Firewall pad plastic plug removal
 

Anybody have a trick for removing the plastic plugs that hold the firewall pad? I would like to reuse them if possible. Working on my 69 Camaro. Thank you, Joe

Great question! I've never figured this out so my method was to spend quality time at the old wrecking yards and literally cut the sheetmetal around the plug for removal. Saving a small part at the cost of sacrificing the firewall.

Available here:
https://www.drclassic.com/catalog/Ca...P00104-OE.html
but my originals don't have the part number.
There may have been a few versions through the years.

I thought the original plugs were rubber?? They do reproduce them in plastic and rubber.

Maybe they are. They're originals. They're harder like plastic...just thought they were plastic....Joe

The Abody GM cars, at least '69-72, seem to use a soft plastic firewall plug with circular "barbs" on the shaft part that gets pushed through the pad and firewall.

The originals were somewhat flexible. Many of the repros are a harder plastic than the originals and tend to snap or break when you try to install them.

Don't know if anyone makes REAL NICE (somewhat flexible like the originals) repros of these or if all the vendors sell the harder plastic repro version.

I bought a box of Auveco brand firewall plugs for my '70 Abody cars MANY YEARS AGO and they appear to be the somewhat-flexible version like the originals.

Also...some of these harder plastic repros seem to have a slightly different finish or sheen to the plastic compared to originals.

I think the originals may be made of polypropylene plastic (the 69-72 GM Abody style I am discussing here).

Many moons ago I used an old Phillips screwdriver that I had ground till it had a rounded tip on it. I also used a fork like tool under the head of the insert to pull them out. Like I said, that was a long time ago. Don't even remember what car I did that for.

All the ones I have encountered on 69 Camaros were rubber. If hard, like plastic, they are probably already a lost cause. It is what it is.

If soft enough to remove, I have had luck lubing with dishwasher soap from the inside, then squeezing the sides and pushing it out. Only did that on a couple and it was many years ago. At 50 years old, don't know that any would be pliable enough to get out now.

Thanks for all the replies. I didn't succeed removing them. They were too old & tore easy. On the brighter side, I was able to save the mat :)
Joe

I agree with Lynn. All the original 69 Camaro ones I have seen are rubber.