Technical Willys Firewalls

Hello guys, as some of you know I have a 1938 Willys sedan and I need to take some of my firewall out so my small block chevy will fit. I am wondering if any of you would like to post some picture as to how I can cut it and then rebuild it after the engine in mounted. I know I am going to have to build new pieces but was wondering if any of you may have used the wheel barrow thing which give you the nice curves after it is welded in place. Just looking for idea's on how to make some more room in the engine bay. I am running the stock 38 Willys radiator that has been reworked so the engine is going to have to be moved back, but I do want to keep the stock looking firewall. Any help and pic's would be very helpful. Thank you.

 

I'm not positive and I can't really find out till the snow melts and it gets warmer "but" we built my brothers 39 Willys sedan and moved the radiator forward some, he had to notch a square out of the fender flange that you cant see when the hood is down and then modified the inner fender panels. He has a stock firewall and a SBC, electric fan pusher I think. He's on here sometimes try PMing him at speedbump. I'll get a hold of him also he can tell you exactly what he did.

Pat

 

Sounds great 1934coupe I will be watching for his post.

 

Oh Tony dont do the wheelbarrow thing(they look like shit in my opinion). Doesnt Clark up in lead have some of the old recessed panels that the speed center used to press?

 

On my Willys pickup and a sedan I built I just moved the stock firewall back granted I had to add some filler pieces to the sides but it worked real well and looks good my pickup is a 40 and only moved it a couple inches back but on my sedan I moved it way back almost to the windshield as it had a hemi in it here is a crappy build pic but maybe you can get the idea

 

Hey Tim, if I do the wheelbarrow thing I want to use a small Kids type barrow which is just a little bit bigger then the Indent that is already in the firewall and that would give me the room I need, then it wouldn't look out of place. As far as what Clark has those are hood scoops and they have that crease in the middle, if I could get that out then it might look alright. That is something I need to look into, one of them might be the way to go. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

Hey wenchbender, I see what your saying but I don't really want to move the whole firewall, I just want to recess the Indent that is already there but it needs to be wider and a little taller so the cylinder heads and my tunnel ram and carb's will fit, I want to have my crank center at the Max.of 24 inches. Thank you for your input, I still may have to move it.

 

Right on out of curiosity where are you wanting crank centerline 24" from

 

That was the height limit they set back in the Gas Class in the 60/70"s.

 

Right on I am intrested in your build hope you continue with a build thread

 

Check out Direct Sheet Metal. I think they have what you need.

 

Thank you rfraze for your input but did you look at what they offer it has a big gaping setback, it would probably look ok if you were putting in a blown Hemi, but it would never look right with a small block Chevy. It to bad these company don't look at what they a making and build different ones for different engines, oh well looks like i may just be building my own. Was really hoping people would just post pic's of how they did theirs and then i could use that as a visual to build my own design. Thank You

 

Still interested in see what other have done to solve this problem, Pic's would be most helpful.

 

i got back to you under start a conversation. how i fit my sb chevy into my 39 sedan a/c and large rad. with a stock water pump. check it out and get back to me. mike

 

hey mike i got a email but it had a failure notice and didn't show anything sorry couldn't mail you back. If you want you can mail me back at [email protected]

 

You need leg room in those.Wouldn't it be easier to take out the stock radiator and put in a crossflow? I've seen them used with the original 37/38 frontends they tip the top forward to clear the 'V' shape of the fenders. You could run electric fans. Look at some of the new cars today that do it that way. Then maybe you'd have room to move the motor forward a little without cutting the firewall, or very little.Running the SBC short water pump and pulleys may help to,moving it forward. Just my two cents.

 

Hey Bomber, Yes I looked at doing that, but the problem with the 37/38 is it uses the hood for the air supply to cool the radiator, the hood is actually the grille on a 37/38. In order to lay a radiator in there at an angle would take to much cutting and the radiator hoses would be a mile long also on the new car the radiator is lower then the engine and it makes it hard to fill and work the air out so you don't end up with a air lock in the system. It is going to be best to setback the lower part of the firewall and build the floor into that setback. I just have to figure out how to build the setback so it doesn't look out of place, which I have put some thought into and I think I have it figure out just need to stop up to my buddy's shop he has a big break and then I can fold the metal into shape and then weld it in place and build the floor to meet up with it. I do thank you for your 2 cents worth after all that is why I ran the thread.

 

Hi!
It was a quite big file (even zipped) and the file unfortunately became corrupt. I upload the pictures here instead. It seems to work better. I hope the pictures give you enough with information. I have more if there any specific parts you want to see. Maybe I will build off the empty area between the new and old firewall.
/Mike

 

Hey MiSo, the file made the trip and I have the pictures, but with your engine is in place, it is still hard to see just what you did , but after studying them I could see how you cut and then built the new firewall. Thank you for your time, you did help me out and I will be cutting mine soon. I have a dummy block and transmission in place so I can see what I have to remove and then replace the new firewall with. Now I am looking at lowering my radiator so the fan will end up more in the middle of the radiator, It is like one big puzzle just have to get everything in the right place.

 

hi 38 sedan Mike here, sent you ideas on how i did my 39 sedan. if you look at the photos above from miso, you will see what i was talking about in regards to the inner fender panels.if you bend the inner panels right where the original rad is. and bending it forward to follow the contour of the original center section you'll gain at least 2" of forward room. then you don't need to modify the firewall so much just maybe around the valve covers. and also can use a thicker newer radiator. alum. if it s in your budget. well good luck. mike

 

Hi 38!
The radiator and fan is an issue! I will have an electrical fan which I shall place in the front of radiator. In the beginning I tried with original fan, but it was so little place so I gave up. I lowered the radiator a bit in the front of the original fastening. I might cut off some sheet metal in the inner fenders in the front for better cooling.

 

Hey Guys, that showed me what they came up with on their car, I do apperciate the help you offered, well here is the rough out of what I came up with on mine, keep in mind I wanted mine to fit tight and look clean, I think I got what I wanted. Now remember I wanted to keep as much of the ribbing that is on the stock firewall, which I think came out just fine. Also I still have to cut a piece in for my air cleaner to fit but haven't come up with that curved piece yet. I will add it as soon as I find what will work for that. The last pic shows my air cleaner so you can see how it will fit and that is the part that I am looking for and will add later. Here are some pic's to share.

 

Looking good Tony. As far as dropping the rad. wouldnt it be easier to get a zips water pump riser? Looking back thats what I should have done on my 32 but Ive already bought a nice elec. fan/shroud combo.

 

I don't have any pics but unless we were moving the entire firewall we commonly used an old wheel barrow to make the niche for the engine to set in. I don't know how traditional that is, I learned it from a guy that was racing gassers starting in the '50s when it was still called gas coupe/sedan.

 

Hey Tim, well let me tell you I have been looking at one of those but I sat down in front of the car and study what I have and if I take the front cross member out and flip it up side down it will lower the radiator down and then I can run a fan plus I will also run a electric pusher fan on the front of the radiator. Remember this is a low dollar built plus I already have all of the parts, trying to use up as many of the parts I have collected over the years. If I get this car down it will be the last one I build. Thanks for stopping by, will see you this summer hopefully.

 

Hey porknbeaner, thought about doing that but today's wheel barrows are so big and deep it wasn't what I was after, althought they do work nice in car that have a big engine bay. I looked for one of those small children's barrow for a long time but was not able to come up with one so I use the two firewall that I had and you see what I came up with. Too late to change now it's done and going to work for me. Thanks for you input.

 

So Tone, where exactly are you in the canyon(across the road from Boulder Park)? Ide like to stop by one of these days.

 

Hey Tim, I am right across from the old 76 Augus Ranch on Star Quill and Morning Side, we are the first place on Morning Side, big silver shop on the place you can't miss it.

 

Hi 38 2 DR Sedan! Nice job! It's looking great! By doing it in this way you save space for the pedals and get more leg room. I was thinking to do it in the same way, but I don't needed the more leg room because I'm quite a short guy. But I welds probably some plates to fill the space between the new and old firewall to get a more unitary firewall.
/Mike

 

Hey Mike, most of my firewall is in now and I made new toe plates and will be making a new piece that will be my bell housing curveter. Yes I am using Vega pedals so they fit nicely in the room i had left after moving thing over. I will have more picture but lost use of the camera I was using. Hope to post the pic's soon. Tony