty good shape. I am thinking about once I get closer to using it, cleaning off the old insulation and hitting the back with Por-15. I did spray the front with something like 409 to help cut any oil first and blotted it dry which picked up lots of gunk. The cardboard seemed to take the Por very well . I think it will look good when I finish.

neswes,

I recently received a cover from Jim Carter and opened the box this evening. It is not ABS (most likely it is a fiberglass material, as JC states). It is dull black with almost no texture. It looks like the material that came out of my 54/55 GMC COE and the material in Greg Hill's 54 truck. I like it.

The ABS 54 covers that I have bought from Classic Parts are shiny black and are embossed to look like leather.

1947-53 covers are a different shape from the 54/55, and, from what Denny has posted, they are brown with a leather-like texture.

Thank you ,I think I will probably order the ABS one from classic parts today along with a bunch of other stuff while they are offering a 10% discount for Dec.
By the way I hooked up the exhaust last night. I used the Donut on the rear manifold and the flat one on the front. Hope that donut seals OK It was a real b**ch to get in.