Before I actually cut into the VW bug’s sheet-metal fire-wall, I need to be certain of the pedal and steering column locations. I cut a piece of plywood to match the steel fire-wall and transfered all the initial markings to get the pedal mount locations. I am also trying to line up the MR2 steering column so it can pass through the fire-wall. The dowel rods in the first part of the video do not pass through the plywood they are there just to mark each side to get a hole location.
The VW bug fire-wall has basically been completed and bolted in. I have also bolted in the dash-board plate and everything seems to be very rigid and strong. I will next need to get the exact positioning of the pedal locations and cut the holes in the fire-wall.
With the firewall plate bolted to the existing VW bug sheet-metal, I will need to add an additional piece of steel for strength. I will be using a 2×2 piece of angle to be placed from side to side in the center of the firewall plate. This member will use a few existing bolt holes in the front end sheet-metal.
2 New slide shows see page: MR2 VW bug pics page 6. MR2 VW bug pics page 6
I now have the VW bug front firewall constructed out of steel. I traced the outline from my foam-board template. I will strengthen the firewall with a piece of 2×2 angle iron and then I will attempt to place the MR2 pedals.
Before I reinstall the newly painted VW bug dash-board/steering-column support members, I need to create the foward fire-wall. I will mount all of the pedals and various other things to this plate. It appears that I can just bolt the fire-wall plate to some of the existing sheet-metal from the original VW firewall.
With the VW bug dash panel cut and fit, I must now remove all the support pieces and paint everything. I am pouring some of the rust bullet down inside the rear part of the fender wells. There is some rust down in there and I hope to convert it all with this rust converter.
I cut the steel dash-board stiffing plate from 18 ga. steel. This plate will be screwed on with 9 screws, 4 on the top holdin it to the original VW bug sheet-metal and 5 holding it to the new steering column support. This plate should add a lot of strength to the entire assembly.
I am now building a re-enforcement plate for the dash board. This plate will help stiffen up the dash-board/steering-column support. I will first build a template from poster board and then transfer the profile to steel. I will cut the steel and fit it in place.
The VW bug’s hood is now on and it closes OK. Once I drilled out the hinges, I mounted the hood on the car and slowly ground down both the dash support and the hinges themselves until they fit just right. They seem to be plenty strong and for now everything clears fine.