Direct Sheet Metal - Smooth Wall

After a successful cutting job, the stock firewall lifted out of place with ease. The discarded stock firewall can be recycled as a kitty litter tray.

With the stock firewall cut out, the following step was to measure the Direct Sheet Metal firewall and mark where it needed to be trimmed off to fit the firewall opening in the cab.

The excitement starts to mount with the first glance at the Tri-Five's new look as the Direct Sheet Metal firewall is held into place.

The top piece was tacked into place, followed by inserting the floor panels. Special care was taken not to warp the metal by applying too much heat in a given area. This was done by stitching the parts in with evenly placed tack welds.

This is a good view of how the cab was braced before work was started. It also shows the improved depth created by installing a new smoothed firewall.

Notice the Direct Sheet Metal firewall extends rearward to the seat riser. As an added bonus, this means rusty floors will be replaced during the process of installing the smoothed and recessed kit.

Here one can see the perimeter of the new floor pieces tack welded in with adjustments to fit made with each new tack weld. Completion is followed by stitching in the unwelded areas with a bead of weld. Again, note that special care must be taken not to overheat the sheetmetal and cause warpage.

Notice the recessed firewall extends almost to the point of aligning with the floorpan opening. This translates into plenty of room for any engine swap imaginable short of a Rolls-Royce Merlin.

With the floor completely welded in, the next step was to locate the cab mounts and position the holes with a hole saw.

Once the new holes were drilled for each side, the mounting pockets were welded in. Here's a shot of the completed firewall with the cab back on the chassis and the big-block Chevy engine dropped in. Notice how much room has been added to this once restricted area.