my DIY firewall

pulled out carefully and put it on the garage floor in the same shape

then carefully cut the compound curves and laid it flat:

then traced it on the back side of a aluminum sheet

then cut it out with a high speed saw - very carefully:

then dill some holes a la hole saw:

then carefully bend corners:

and test fit:

then pull out and trim and test fit and pull out and trim and test fit and pull out and trim and test fit and pull out and trim and test fit and pull out and trim and test fit and pull out and trim and test fit and pull out and trim and test fit and pull out and trim and test fit and pull out and trim and test fit and pull out and trim and test fit and pull out and trim and test fit and pull out and trim and test fit and pull out and trim and test fit and pull out and trim and test fit and pull out and trim and test fit and pull out and trim and test fit and pull out and trim and test fit and pull out and trim and test fit and pull out and trim and test fit and pull out and trim and test fit and pull out and trim and test fit

perfect.

i forgot to take pictures of how i did the hole bevels.

cut a hole out of 1/2" MDF, routed the corner/edge.

cut out a bigger hole and use the plug and route the corners of that.

carefully line things up and stomp it with my foot. 

worked awesome.

oh ya - in case you are wondering - that is Terry's old Bilge blower mounted on top of my transaxle - intake is ducted to the front of my IRS arm.  switched by the oil thermostat switch mounted (you can see it in second pic)

then i repainted the frame that i scratched the hell out of even though i taped it up.

You can sort of see them, but the fire suppression system nozzles are just at the top of the second pic.

oh, the two temp switches: 1 for bilge blower and 1 for oil cooler fan.  both are relayed.

that's it.

next up: fancy up my engine.

So the bilge blower kicks in when the temps pick up?  You skipped the cut out like vintage has for the engine fan?

yes.

i do not think that cutout is worth it.  there is a lot of hot air back there (especially on a type 1 (i have a type 4 with exhaust exit out the bottom).  Never mind the fact there are two 12"x18" fresh air holes in our deck lids.  there is no shortage of cold air.

when the bilge blower is not on - it still funnels cold air from under the car.  the blower is more of a boost for traffic / hot days. 

Paul, I think you're one "test fit, pull out and trim" short.

Looks awesome!

Glad you were able to use the bilge blower.

As usual, what can we say but, WOW!

That looks slick.

I'm feeling inferior, again!

poor-man's dimple die, i like it.

Could you please build my next car for me - whatever it is?  Please.

Wow.  Excellent work!  Very nice looking.

i'd be happy to.  it would be an expensive car though.

oh, just in case anyone else is wondering -

to finish off the edging - i dremmeled the edges smooth, then i bought many many feet of black rubber vacuum line, then sliced a cut in it all the way down and used that as edging.

i stuck one end in a vice and pulled it across the garage with a sharp blade in my hand.  while luckily not cutting my fingers.

found the pictures of the poor man dimple die.

gheto style:

STOMP

tada...

(FYI - those are not scratches in the metal - just eh plastic cover)

and here is a shot of all the stuff i squeezed under the rear area:  honestly - i don't think i could fit another thing back there.  you can see the top of the starter for a reference.

oh ya - while i was cutting / fabbing the aluminum - i made an oil cooler duct.

it's ~4" wide and funnels the air from the wheel well over top of the cooler.  it has vanes to direct the air.  should be a lot better than my old setup. (and i didnt even have cooling problems with my old setup)

You're an inspiration to the rest of us mere mortals.  Nice, nice work!

Incredible workmanship!!! but would we expect anything less from you?

DANG! Mad Skilz, my brutha!

WOW!

Yeah man, that's sweet.

I spend so many hours perusing and appreciating your project presentations Mango that I have no time left for my own.  Of course I am a longtime victim of the mañana syndrome.  So, please keep giving us your latest or I might have to take a duster to my tool box.  

Nice work Mango!

Very nice! I'm sure you've been asked this before but what size struts are you using on the decklid hinges? I have been trying the single strut method and have not been able to get it right yet. A 20# strut is too strong, 10# is too weak and I haven't found a 15# strut in 14, 15 or 16" length and then I saw your setup which looks like it might work better than the method I'm trying so if you would let me know the length and strength of the struts you are using, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks!

I'm definitely not worthy.

HEY MANGO NOT TO BUST YOUR BUBBLE. BUT THAT DOES LOOK LIKE VINCE'S WORK

Not trying to high jack just sharing. 

NICE! (but all the stuff you do is nice)

hey Kev - have you had problems with your idle jets plugging up running no filters on those IDA's?

I'm interested too.  I've often wondered what guys with that setup do. 

They live in California: land of smooth, dry, cinder-free roads and no bugs. In other words, they don't live where I live.

Really not much issues with this happening. I think it is because my car is faster then dirt......