Firewall rework and cab customization

Today I received these pictures from Horvath Hotrods. Joe and his team have been working hard at redoing our firewall panel to allow additional clearance for the 454 engine.

So if you missed the comments at the end of my previous posting (Cab Work and Alignment on Chassis) you might be asking.. why are you having to redo the firewall? Well when we ordered the new firewall we told the manufacturer we were putting in a Big Block engine into the truck. Our assumption was that Bitchin Products (the manufacturer of the firewall skin panel) would have given us a panel that would accommodate the Big Block engine, however after the new panel was all welded in (looking ready to go) we went to fit the cab to the chassis and found out that there wasn't enough clearance between the firewall and the engine.. This meant there was no way we could make the current firewall work.. I called the manufacturer up only to find out that they really only have one firewall for the 55-59 series Chevy trucks.. They said that its somewhere between a BB and a SB. Well I would have to say its definitely a good fit for a Small Block but no where close to what we needed for the Big Block...

The funny part was that when I asked the company for a solution, the technician told me the easiest remedy would be to cut the motor mounts and move the entire engine 2" closer to the front of the chassis and reweld it in place. I laughed pretty hard on the phone, which I'm sure didn't make the guy too happy. You see that would have been quite a project. Luckily Joe and his guys at Horvath were willing to take on the task of reworking the firewall (which was by far the easier more affordable option than moving the engine.. hah).

Here are some pictures of the the firewall, toe boards, transmission cover, and some other custom work.

The reworked firewall has an additional 7" of clearance in the center to accommodate the dimensions of the engine..

Here you can see the toe board and transmisson access plate.. Looks awesome.

Another view of the interior of the cab. The cross beams were put in place to hold the cab in place without it twisting or coming out of tolerance (critical for fitting doors, etc.)

Attaching the new cab corners to the cab.

Patching the original gas tank opening. The new tank is now in the bed of the truck.

I can't wait to see this all fit together when we're done.. This is gonna be a fun truck.