camaroextra

iTrader: (10)

I put a t56 in my car a few years ago, I think its been almost 3 years I think. Daily driver. Very recently it became almost impossible to put it into gear. I had seen this problem in a fox body mustang a few years ago so that's why I even thought to look for it. I guess the manner in which I cut the holes in my firewall for my master cylinder and u bolt, along with the stiffness of my clutch led to the failure of the firewall. It was cracked outward pretty badly. Or maybe Chuck Norris borrowed my car in the middle of the night and kicked the clutch pedal too hard.

My repair wasn't very elegant, but it was effective, and I did it in half a day. I found one of the last scraps of decent sheet metal I had lying around and cut it to make a plate around the hole. I bonded it with an all purpose epoxy and shot a bunch of self tapping screws through it to make sure everything was snug. Works just fine now.

Moral of the story: if you are doing a swap, be aware that this may happen.

HavATampa

iTrader: (49)

That's jacked up...I'm talking about the problem and the fix. Are M6 cars from the factory beefier in that area of the floorboard than auto cars? I applaud you for the effort, but why didn't you have the reinforcement plate welded in? The glue and 2" long screws is only going to be a temp fix I'm afraid.

camaroextra

iTrader: (10)

No idea. Um because I just wanted it done, I had it fixed like 6 hours after i discovered the problem. I guess the universe has a sense of humor, I just sold my welder two weeks ago because I don't use it much anymore and I wanted cash. Its pretty sturdy, it will probably be fine for a while.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Probably. All the other holes in the firewall have a bent lip around them and are curved. That bent lip reinforces the hole. As well, any sharp edge in your cut can help get a crack started.

Whistler

iTrader: (46)

That plus your agressive driving style

camaroextra

iTrader: (10)

Who me? I drive like an old granny.

Circa307

iTrader: (11)

OP, thanks for posting up while im doing a t56 swap in my car. Them first pic scared the crap out of me so i made this little "support brace". FYI to othes doing swaps, m6 cars came with an extra piece of metal plate tack welded in between the firewall and brace for the peddles. I cut one out of a wrecked M6 TA and cleaned it up and painted it. hope it works for me. this is a pic w/o paint. maybe it will give some future lookers some ideas of how to prevent firewall fatigue.

therealcreeper

iTrader: (37)

very interesting. my firewall flexes when I push in the clutch. thing feels like a twin disk. it's a PIA, I'm going to have to do something about it pretty soon

Circa307

iTrader: (11)

ya i wish a sponsor would make these plates for all the swap guys out there. wouldnt be hard or cost much