Been working on my old man's 29 Roadster trying to get it out of my way. He's running a SB Chev so I had to put in a Sac Vintage 4" recessed firewall. Now I am not sure how I am going to get the steering column through it. The steering column is a flaming river tilt column (sorry, he's old & arthritic as long as he's paying the bills I'll build it however he wants it). Anyone have any pics of similar setups. Where'd you end up cutting the hole at? Thanks in advance for help and ideas. I'll try to post some pics later if anyone needs/wants to see them.
Need more info like what kind of box are you mounting it to. I would take wooden dowl mock up for fit on the inside , take a dial indicator and see how many degrees it is. Measure up from the bottom of the firewall to bottom of dowl and tranfer measurements and degrees to the engine side. You'll have to drill your hole at the same degrees to get a nice tight fit too.
Sorry, minor detail...Vega box. I'll see if I can get the pics to display. To me the way the column will exit the firewall into the enging bay will be right in the bend of the 4 in recess. I just hoping that someone else has this same configuration and could post some pictures of how theirs is punched through. Thanks, Chad
sometimes the column has to go where it need to be...that means you will probabilly end up with a real odd shape hole. but the hole should look round when looking down the column. hope that nakes sense. mark the center of the hole and do what you need to make a tight fitting hole...you can use a hole saw at the proper column angle if you use a long pilot bit this is about the only picture i could find on my computer that may give you an idea:
bttt I need this info as well... Not the steering column though, but trying to build a good-looking recess... Thanks.
something i did on my 1930 sedan was i cut the original firewall out and flipped it and welded the thing inside out. i now have a factory mod that looks original.
Just a concern... is that that final resting place for the transmission? The cutout for the transmission and tunnel seems pretty tight. Are you going to get interference once things really start flexing and moving around? Just an observation. Not being critical. Only curious. Just seemed a little tight and wondered if there was a reason for it.
That is certainly a concern I have and trying to make sure I have clearence. Right now nothing is touching. The car will be full fendered and still has 1/4" of rubber body pads to go down plus the thickness of the fender/spalsh apron.
one more concern for ya. being a 28-29 body, and stating that your father is old and arthritic, why owuld you decide to torture him by further cramping the ****pit with a 4" recess! my 28 roadster is maxed out with me driving it with a stock firewall. I'm 5' 7"
Mainly the body was what we had available. Second its actually a sport coupe that has been made into a roadster and I am able to position the seat back far enough to where he cand stretch his legs far enough to be comfortable. The recess was needed for the small block chevy powerplant which is the only reason for it. The frame with motor and trans was already setup for my 31 Tudor, but that project has been sidelined for now, thus putting his Roadster body on it and getting him something to enjoy, while he can. Build it on a budget with what you got, right?!?
Thank you! That helps a lot. Granted the recess is done differently, but with your pictures I can visualize it a little easier. Just waiting for my column drop to show up from Speedway so I can get rolling on it. Thanks again.
Hi there I'm building a 28 coupe and used a *****ing firewall it to has curve were the steering has to go through , what I did was cut out a hole an make it to the toe kick angle . Then boxed in the other side. (see pic's) I hope this helps.
Awesome, thanks. The thought of cutting out the area and boxing it didn't even cross my mind. I really do appreciate everyones input. Thanks, Chad
No problem.... It had taken me quite a while to do it with the older model A's is you don't have much room to work with. Get all your parts together and go from there. make carboard templates then cut the steel. It would nice if you had a old cowl ***embly , make sure you have the person who is going drive the there. Wooden dowels are great for figuring out shaft lenghts, and the seat is in the right location. Good luck with it. 28Abone.
Hi there again just in case you didn't get my pm. I though you might likr to see how the pro's do it...... The web page is http//hotrodscustomstuff.com/GonzModA-o6.html. 28Abone.
This is a perfect example, thanks. Now if the column drop would just get here already so I can start working again!