Our Firewall insulators are your first defense against engine noise and heat. QuietRide firewalls are year make and model specific and are molded to fit the engine setback and firewall contours—like a glove. More than 600 firewalls are available for antique, classic, custom and street rod cars and trucks. Use our Product Search page to find a firewall for your vehicle.
Ford Firewall Insulators
Ford Firewall insulators are made for the make, model and year of the car or truck specified. The first firewall insulator that Ford installed in a production car was in 1932 and the company selected an oil impregnated cardboard with a unique “chicken track” image embossed on the cover surface.
Ford Chicken Track—A Little Early History Tidbit.
While it is generally assumed that Ford invented the “chicken track” texture material on their firewall insulators and other interior panels, it was actually Dodge which used this texture on some of their firewall insulators as early as 1928—four years before Ford started manufacturing firewall insulator pads. Ford did use “chicken track” in the production of their Model A cowl side panel. However, the Model A cars and trucks never had a firewall insulator.“Chicken Track” was used on some Chevrolet Military truck headliners and firewalls in the early 1940s—probably as a result of the combined efforts among the automotive manufacturers to adhere to uniform manufacturing standards during the war effort.
Coxford ABS Chicken Track
We use an ABS plastic material with the original “Chicken Track” grain embossed into the face of the cover. There is no finer quality. The ABS plastic material is easily formed with heat and duplicates the original look and texture exactly for cars built between 1932 and 1948. ABS plastic is very tough, yet flexible, and does not show scratches or scuffs.
Firewalls for the Ford Model A
Because of the heat and noise problems common to the 1928 through 1931 Ford Model A, three firewall insulators are available for these cars and trucks. These aftermarket firewall insulators greatly reduce the noise and heat entering the passenger cabin through the bare steel firewall from the engine compartment.
Model A Cowls and Other Panels
An exact duplicate of the original Ford Model A chicken track cowl panels in black with the welting sewn along the door edge is available. We also make the Model A "Jump Seat” cushion bottom panels in leather for 1929-29 and in chicken track for 1930 and 31.
Chicken Track and Leather in Ford Trucks
Ford used chicken track textured firewall insulators in their trucks from 1932 through 1948. However, the use of the chicken track texture on other interior upholstery panels ended with the production run of 1936 trucks. Beginning in 1937, truck interior panels were manufactured with a leather texture material.
Authenticity
All of our patterns are based on out-of-the-car originals that someone has sent to us for duplication. We go to exacting lengths to ensure that each of our products will look and fit just like the original.
Original Equipment Manufacture Firewalls & Cowl Panels
Firewall Insulators are made for the make, model and year of the car or truck specified. Most firewall insulators made between 1928 and the mid-1960s were constructed using an oil impregnated cardboard. Beginning in 1964 General Motors and Ford began using a rubber firewall insulator bonded to a thin layer of insulation. Black Vinyl rubber material has a smooth finish. This material can be heated and formed to match the contours of the steel firewalls that they cover.
After a number of years, these upholstery pads become dry and brittle and begin to disintegrate. Various owners may have installed after-market heaters, radios or other accessories so they may have "extra" non-factory holes. Some firewalls have welting sewn along the sides or bottom and others have a rubber "skirt" sewn along the bottom to cover the top of the floor mat or carpet. All of our patterns are based on out-of-the-car originals that someone has sent to us for duplication. Application: Restoration Vehicles, Street Rods and Customs.
Materials Used:
ABS plastic with a medium embossed leather grain. This material is easily formed with heat and duplicates the original look and texture exactly for cars built between 1928 and the mid-1960s. ABS plastic is very tough, yet flexible, and does not show scratches or scuffs. It can be easily dyed with a flat vinyl plastic spray paint.
Authenticity:
All of our patterns are based on out-of-the-car originals that someone has sent to us for duplication. We go to exacting lengths to ensure that each of our products will look and fit just like the original.
Color:
With few exceptions, firewall insulators were black when they came from the factory. There were some exceptions in the General Motors product line from 1933 through 1941 in which the firewall insulators were a "mocha brown" color and in the mid-1950s, when some Oldsmobile firewalls were red, blue and green. There are some exceptions in the Chrysler product line from 1939 through 1948, in which the colors could be black, mocha brown, medium gray and fawn. Just a word about the "look" of your old firewall in comparison to a new one; a customer may note that the new firewall does not look the same as his original--because of the "sheen." The firewall in a car built in the 1930s or 40s is now at least 50 years old and is dirty and dingy. When it came off the assembly line, it was crisp, clean and shining.
Flat Firewall Insulators:
If it is a flat firewall, we make a template pattern for the archive and then reproduce the product with the same or similar insulation. This is relatively fast turn around.
Molded Firewall Insulators:
If the firewall insulator has a "hump" or depression in it to accommodate similar contours in the steel firewall of the vehicle, a mold must be made so that the ABS plastic can be vacuum formed to make a new firewall that will duplicate these contours. Once the forming has been completed, we make a template pattern for the archive, and then reproduce the product with the same or similar insulation. If you are sending us a new pattern, the construction of a mold can take as long as three months to build--so plan ahead.
Street Rods and Customs:
All of our firewall insulators can be ordered without holes or you can specify custom cutting and punching of the original holes for your specific vehicle to eliminate accessories like the heater for that “smoothie-look.” A layer of high-tech Quality Heat Shield can be added to a smoothie firewall insulator for extra performance since big engines in small spaces produce a lot of extra heat.
Punchouts:
Many firewalls have OEM “punch-outs” for special equipment. These special holes are marked or scribed on the surface of the cover—just like the original—so they are easily identified and drilled, or cut, for special equipment.
Old vs. New:
Just a word about the “look” of your old firewall and a new one. We some times get a call from a customer saying that the new firewall does not look the same as his original—”its shiny.” The firewall in a car built in the 1930s or 40s is now at least 50 years old and is dirty and dingy. When it was fresh off the assembly line, it was crisp, clean and shining. The black firewalls we make can be “aged” by simply wiping them with a damp cloth soaked in an acrylic lacquer paint thinner—not turpentine. Wash the surface of the firewall evenly and let dry. It will take on a dull finish.
Street Rod And Custom Firewall Insulators
QuietRide OEM Firewall Insulators can be ordered without holes or you can specify custom cutting and punching of the original holes for your specific vehicle to eliminate accessories like the heater for that “smoothie-look.” A double layer of high-tech Heat Shield barrier insulation can be added to a smoothie firewall insulator for extra performance since big engines in small spaces produce a lot of extra heat.
Big Engines in early Ford and Chevrolet Cars and Trucks generate a lot of heat and noise that is carried into the passenger cabin. If you are changing the steel firewall in a 1928 to 1972 car or truck to accommodate a larger engine, you should consider one of the aftermarket steel firewalls from Absolute Sheetmetal or Direct Sheetmetal. These units have been engineered for structural strength and are designed for a variety of the early Ford and Chevy bodies. We make the matching firewall insulators that fit these aftermarket steel firewalls--like a glove--so you don't box yourself into a situation where your upholsterer has to spend many hours building a carpet insulator from scratch that may not be very effective when it comes to noise and heat control.Quiet Ride OEM Firewall Insulators can be ordered without holes or you can specify custom cutting and punching of the original holes for your specific vehicle to eliminate accessories like the heater for that “smoothie-look.” A double layer of high-tech Heat Shield barrier insulation can be added to a smoothie firewall insulator for extra performance since big engines in small spaces produce a lot of extra heat.
