firewall crack at the clutch cable

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81SPIDERMATT
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Your car is a: 1981 spider 2000
Location: FORT COLLINS, CO

firewall crack at the clutch cable

Postby 81SPIDERMATT » Wed Oct 04, 2017 10:07 pm

would love to hear tips on this fix .... Matt

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courtenay
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Your car is a: 1980 Spider 2000
Location: Courtenay, BC, Canada

Re: firewall crack at the clutch cable

Postby courtenay » Thu Oct 05, 2017 12:29 am

Bruce Shearer
'80 Spider Fi
'10 Volvo XC70
'06 GMC 1 Ton PU
'72 Spider a long, long time ago

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81SPIDERMATT
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Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2010 5:10 pm
Your car is a: 1981 spider 2000
Location: FORT COLLINS, CO

Re: firewall crack at the clutch cable

Postby 81SPIDERMATT » Thu Oct 05, 2017 9:45 am

thanks .... was hoping for a "how do I get to the area" ...car is my daily and need to move as little as possible to access the crack .... never played with brake booster except for total replacement with hydraboost unit on the scout ... hoping to remove booster and 3 brake lines and move booster and resevior as one unit ... after staring at it a little more last night I might have to move the fuel rail .... maybe even the intake .... I would love to have an empty engine bay for this but that is not going to happen .... I have read that some have even pop riveted sheet metal to the area to stiffen things up .... cut out a section from a parts car and tack that in place right over the affected area ... I am looking into the second option and may place a wanted ad for such ,,,, its all guess work until I get the booster out and see how bad the crack is ..... wondering if I can do it all from the engine bay or are things on the inside needing to get moved also ...steering column.. whole foot pedal assembly .... not afraid to dive in and get it done .... just wanting a little "here is what I did or ran into along the way" ... things to look out for or make my job a bit easier .... I was so hoping it was just going to be a clutch cable adjustment .... NOPE .... Matt

CoupeFan
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Re: firewall crack at the clutch cable

Postby CoupeFan » Sun Oct 08, 2017 12:50 pm

Mine cracked sometime in the mid 90s. That I was chewing through clutch cables every 3-4 months was a clue, even though I could install a new one in what seemed like 5 minutes, enough was enough. We welded a plate over the area. This got rid of the flex. I'm on the same clutch cable since that repair was performed.
Cheers,

Cesare Consaga
1973 124 Sport Coupe
1982 X1/9
2015 Fiat 500e
2012 Fiat 500

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Odoyle
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Joined: Mon Dec 01, 2014 10:06 pm
Your car is a: 1983 Pinafarina Spider
Location: CA

Re: firewall crack at the clutch cable

Postby Odoyle » Mon Oct 09, 2017 2:50 am

MC, Booster, and pedal box will definitely need to come out, I did the repair with the engine removed so cannot speak on manifold issues. I wouldn't recommend pop rivets.

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wetminkey
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Your car is a: 1979 2000 Spider
Location: Ault, Colorado

Re: firewall crack at the clutch cable

Postby wetminkey » Wed Oct 25, 2017 2:00 am

Wow! What a PITA, Matt! I sure wish you the best of luck.
I have a PITA of my own,...you may have seen already, here on the forum.
I have to agree about the pop rivets,...I think they'll fail over time.
I know of other applications where a steel plate is bolted in place over the failing metal to strengthen the construct,...wish I could help further. Best of luck, Todd.
1988 Mazda RX-7
1979 Fiat Spider 2000
1978 3/4 ton Chev 4x4 P/U "FRANKENTRUCK"
1976 Camaro
1972 VW Superbeetle
1969 Ford F100
1968 Mustang coupe

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81SPIDERMATT
Posts: 1238
Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2010 5:10 pm
Your car is a: 1981 spider 2000
Location: FORT COLLINS, CO

Re: firewall crack at the clutch cable

Postby 81SPIDERMATT » Fri Nov 10, 2017 9:56 pm

OK. I have made some progress. 3.5 by 7.5 chunk of steel I used a cardboard template to fit it. not the empty engine bay and welded in piece that I would like to have done but it sure will work. sheet metal screws hold it in place and actually pulled most of the sagging firewall back into place. I think the previous owner may have know about this problem and adjusted the cable accordingly. Now that it is back to where I think it should be I have no play in the clutch. once everything is back together I will have to get under the car and figure out how to un adjust the cable? I put a notch in the steel with a hole the size of the small part of the grommet and sort of slid it into place. this allowed me to not have to remove the clutch cable from the top of the pedal. Just pulled the cable in the engine bay and washer and grommet came out enough to slide my fix into place. Pre-drilled the steel and used some good size sheet metal screws to hold it. when pushing in the clutch I still have a bit of deflection but very minor and I think once the booster is bolted back in it will have almost no movement at all.

and then a few days later

Gravity bleed the brakes and made a small adjustment on the cable and I am off. Big improvement from the failing firewall. Car is running great and glad to be back on the road.... Matt

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wetminkey
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Your car is a: 1979 2000 Spider
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Re: firewall crack at the clutch cable

Postby wetminkey » Fri Nov 10, 2017 11:55 pm

Glad to hear you got 'er back on the road, Matt!
Congrats!
Todd.
1988 Mazda RX-7
1979 Fiat Spider 2000
1978 3/4 ton Chev 4x4 P/U "FRANKENTRUCK"
1976 Camaro
1972 VW Superbeetle
1969 Ford F100
1968 Mustang coupe


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