On each side of this curved flange there are tack welds securing the flange to the kick panel and the upper footwell to the doghouse and aforementioned flange. These tack welds will need to be ground away to remove the upper footwell.

On the engine side of the firewall the upper footweall is secured by the curved stiffening panel on the left hand side of the photo. The spot welds here will need to be drilled. (this photo was taken after the completed repair for reference)

 

With the spot welds drilled out along the door post just like we did in the previous footwell. The upper footwell panel, toe board and kick panel was then removed. Here you can see the stiffening flange remains and will be incorporated in the completed bulkhead

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A test fit of the new panels show the fit of the panels if they are not trimmed. Some minor trimming is essential to a good fit and will ease the assembly process.

Replacing the door post and ensuring an accurate fit is important. An angle iron jig should be used to ensure the correct spacing of the doorposts. A simple jig consisting of section of angle with holes in both ends which the door posts can bolt to is sufficent to ensure correct spacing.

Here you can see that the reproduction doorposts are constructed differently than the originals. The replacement (left) has a seperate outer face that is spot welded to the vertical sections. The original is formed from one peice of steel. The bottom of the post (not the foot) is also simplified on the repair section and differs from the original in detail. The profile of the post is close enough that a clean repair can be acheived without making your own section. (photos taken from the completed firewall)

With the old post cut off the jig is used to position the post acurately on the firewall and tacked in place. The doorpost is then welded in and the welds ground flush and blended with the original metal. The repair can then only be seen from the difference in construction and the coating (lightly galvanized) With the fender, door seal and coating, the repair will be invisable and the construction will be virtually identical to the original.

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With the door post acurately replaced the footwell can then be assembled. Here you can see the replacement door post has been drilled and the galvanizing ground away in preperation for welding the two panels togther.

The kick panel has also been drilled so that when the toe board and upper footwell are position they can be assembled with rosette welds which replicate the original spot welds.

This is the difference beween an original looking repair and just a functional one. The goal is the best of both worlds: a functional repair that looks right. Since the repair panels overlap, some shops just spot the two together leaving a seam which is not consistent with the original construction. You can do it this way and have a good repair, but we took the extra time for this project to show you how to make it even better. Above you can see that the panels have been trimmed so that they butt up to one another. Even before welding the fit is extremely close. Acheiving this sort of fit is important to a good result.

Here you can see the small tab which spans the seam between the kick panel and the upper bulkhead. Many times this small detail is deleted. It is easy to retain as its only spot welded to the upper bulkhead and the kick panel slides right in behind it. Noting details like this is the key to repairing the bulkhead in a manner consistent with the original.

With the toe board welded to the upper footwell and the kick panel in place, the stiffening panel can then be spotted onto the assembled footwell.

With The panels assembled the finish welding can be done to replicate the original construction.

The footwells appear original from both sides. All the original tack welds, spot welds and seam welds have been replicated and the firewall is rust free and ready for coating.

 

Finished firewall in bare metal, reday for coating.

Test Fitting the firewall on a frame. Thanks to the simple jig it fits perfectly and the bolts securing it to the frame slide in by hand.

 

A Word on Coatings: Protecting your freshly repaired firewall can be a frustrating choice. You can prime and paint the firewall in the conventional manner but if you live in a salty climate this will be a short term option. The inside of the bulkhead can be protected by dipping the enclosed areas of the firewall in primer before painting, or spraying the inside with a waxoil type product to inhibit rust. At the end of the day these are only temporary solutions to corosion. Galvanizing the firewall is the only way to really ensure a long lasting component as it coats inside and out with a virtually impervious coating. However, the heat of galvanizing can warp thin sheet metal and cause a small amount of distortion in the firewall. Having dipped many bulkheads this is not normally a serious issue but its something to be aware of. For us a permanent solution is worth the risk. You should however be aware of this when choosing a coating.

Here is the completed firewall respendent in a fresh coat of Hot Dipped Zinc. Ready for fitment to a land rover and sure to last decades longer than a paint job!

 

We crated up this beauty for a customer in the Virgin Islands. Traveling so far we wanted to make sure it made it there without damage. The bulkhead feet and winshield brackets were used to secure the fiewall inside the crate without actually touching the outside. It should survive the long trip and any careless fork lift drivers it encounter to give a rusty old rover a new lease on life!!!

 

Good luck repairing your firewall. If you have any questions about repairing your firewall, feel free to drop us a note.