The VW bug’s front engine fire-wall plate is finally in place. I had to adjust it a little with the hammer to get it to fit perfectly. Once it was tight I welded it on as much as possible. Again I will have to remove the frame from the MR2 3SGTE engine to finish all the welding. This plate should add quite a bit of rigidity to the entire structure.

The VW bug fire-wall plate is now ready to be installed. I have to finish welding and grinding the joints flat behind the plate so that it will fit flush with the fire-wall framing. Once I get it to fit I will weld it in.

A new slide show on the “MR2 VW Bug Pics Page 4” page shows the lower VW bug fire-wall unit that contains the Toyota MR2 3SGTE motor mount.

Now that I have transferred the exact measurments to the VW bug fire-wall steel, I will again clamp it between two angle pieces in my vise and start the bend. I double check it with the board to make sure it is perfect.

With the first bend in the fire-wall complete, I need to bend the other side. The measurement here is critical, if the bend isn’t exactly right the fire-wall plate will not fit. If I bend it too short I won’t be able to weld it on and if I bend it too long it won’t fit into the frame work. I cut a 2×2 piece of wood to fit and then carefully transferred this measurement to the steel, now I have to bend it.

With the steel fire-wall sheet clamped in the vise, I can manually bend it over. I am using two 1.5×1.5 angle pieces to extend the clamping surface of my vise. I slowly bend it over to get a good edge.

With the rear engine cage members in place, I can now refocus on the front fire-wall. I will be using a 12 ga. steel sheet to create the fire-wall itself. I need to bend it on the ends for more strength. A couple of angle iron sections clamped in the vise should do just fine.

The VW bug rear engine cage is now complete. I have positioned and welded on the two rear angle members as far as I can get them until the frame is removed from the MR2 3SGTE motor to weld the back side. I angled these two pieces opposite the front fire-wall to try and give the frame better triangulation.

I need to install a couple of angle braces in the VW’s rear engine cage similar to the front fire-wall. I again used the foam board to get the correct size and shape of these two framing pieces. I now have both units cut to fit, so all I have to do is position them and weld them in.

With both VW bug rear engine cage members tacked in place, I removed all the bracing and finished welding everything I can get to for now. I will finish welding behind the cage when I remove the frame from the MR2 3SGTE engine later.