rubber plug on fire wall

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Hopefully someone can offer advice. My recently obtained 230SL had the hole in the fire wall plugged with a paper towel. How do you install the the rubber plug for the heater valve access hole? Try as I might, I'm unable to.( Perhaps this is why it was not installed at time of purchase.) Is there a trick to what looks like should be an easy task? Thanks

64' 230SL

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I found that a little white lithium grease works well.  You might also warm the plug gently for a few minutes in a low temp oven, or submerge it for a few minutes in water that you have just boiled (do not continue to boil!) You need to work one portion of the lip past the metal edge of the hole, and then just keep working around the plug until the lip seals all the way around.  Good luck! Hopefully, you have the right size plug!

[J. Huber]

Well, Hammer, there may be more to your situation than meets the eye. In the case of early 230Sls, there was actually no access hole. If the seam right above your hole is straight (versus having a curvature where the plug goes), yours originally had no hole. If this is the case, it could be that the PO cut a hole to work on the heater. And perhaps the hole doesn't accomodate the plug that would otherwise fit the later cars. Wow -- that was a mouthful. Did it make any sense?

How do I know this scenerio? Well, my car (63 230SL) had no hole. A mechanic along the way cut into my firewall for access. I went to plug it as you have -- and ended up reaming out the hole to get it to fit. Good luck.

James
63 230SL

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the near-boiling water trick worked - now if only there weren't 35 knot gales blowing, i could have a nice Saturday drive with the top down, with a winter hat and longjohns on
- Thanks for the advice guys!

64' 230SL