MTFCA Forum

Hey All,
I am installing a new firewall. I have it all ready except for the finish. It is made of birch plywood and it is very blond, almost white. I have seen others in pictures and they appear to be stained a darker color.. Any advice about a stain that was used. We have a 1916 touring. I also have a new patent plate to install. Where should it be mounted?
Thanks,
Campbell Tellman
Beaufort,NC

I believe the firewall should be painted black on a '16. The stained ones were earlier.

Mike Walker is correct, the firewall should be painted black on 1915 and forward.

Be aware that the firewalls sold by the vendors are generic and miss a lot of important details. That doesn't mean they aren't functional - they just aren't exactly like original factory issue.

The patent plate should be partially obscured by the cowl - original examples as well as the factory drawings showing the location of the plate back this up. This has been discussed in the past:

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/118802/146752.html

Mount it just to the left of the steering column, and slightly under the cowl. There were no serial numbers in 1916.

So what say the experts about reproduction firewalls made to factory drawings?

Yep, no stain, just black paint--but the firewall is an oddball thickness to fit into the metal cover over it (hood former), so check that the firewall will fit inside the former (as opposed to the latter. . ) Check your hood hinge hole in the former, they are usually egged out--why Henry used such a thin piece of metal to hold the hood rod is beyond me, should have been reinforced hole.

Here is the placement of the 1915 patent plate. The top left corner gets covered by the cowl.
: ^ )

Sherwin Williams has a great old school gloss Black, brush applied enamel that levels out perfectly. Over new wood, it should be primed with their oil based alkyd primer. The primer is white, but Sherwin Williams can tint it black for you. I painted my spokes with it in 2010 and it still looks like it was just applied. Jim Patrick

There are about 20 revisions to these firewalls/dash therefore you would have to know what revision applies to what model. They are made somewhat generic and additional holes may need to be drilled where needed. The frame space is 86/125 = .688, a standard grade of plywood is
5/8" = .625 therefore 5/8" plywood will slide in with .063 clearance and is held in place with screws. If using 3/4" plywood a slight rabbet around the perimeter to fit.
Original material was different again with a core and veneer skin on both sides to total .688, it was called three ply. Veneer skins were thicker in the day about 1/16" to day they are only .020.
Some models but not all had a seal rabbited across the top against the cowl to protect the dash from water.
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