V8 conversion, Question about firewall Options

[kevin311]

Oh the wonders of POs...
I got the car for free so its not that bad, but this car was definitely loved for a long time before the people before me had it. So far i have found no significant rust but some of the redneckery on this car is just hilarious. Pics will tell some of the story..

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i694.photobucket.com-11752-1282868813.1.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i694.photobucket.com-11752-1282868816.2.jpg)

I think they got tired of welding half way through, and thought "screw it we'll rivet the top"
Anyway with the firewall being hacked to all hell and planning on doing a v8 conversion do i need to relocate the water pump or just cut out whats already "gone" and weld a box around it?
I know its long winded but, thanks for your input.
Kevin

[andys]

I moved my firewall out 1" and added an access panel; actually two access panels. One for the serpentine drive, and the other for the thermostat housing and its hose. If it looks a bit odd, thats because mine is an LS1 swap as opposed to the more traditional SBC swap. I retained the stock water pump and reconfigured the serpentine drive to fit the 914 firewall. BTW, the 914 backpad still fits and has a bit of a somewhat un-noticeable gap that I will fill with some sort of vinyl covered spacer.

Andys