All the king's horses and all the king's men...
I finally got the firewall tacked back together. The repair on the passenger side was much more complicated than I had originally thought. I had to get out the hammer & sand bag and the English wheel to make the compound curves required to get it repaired and looking good.
It all started with a little more cutting. I decided that the best way to make the repair to the firewall and floor was to section part of the firewall from the centerline to the passenger side and move it the 4" that I had to cut out of the floor.
Tacking in new metal to fill the space was pretty straightforward.
Then, I had to cut some more out of the top of the passenger side. The existing panel was curving toward the front of the truck too quickly. To make the clearance for the governor and buffer switch, I needed the section to curve abruptly at the far end of the passenger side.
Here's the patch tacked in.
There's plenty of clearance for the governor & buffer switch, the evaporator still fits (barely) and the tachometer drive clears as well. Life is good...
Next up is the floor repair and the hump modification.