Firewall, Heater and Transmission Tunnel

Firewall, Heater and Transmission Tunnel

Firewall:

Fabricating the firewall and transmission tunnel was challenging. Poster board was used to make templates for the sheet metal. A throatless shear and sheetmetal brake made the work much easier.

The passenger side was pretty straight forward. A little bump was added for exhaust pipe clearance.

Passenger Side

 The drivers side was a bit more complicated as a shelf was needed to allow clearance for the fuel injectors to be removed and for the new location of the gas pedal.

Drivers Side

Engine compartment view shows the shelf. Clearance for the windshield wipers was factored in.

Front View

The battery will be relocated to the rear seat area. A windshield washer bottle and hydraulic clutch reservoir will go in the old batteries location.

In process

                                      

Finished

Heater:

My initial thought was to relocate the Opel heater and fresh air intake to the passenger side as was done in a couple of 24v conversions in Europe. With the firewall cut out and the tunnel moved back it was easier to use a Vintage Air Heater/Defroster. Mounting it in the center of the trans tunnel makes for even air flow from the bottom and centers the defroster tubing holes.

Vintage Air Gen-II Heater/Defroster

 Test fitting a Honda Civic console.

Honda Civic Console

Transmission Tunnel:

With the heater mounted, I was able to get a rough idea of what was needed to finish the transmission tunnel. The console gave me the length and width. Access panels for filling trans/bleeding the clutch slave cylinder and shifter adjustments were added.

Filler/Clutch Slave Cylinder Access Panel

                            

Shift Access Panel

Shift Access Panel

 Tunnel removed for welding and painting. The floor sections were cleaned and sprayed with Weld-Thru primer. This primer was used on all overlap joints to help prevent rusting of the welded areas.

Weld-Thru Primer

Note the change to the shifter. A shifter from a mid-1990's Mustang was adapted to the R-28 linkage. The shift pattern was shortened and it give a much more solid feel.

Tunnel welded in place

The tunnel (and eventually the floor) will be covered with Eastwood thermocoustic material to help deaden sounds and keep the heat out.