MTFCA Forum

This is a low firewall, steel cowl runabout with a separate hood clasp. This was a carry-over from wood firewalls, where the hood rod clasp was NOT permanently attached to the steel firewall.

1. I am seeking to find what HEAD was on the screws (2) used to secure the the clasp. I have the crusty remains of a clasp and a screw but the screw is too far gone to figure out the head. I suspect that it was a flat-head machine screw so as to not interfere with the hood laying down

2. Is the lacing split and on each side of the clasp, or is the clasp screwed down OVER the lacing?

Thank you

The little closed end half round clip with "ears" the end of the hood's center rod slips into. (Took me longer to find it in my parts book than to find my two firewalls.)
I have two such firewalls. One, heavily used, beat up, modified for a speedster many years ago. The other, appears to be new old stock, nearly perfect (except for slight surface rust dusting the very old gray primer). No sign that any other car part has ever been bolted to it. Both of them have that little piece riveted in place with very low oval head rivets, peened on the under side. Although neither has any remains of hood lacing (the NOS one has no sign it ever had any), I am fairly certain the lacing was cut and barely covered the rivet, if it even reached the rivet. I have seen restorations that went clear to the "hump", and it actually shows a bit with the hood closed.
For whatever it is worth, the heavily used one, the rivets are stretched and worn a bit (not yet near breaking).

Wayne, thanks a bunch for the response. Prior to posting, I found that Hap had responded a long time ago on this subject and said that the MTFCA CD/Boggess said they came both ways, with the first ones using the wood firewall "clips" screwed in place and then riveted later. I may just rivet mine, but will look forward to any other replies.

Now, back to YOU...can I guess that the firewall w/clip has NO welting on it now and would likely have it split and riveted at either side? There are two rivet holes immediately right/left of the larger holes in my firewall. Oh, to have found a NOS for my car...I just spent 3 days off/on filling thousands of pits and craters!

Thanks again.

there are hundreds if not thousands of low cowl steel firewall cars out there. No one can lift a hood and look at the screw and look at the lacing?

am still seeking answers to both of my original questions.

thank you.

Scott: Somewhere I got an NOS low firewall. I will look next time I am in that building.
Thanks again for the sleeve puller you made. Works great. Dan

Dan

am glad to hear it works well. There were a couple of design elements that I had to guess at and tried to keep it as robust as the original. Stay well my friend.

My NOS one doesn't help much with where the cut off end of the lacing would be positioned. Simply because it never had lacing on it. The hole for the end of the lacing is a bit over a half inch center to center from the rivet holding the clip in place, and empty.
The beat up firewall may add another bit of confusion. I just went out to look at it again. While there is no lacing left on it, I noticed that there were rivets in the two end holes (roughly half an inch from the clip's mounting rivets). Upon closer examination, I found that the rivets were of a similar type used to hold the clip in place, not the split type rivets I have seen on numerous high (and a few low) firewalls used to hold the hood lacing in place. The split type rivets I have seen in the past were similar to if not exactly alike the brass split rivets used for the transmission band linings. These two rivets were similar low oval head (truss head?) and tight in the firewall. That is what makes me curious about the silly things? They could not have been used to hold the end of the lacing? So what would they have been used for? They appear professionally set, tight, neat, no hammer marks? As I mentioned earlier, the firewall had appeared to have been used on a speedster. I wondered if that had anything to do with these rivets? But I cannot think of anything they could have held in place. Just filling the holes? Why?
Regardless, I don't think mine can offer any definitive answers to your questions.

Wayne

your observations are appreciated. thank you.