Anyone ever change firewall pad AFTER adding Vintage Air?

[AcampoDave]

I should have done it first obviously but that was a while ago and the firewall pad was ok looking back then. Now it's looking a bit ratty. I'm wondring if anyone has ever tried it and if they were able to pull the evaporator back far enough without disconnecting the freon lines.
Yep, hindsight is always 20/20.

[The Rocknrod]

Sounds like a pretty difficult thing to do, never even attempted it.

[Wrenchbender Ret]

It won't come forward any. There is just enough clearance to get it in there with all the padding & insulation removed. You could probably cut that area out of the padding & tuck it up to the unit.
George

[AcampoDave]

Here we are over a year later and I did it. It took very little modification of the new pad but I did have to remove a bit of it so as to clear the hoses that attach to the evaporator/heater core. After that, I could loosen the evaporator assembly enough to gain the clearance to tuck it up under and and pass it between the bracket and the firewall. Halfway through the job I was wishing I had pulled the bucket seats, carpet and shifter first but I wasn't going to change course midway through the job. The seats were a bear to work around. Simply peeling back the carpet meant everything that fell wound up under the fold, and the shifter...well, that was an obvious obstacle. Now I just have to put all the AC ducting back in and I'm good to go.

[61hawk]

I put mine in as I was test fitting a factory air unit. There is no way you can have a firewall pad and that a/c unit in the space together. Just trim around the unit. That's what I had to do.