Here's what you get in the kit.... 2 folded sections that go inside the main Longs and a flat plate that connects the sides along the base of the firewall.
I spent time prepping the three sections. They had a good deal of Black Oxide covering them which I removed with a Strip Disc on an Angle Grinder. I've found in the past that it's more difficult to weld through the oxide, you get alot of spatter and the weld isn't as clean - I guess it could be contaminated with the oxide....so best spend the time and effort removing it I reckon. You can see the oxide on the right of the pic below...and the shiny stripped metal to the left.
The holes in the sections were roughly 6mm diameter but I decided to drill them out to 8mm for a little extra strength. I also drilled a number of extra holes which I felt would add a degree of strength and stiffness. As soon as the sections were stripped and drilled, I sprayed them with Weld Thru Primer to prevent re-oxidation..it can happen pretty quickly!
Obviously I needed to strip the Longs and Lower Firewall of paint and clean them up ready for welding. Here's some more shiny pics of the Longs ready to be welded onto..I forgot to take a pic of the Lower Firewall...doh!
...and sprayed with Weld-Thru primer.
It was worth taking the time to fit the sections carefully into place with self-tapping screws. The screws obviously hold the sections really closely against the car to help create solid welds and get maximum reinforcement.
Here's the Lower Firewall section screwed into place..
A little bit of hammering and bending is needed to get the sections to fit in certain areas - such as the handbrake recess, firewall corners and centre...see pic below. I got a bit carried away and decided to clean out the weld-thru primer in the holes with thinners. I reckon you get a better, stronger weld when welding directly onto bare metal..hopefully I'll only have to do this job once..oh yeah, make sure the thinners have completely dried before you start welding!!!..
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