Firewall and pedal mounting started.
by Rick
Today I started by framing up the front section of the floor. I will make the floor later. I mostly wanted it framed in so I could start building the firewall and getting everything mounted. With the floor lowered an inch and the body raised 3/4 off the frame I have more room for the pedals. So first thing is figure out a template for the new 16 ga. firewall.
Using cardboard I made a template for the firewall that fits pretty snug in the opening. The closer I can get it the better off I am with sealing it up and keeping it from leaking. Once I cut the pattern out in steel I marked and cut out the hole for the master cylinder mounting. The new location for the master cylinder gives me plenty of room under the hood for the stock setup to fit. I might still add a remote fill to it so it will be easier to top off the fluid.
I spent a long time trying to connect the morse cable I am using for the clutch to the pedal but there just was no good way to get it working right. I finally just gave up and used the stock Metro cable to mount to the firewall and built an adapter to connect the two cables together. This will work out good since it gives me even more adjustment capability on the clutch cable. I will mount the adapter bracket in the front somewhere once I get more of it built and know where it can go. Up next is to finish mounting the pedals to the firewall including mounting the throttle pedal. After the pedals are in place I need to mount a set of good wipers and mount the heater box. Then I just need to build a dashboard and the few odds and ends for the interior then it is time to start on the final build to get it on the road.