63 fire wall insulation installation

[Rainer S.]

I just installed my firewall insulation on my 63. What a job.
I followed the various tips I read on this forum and could not have done it without nosepliers...
I tried the push tool, with a flat washer welded on it. I tried it without. I used detergent, vasoline, oil, grease. No matter what I did, the rod of my tool would punture the grommet, but the grommet would not go thru the hole...
I even varied the length of the push rod from the flat washer...Even used a heat gun to soften the grommet tip.
I went thru (2) sets of grommets, from different suppliers.
The only way I could do it was to have someone push the grommet against the hole and grab it with a nose plier from the firewall. With the help of a small screw driver, I would slowly wiggle the grommet thru the hole. I did all seven that way.
How did GM do this impossible job in production ? If I would have been a Product Engineer at GM at that time, this job would not have made it into production. And they did this for several model years ? What am I missing ? Did they use a special way and grommet material, that is not available today ?
If you know, post it, I am curious...

Rainer

[John H.]

Re: 63 fire wall insulation installation

Rainer -

We did it in production like you did - used a push tool made from a phillips screwdriver with the end rounded and a washer brazed on it, heated the rubber plugs in a tray under a heat lamp on the bench, and dipped them in a soap solution just prior to installation. Two-man job - one inside pushing, one on the engine side with duckbill pliers pulling. The original plugs were much more pliable than the repros available today.

[Rainer S.]

Re: 63 fire wall insulation installation

John,

Now I don't feel so bad anymore, that I did it like you described. Must be that the material is quite different from the way the orig ones were. I did notice, that the tip of the current ones is quite solid. Maybe I didnt heat them up properly.
Thanks for your coments...

rainer