Not for the Faint of Heart

[flyboy60]

This is what I found after removing the cowl!

[mutantcapri1979]

wow! good luck man!

[Capriman86]

You didn't get the whole sheet over it


I just threw up a lil

[ashley roachclip]

and you can see why they get like that ....no paint , nothing but a whisp of primer ....yours is not the only one I've seen like this , my 71 Cougar was the same way , and all the early mustangs were the same ...rotten under the cowl .

[Mr Joshua]

ouch.. think i nearly passed out..
thats rough.. looks like some rot starting near the firewall by the plate for the steering shaft, and the brake booster hole itself..
good luck on that resto..

[gregpro50]

so what? fix it.

Or bring it to me and I'll buzz in some patches in a couple hours for you.

Thats an easy fix.

[gtluke]

holy crap

[93-331-29PSI]

so what? fix it.

Or bring it to me and I'll buzz in some patches in a couple hours for you.

Thats an easy fix.

That is what mine looks like, but I haven't pulled the cowl panel off yet. What did you use to get the spot welds off? I have tried the spot weld cutters but they don't last me too long for some reason.

[Mr Joshua]

That is what mine looks like, but I haven't pulled the cowl panel off yet. What did you use to get the spot welds off? I have tried the spot weld cutters but they don't last me too long for some reason.

best way to do it.. keep drilling...

[85 Notchback]

You can grind the spot welds off with a cut-off wheel..

[Mr Joshua]

You can grind the spot welds off with a cut-off wheel..

seems like it would creat larger holes to fill when welding a new cowl back on..

[Blainer]

the best thing to use is a spot weld drill bit....expensive bits but they do the trick

[85 Notchback]

seems like it would creat larger holes to fill when welding a new cowl back on..

If you weld on a new cowl it will already have the holes in it (if it's used) if welding in a new cowl, you'll have to drill the holes anyways.

[flyboy60]

These are the spotweld cutters that I use:



I used the other ones that gregpro recommended but I found that they skip too much and break to easily, so I stepped up to these, and boy are they GREAT. The drill bit bites in and then the spotweld cutter and boom your done!

Just a close up!


All repair advice welcomed - negative comments not needed!
Fly

[gregpro50]

The key to getting the spot weld cutters to cut good without skipping is to pre-drill the hole with a teeny-weeny drill bit. You dont need to go all the way through, just enough for the pilot pin of the cutter to sit in without it moving around.

If you do that you will be able to make a bjillion cuts with just one bit. If you dont it will skip all over and they will break. The bits arent cheap either.

That rust damage actually is a pretty easy fix. Just cut out the affected areas and buzz a patch in. If you dont weld than take it to your local welder. He should be able to patch that for cheap.

[ford005]

Can you remove the entire cowl easily and just replace it with a good one?? Probably just as labor intensive as cutting all the rust out and making patch panels. I am afraid of what I will find when I get to this point on my 66.

[ashley roachclip]

on the 66 I think they may make a repro of the area , on our ....no way .
As Greg said , the repair will be pretty easy , soesn't have to be pretty .
As you can see in the lowe corner , that pile of stuff there is what causes that to happen , can't drain .

[ford005]

Yah, they make replacement/patch panels for the classics and I know that at least my pass side is fubar, LOL.

IMHO, if the car is going to be around for a while, I would replace the entire cowl, if it were in my ability (which it is), and make sure it got a GOOD coating of either Rust Bullet/POR 15 or the like at the same time. There are so many donor cars out there to get the part from it would just take time. I wouldn't say it is a pretty or not pretty thing, but more of doing it the right way so it lasts.

[speedfreak87]

wow.. time to fabricate a new section and weld it in.. good luck.. I guess I'll be cleaning my cowl out this weekend for inspection..

[82HATCH]

Wow. Let us know how the repair goes. Some after pics would be great.

[vroomzoomboom]

i bet you were wondering why you had water all over the floor when you washed it. i feel you pain, that is the next thing on my 81 capri that i have to fix. dam mice!

[flyboy60]

The key to getting the spot weld cutters to cut good without skipping is to pre-drill the hole with a teeny-weeny drill bit. You dont need to go all the way through, just enough for the pilot pin of the cutter to sit in without it moving around.

If you do that you will be able to make a bjillion cuts with just one bit. If you dont it will skip all over and they will break. The bits arent cheap either.

That rust damage actually is a pretty easy fix. Just cut out the affected areas and buzz a patch in. If you dont weld than take it to your local welder. He should be able to patch that for cheap.

Effectively thats what the ones in the link do - you allow the drill to drill down a bit and then you add more pressure and cut the spotweld. Its all done in one pass. I agree with your method gregpro50. You must drill a pilot hole. (I used a punch - cause it was quicker)
The ones I am referencing in the link come in a kit - arbor ,3cutters, 2 drill bits and are made of a different metal than the other ones gregpro uses.

[gator_taz]

good luck with the repair.

i hope mine's not like that. when i get to that point

[anthonydalrymple]

All I can say is..... wow......

I see this regularly out here by the way..... But on 64&1\2 Mustangs!

[93-331-29PSI]

You have inspired me to start mine tomorrow. Where did you get your spot weld cutters?