firewall strength

So I have my shiny, smooth new firewall finally installed. Now starting to think about brakes and M/C and don't think the 18 gauge (maybe 16?) firewall was designed nor can support a pedal ***embly.

I can't be the only one to have this predicament! What have you guys done to overcome this?

Don’t particularly want hanging - don’t think I can build it structurally sound enough - and don’t have room for frame mount.

 

What car is this on?

I'm going for pedestal pedals on the '31, so no pedal box on the firewall, but the current plan calls for mounting an Alfasud rack-and-pinion to the firewall, on the engine side. Moreover I want the dash supported by the firewall and not by the body - as is common on '20s sports cars - so I'll be devising some sort of large C-shaped brackets to pick up all the relevant components, most probably in mild steel.

 

Lay a 16 gauge doubler panel on the inside of the firewall. Make sure it reaches the left side of the cowl, the top of the cowl and as far to the right as possible. The edges need to have a 90 degree brake in them to stiffen against your leg pressure. Bolt the pedal ***embly and master through both layers. Attach the edges to the original metal in whatever fashion works for you.

 

i agree with scotty, to further strenghten it, you could always have a couple beads rolled into the panel you put in too.

 

In my '36 Sedan I ran a piece of 1x1x1/8 square tube behind the dash all the way across then braced the firewall off it along with beads in the firewall it's self. Super strong plus the 1x1 gives you a great place to attach brackets and such under the dash to mount "Stuff".

 

In my '52 I made up a pedal ***embly that bolted up under and to the dash and included a plate against the firewall that the M/C and booster bolts to.

Pete

 

Yeah, just a doubler plate. I used 16 ga, with 2 ends bent into 90* on my 54 Chevy, when I put in hanging pedals.

 

Make a doubler plate for the inside and tie it into the dash on both ends with small tubing or rods. It can be bolted in and removable.

Look up under the dash on most any 50s car. The brace that holds the pedal goes from the firewall to the dash. We used to just alter one from a parts car to fit the new application. That would not be up to today's appearance standards but you can cut away the ugly stuff and use tubing to hold the pivot point for a nicer looking installation.

 

Wait, you don't want hanging pedals, and you don't want frame mounted? I'm confused...

 

If you do decide to do swing pedals from your firewall, make your pedal bracket span between the firewall and the dash board. I attached the bracket to the inside of the dash where the steering column mounted so I was maximizing strength.

I made kits for cl***ic trucks to do the same thing. Over fifteen years and never a single failure.

 

It kinda depends on the style of the car, but how about a Wilwood floor mount setup? I've used them on a couple of cars that I'm working on now. I used the dual mastercylinder set ups, but there are other brackets that could use a single MC.
Larry T