Why do alot of hotrods have their firewall painted white? I'm getting ready to re-paint the firewall on a '57 Chevy Gasser and I'm trying to decide what color to go with.
I would think because it gives a clean look. I think red looks good also, really stands out on a white car.
paint it white so you can tell when it starts leaking (or if you got it to stop). I think the firewall should be painted body color, but I'm lame like that.
cause sometimes it looks cool and clean, i would never do it cause i would ruin it unless i had a nice motor that didn't leak oil or exhaust fumes. i also like body color on the firewall, and wheel wells, chrome looks cool too, just depends on the style. -Anthony
I believe most people do it because it's a nice clean look. I painted mine white when I built my highboy because it really set off the engine and complimented the whitewall tires.On my 55 chevy 2dr post I painted the firewall the same color but smoothed it out first.Hid the wiring and ran the wiper motor inside under the dash. I think that looked better versus painting it white. Don't recall ever seeing a gasser running a white firewall unless the car was the same color. But anyway paint it whatever color you want. Thats the right color. Good luck.
i have always painted my engine compartments black. and painted the motor the factory color i have no prob. with spotting leaks. with the motor painted fresh and clean you can usually spot them. plus having a black engine compartment really makes a motor stand out if it is painted a color like ford blue or chevy orange just my .02 but in your case with your car being a gasser im not so sure that you want something as boring as a black firewall, checker board would look cool but that has been over used plus thats too big of a fire wall for the checker board thing.
I heard that fifty years ago white was the cheapest paint color available so guys went with the least expensive.
I think it makes the whole compartment look clean. Its definitely traditional. Of course if I had a more stock looking car... I would consider body color. I like the cream color instead of the white. It hides the dirt alittle better and doesnt stand out so much.
white is early days traditional !! when i was a kid {in So Cal} a lot of suspension ie: rearends ect were also painted white.but mainly firewalls...............yea i was there i am 65...............LOL
I think it depends on the car and theme. My firewalls are black because they are drivers so it doesn't show dirt. If they were race cars, I'd go brushed aluminum or stainless steel. If I cared about car shows and trophies, I'd paint either white, red or checker board. All depends on what pleases you.
My firewall, door jambs, and trunk are currently painted with trunk splatter paint, so any color would be an improvement. Thanks for the responses.
Be prepared to clean or promise yourself a hands off approach. The '32 firewall gets super messy super fast. But seeing as you'll have a hood I say go for it!
It goes back to the old days of rodding. I don't know if there was ever a logical rason for it other than most of us agreed that it looked cool and the contrast made your engine stand out. White was easy to spray bomb too. I like red too. I'm going with a dark red on the firewall and underside of the hood on my truck for a contrast and to match the dark red seats, dash pad and door panels. The truck will stay the original yellow color and I'll stay with that if I ever get around to painting it. Cast grey is what I'm using on the mechanical things. Tom
I think that one good thing with white paint is that it makes the engine compartment brighter, so you are better able to see what you're doing.
I've painted the firewall white on two cars. Both because it looks clean and nice. I also painted the block white. Another up side is if you don't know what color the car is going to end up, White will match anything.
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