JayEstes 172 Report post Posted August 5, 2012 The forward firewall on my stock/original 69 coupe has an interesting "wrinkle" in the forward firewall steel - right where the center hump meets the firewall on the drivers side. See pics attached (taken from engine compartment side) It looks as though it was made this way, but I am not 100% sure. Kind of surprised it would have got thru QA screen at the plant like that, but on the other hand, it's likely not any kind of structural concern. The wrinkle looks to be an artifact of the initial stamping, and has just always been there. I am wondering do any of you see similar wrinkles on your machines? I'm chalking it up to being a "birth mark" for my car, and leaving it as is as I restore the floor, but would be interested if anyone else has seen such a unique "feature" in the same area. Thanks for any feedback. Jay Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fordrevhead 29 Report post Posted August 5, 2012 My 70 coupe has that too... albeit not quite so ugly. I worked it a bit with a dolly and hammer when my drivers floor board was out so I had access to both sides. I just smoothed it out and made it look a bit more purposeful. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dzahm 10 Report post Posted August 5, 2012 I have some similar marks in the trunk pan area near the sending unit. I chalked it up to press marks- but I like the "birthmark" thing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JayEstes 172 Report post Posted August 5, 2012 Thx guys. I appreciate the feedback. Confirms for me it is more like just 60s tech steel stamping issues and not much more. If anyone else has similar stories - feel free to add em... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LindenBruce 27 Report post Posted August 6, 2012 Mines the same way in the same area. You're talking about compound angles on the same sheet of steel and something has to give. It actually makes the metal stronger in that area so I would leave it alone. Bruce Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JayEstes 172 Report post Posted August 6, 2012 yes- agree Bruce. Thanks for letting me know. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fordrevhead 29 Report post Posted August 6, 2012 Mines the same way in the same area. You're talking about compound angles on the same sheet of steel and something has to give. It actually makes the metal stronger in that area so I would leave it alone. Bruce Agreed, the metal is so stretched there it is thin; they added the ribs for some strength. My guess is they added the ribs when the sheet was flat and this is why they are deformed a bit, and differently per car. All I did was make the ribs look slightly more uniform. Mine were more uniform to start with. I'll take a picture and post it up here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Klutch 17 Report post Posted August 6, 2012 My '70 fastback has "ribs" in that area. But mine are vertical rather than horizontal. I also wondered why those were there. But whenever I looked at a build thread, I saw similar ribs in the same area. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
