The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Doors Firewall cover tips

I installed one of THESE and thought I'd share the experience. BTW, the picture is upside down.

1. It doesn't fit. I had to trim about a half-inch off the right side to get it to lay flat.

2. The holes for attachment don't line up. I started by attaching the cover to the firewall through the hole in the upper left side, then located and drilled the hole for the upper right side. Look in the FAM to find the other holes used to mount it and locate and drill them. I used #10 machine screws rather than the flimsy plastic things.

3. Do not trust any of the pre-scribed locations for your heater. Mark the back of the cover through the holes in the firewall and cut your holes that way.

4. If you have a fresh air heater remember that the bracket with two studs must rest against the firewall, not the cover. I located the bolt holes, installed the heater temporarily to locate the bracket, marked the cover for the cut with four pieces of masking tape, removed the heater, cut through the cover with a Dremel tool and re-installed the heater. The manual says to cut two 1 3/4" holes for this but I cut square holes just large enough for the brackets.

5. BTW, It's flexible enough to install with the steering column in and actually comes rolled up so don't expect some rigid piece to arrive in a large box.

Hope that helps someone.

Great tips Woody
pic

I must of installed/ reinstalled mine 1/2 a dozen times before I got all the trimming right.

Another thing to look at is the firewall cut outs for the wiring harness. Weeks later when I was running some wires I realized the cut outs didn’t line up either.

I also had to trim the bottom area of the hump to get mine to lay flat.
and some trimming around the steering Colum access

Punch bigger holes for the heater hoses( Luckily I have a gasket punch set large enough)
That is some tough thick plastic.

By the way When is Taadaa 3 coming out with updated pics?

Woody,

I installed mine about 2 weeks ago. I had the exact same issues and pretty much did the exact same fixes. I agree about the flimsy panel connectors. I put the first one in and it popped right out. They went in the bone pile after that.

It took me about 3 to 4 hours to finally get it all right.

Dale

Woody, I've seen those and I'm almost at the point of putting one in . My question is would you buy it if you had it to do over again or have the upholstery man use some of there stuff.

and do you think it will help on the noise and heat enough to go with it vs the upholsterer?

Thanks for your comments. I'm sure others appreciate it as well.

Alvin,

Considering the price and the few problems, I recommend it. It covers a lot of ugly real estate in a big hurry and it's easy to work with but it's not going to satisfy the purist looking to do a VCCA restoration. If you want extra sound deadening and insulation I'd suggest using some of that self-adhesive mat that's sold for that purpose. Just put it down first and then use the plastic panel.

As for the fit issues... it's no different from any other aftermarket stuff you buy and maybe better than most.

So I get the impression from this thread that once again, the repro cowl trim pads really don't fit worth a darn? Sounds like the outside fit is incorrect and none of the holes line up leaving you with holes where they don't belong after you drill the new ones.
Is that an accurate interpretation of what ya'll are saying???
Luckily both the trim pads in both my trucks are salvageable. I would however like to find an original looking paint that I could use to cover the shoe scuffs that inevitably take place.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny,

You will notice that in my response to Alvin I say "but it's not going to satisfy the purist looking to do a VCCA restoration".

No, it does not drop in and line up perfectly.
No, it is not the correct material.
No, it is not the correct texture.
No, it is not the correct color.

BUT!... Considering that almost nothing on the aftermarket scene fits without modification it requires very little work to fit and unless you crawl up under the dash with a flashlight and inspection mirror you will never see the hole mis-alignment. BTW, the larger holes are "close" only requiring some elongation, not re-drilling in another location.

IMO, the options are expensive and time consuming. Although not perfect, it does the job well and is worth the money... IMO, of course.