Cowl repair options?

[Philc]

hi all-

well, pulled off the cowl to put a nice freshly painted grey one (all trim on the 4e car is green), and found lotsa rust on the cowl

http://philspc.com/cars/4e_comp/4e_cowl.jpg

now I'm not used to dealing with rust- all my other cars are cancer free-

so what are my options here? I was going to clean it up, and either weld in another cowl section, or clean it up and fiberglss it from behind. any ideas? I'm not able to replace the entire cowl yet (and probably never will)

thanks all

-Phil

[Ken Potter]

That is some bad news for sure... I guess you could wire wheel / grind it and use some kind rust convertor then cover the whole area with windshield sealer. It is eventually going to rust through to your under dash though. I know you already are aware that water and electrical wiring don't mix. If it was mine it would be pull the windshield and cut / weld / replace now before it gets any worse.

[Philc]

ok, all the rust is gone, and I've put rust converter on the rest. I'm unable to do any more untill after xmas. it looks as though I also struck bondo on the drivers side of the cowl, so I'll need to replace it when its time for a complete restoration (many years down the road).

for now I'll patch it from behind with fiberglass- dont worry- I'm good w/ fiberglass.

it appears that when the windshield was last replaced, the drain hole was covered w/ the window goo- the hole is now clear (and will remain so)

[Ken Potter]

When I was getting my 90 LX ready for paint I had alot of surface rust in the floor and front inside wall of the cowl. To make it easier to get to I pulled it sideways onto a very steep portion ( about 45* ) in my yard. I was able to get my arm all the way up under each side. I of course had already removed the entire wiper assembly arms & washer. It took all day and got a few nice little gashes from the sharp edges. Once down to the bare metal I used the corroless until it ran out through the seams in the firewall and drains under the fenders. I then seam sealed everything and gave it a good coating of spray on undercoating. It was then primered and painted and looks like brand new. I hope I never have to do that again on any of my other Mustangs!

[Erics SVO]

I saw an article in Car Culture Delux (Gator ya found this one yet?) of someone doing some fiberglass with a kit from POR-15, on the floor of a '68 T-Bird. They were even able to form it into the ridges of the pan and all. Once done and painted you couldn't tell. I guess the setup is great for holes no bigger than a quarter or so. I think they said the kit was from Eastwood. Might be worth a look especially since for the POR-15 to work you need to leave some surface rust there... Would definetly save on gashes on the digits!

[BoostedSVO]

That sux Phil. Ken is right on the mark as what I would do. Given the climate you live in, that fix would last a lifetime there.

[greg_pro50]

I would replace the entire cowl. Its not that hard to do although it is time-consuming. Basically the hood and fenders have to come off as well as the windshield. Drill out a bunch of spot welds, clean up the mating surfaces and prime with weld through primer, and weld on another cowl. That would be the right way to fix it.