1968 Engine Firewall

[Tequila]

I just cleaned and started to paint the engine bay and I was wondering if this is a factory look? I was going to clean out what appears to be factory over spray of undercoating material, but I was told by couple of people to keep the factory look. Is this common to most 68 Mustangs? Or did some one do a bad job of putting some sort of undercoating material over the firewall area?

I am in a dilemma as to whether or not scrape it off and have a clean look or leave it raggerty like what's in the picture. looks very bad in my opinion.

Any thoughts or recommendations? Thanks.

 

[franklinair]

I would remove all that goop, and go for a clean/smooth surface. But that's just me. The paint looks too glossy to me.

Neil

 

[Tequila]

Thanks Neil.

The paint I used is semi-gloss, description from npdlink.com "PAINT, ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND CHASSIS, SEMI-GLOSS BLACK, ENAMEL, CUSTOM MIXED TO MATCH THE HIGHLY REGARDED ORIGINAL MIX OF KRYLON 1613"

 

[stangfan]

Most likely the flash has made the paint look glossier than it is.

 

[J_Speegle]

Looks like original sealer for the firewall and that a PO sparyed over everything with a glossy black rattle can some time int he past

The firewall section of the engine compartment was sealed to keep the water, fumes and elements out of the interior compartment. This was a common issue with dealers and owners so Ford in 67 started to increase the amount of sealant and the type of product they were applying at the plants

This was applied after everything was installed through and to the firewall except the engine ground wire (it was still attached just to the engine. Things like the master cylinder, heater, brake lines every electrical junction, wire and plug was installed.

I would reproduce the look of the original using your pictures as a guide. You can just overcoat it with some more product. Of course you can remove it all if your modifying the car or building a hot rod and live with the possible leaks and smells

Your car - your call

 

[franklinair]

Jeff is absolutely correct about the slop that Ford applied to the engine compartment. However practical that may have been for production line procedures, it still looks like crap. I don't restore to duplicate the original factory methods- especially when it looks like sloppy craftsmanship. I prefer neatness & cleanliness. The firewall holes & cutouts can be neatly sealed without applying excessive amounts of goop.
My cars would surely score poorly in concourse judging, but they would reflect a higher level of craftsmanship. Since I'm not a Ford assembly line worker, I'll just continue to try and make my cars as best I can, and own a "modified" version.
But as Jeff said, "Your car - your call."

Neil

 

[somethingspecial]

MCA only gives 2 points, or takes them away for no sound deadener on the firewall. I think a cleaner firewall is worth the 1 or 2 point loss. In my honest opinion, unless it is an MCA judge looking at it, no one else will notice a clean firewall, BUT, everyone would notice an ugly firewall. Just my two cents worth.

 

[Tequila]

Thanks everyone for your input. Jeff, what you said about dealers spraying sealant over existing components makes total sense now. I was trying to figure how in the world they would do such a lousy job. I can't believe the factory didn't spray the entire area.

I am not going for a concours look but want to sure it looks half way decent. So, it's either more scraping for a clean look or more sealant to replicate the factory look. Is there a spray on sealer out there that look similar to the factory sealer? Or is it just under coating material? I have a tube of seam sealer but it's tough to work with it for flat surfaces.

 

[GTCSMustang]

Looks like a Mustang firewall to me. You may not like the look, but it's completely consistent with the way they were made. Wouldn't bother me a bit, but I'm a purist.

Scott

 

[dalorzo_f]

I can't believe the factory didn't spray the entire area.

When they were changing parts to save a penny a screw (or likely less) the cost of fully spraying the firewall and using 200-300% more sealer adds up over hundreds of thousands of units.... in time to apply and materials...

 

[whodat]

I used Por 15 then Eastwood Under hood black on top of the Por 15.

 

[franklinair]

whodat (Dominic);

Did you remove the under coating from the firewall or leave it intact?

Neil

 

[whodat]

whodat (Dominic);

Did you remove the under coating from the firewall or leave it intact?

Neil

That's what I did when the engine was still in the car. I never got to the engine bay with the engine out. I have to pressure wash it in a couple of weeks. I then might see what he is seeing, but I never noticed it before.

 

[whodat]

It's still there.

 

[Ruppstang]

You all know what I would do!
Marty