Firewall Pattern For a T

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2013: Firewall Pattern For a T
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Douglas Mitchell on Friday, August 02, 2013 - 12:19 pm:

I am lucky in that the the model T I found in the barn has no rust on it and is 99.97% intact, though the powder post beetles have eaten 100% of all wood associated with the car including the wheel spokes. I have the car 100% apart, the engine will be back soon from the rebuilder and I have already started preparing the car for re-assembly. Tires/rims/spokes, hubs and new drums are now complete and ready to support the chassis and engine, but I need someone's help before I can proceed much further. The car seams have all seperated at every panel joint, so I am getting ready to resolder them but I need a firewall template to make a temporary fire wall so I can hold the front body panels together properly, in order to attach the sheet metal back together.

Could I please purchase from someone a paper template (any type paper, even taped together newspaper) showing the overall outline of a firewall for my 17 T touring. Don't need all of the holes or anything else just the outline (maybe the steering column hole) so I can solder assembly the front cowl and body panels together in their proper respective position using a temporary firewall that will get solder burned during the assembly. Again I will gladly pay for a pattern. Yes I can purchase a new firewall, but I choose to wait until next year when I will need it prior to the body going back onto the frame permanently.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Dewey, N. California on Friday, August 02, 2013 - 01:54 pm:

Douglas,
Put away the soldering irons/torches, etc. The model T body flexes way too much for the panels to be fastened that securely. They were fastened to the wood framework. The side panels beneath the rear doors may have had some soldering, but that's about it. The firewall is actually a separate piece from the body!
You need wood patterns! Ask around, some are available, as are wood kits (but I will admit, I have no idea how good they are). Complicating things a bit more is the fact that there were different body suppliers, and they aren't 100% identical.
T'
David D.
('16 touring, 25 roadster, '26 Tudor)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By john kuehn on Friday, August 02, 2013 - 02:35 pm:

Leon Parker has plans for several Open T bodies.
Also check out Fordwood on the net. They sell body wood kits for the car you mentioned.
If you decide to use a body wood kit be advised as David D mentioned that Ford used as many as 5 body makers to supply the bodies to him.
You can make the wood the makers now supply fit but you may have to modify the wood or body metal slightly.
When someone who is new to the hobby buys a kit they sometimes complain it wont fit not knowing that the body metal they have may not be the one that the supplier copied the wood kit from to sell.
Its not the body wood makers fault that this happens but it does.

When purchasing a wood kit please realize that the wood wont just 'drop in' as you have to slightly have to modify a few places. You can buy well made firewalls from the suppliers if you want.

Hope this helps.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Henry Petrino in Modesto, CA on Friday, August 02, 2013 - 04:38 pm:

Plywood firewalls for a 1917 T are about $65 in the vendor catalogs. You're going to need one anyway, so why not just buy one and use it as a pattern to make a throw-away, then use it for the car when you're ready?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik Johnson on Saturday, August 03, 2013 - 05:40 pm:

The firewalls sold by the vendors are GENERIC and are not correct for 1917 (or other years) because they are missing certain design elements such as a beveled edge.

However, you can make corrections to them. If you are a purist, read these posts for everything you ever wanted to know about 1917 firewalls:

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/179374/182377.html?1294979916

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/80257/116098.html?1259757133

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/80257/106894.html?1253539120

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/179374/231938.html

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/257047/305827.html?1345040925


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