Finally getting back on my car, long story completely edited out, cowl is my first project. Cowl is just about ready to go, depending on the feedback I get here. To reattach the cowl with a spot welder, do the surfaces need to be bare metal or can I leave the primer be? Anyone know what the body panel goo is called? Any tips before attaching? I've already figured I need to jack the car below the cowl as the car has shifted about 1/8th of an inch without the cowl and windshield supporting the car. What are the rubber plugs on the top of the cowl on each side under the fenders called? Started this project in 2003 with about 2 months planned downtime... oops.
Unless its weld through primer...Bare steel is best...Paint will contaminate the welds and weaken them...You can cheat and just clean the spots where you are going to weld...
God I hope mines not a opps build. Kudos on getting back into the build and continuing the dream! No idea what goo your talking about for body. But yeah remove the primer before welding like stated, should be easy as its not alot of surface needed to sand.
You can use a panel bond like the fellow with the Grabber Green Grabber! The one with hundreds of clamps holding it together! Lol...
Did you treat the inside of the cowl with anything? ... Rust Bullet or POR? I would be sure to have that all ground off near the welds. Probably won't survived the heat anyway. I use weld-through primer between my panels when putting them back together ... $27 for a large aerosol can, through the local body supply (they seem high on everything ... including paint fumes ... LOL ) One tip I picked up from Gears TV ... keep the spray can turned upside-down the entire the time it is stored. There are a lot of solids in this stuff and if left upright, you might only use it once or twice, and then they block the can. I keep mine on my bench and shake it up every month or so. I also have it labelled in Sharpie "this side up". So far, so good and it is a couple years old. I used seam sealer around my cowl. The body supply place sold me exterior seam sealer ... I think stuff meant for the inside of the car won't smell as much, but mine sat empty so long, I used it there too ... no worries. Might have been bad in a car that was going back into use right away. The rubber plugs in the side are the same as the ones in the floor ... Mustang supply houses like CJs sells them ... they come in assorted sizes. Might be called "floor plugs". Good job keeping with it after all this time ... life gets in the way ... I know. Mine hasn't moved under it's own power in way too long. Gettin' there now ...
cowl work Read the posts on cowls and the procedures for covering the metal. Have you considered OSPHO ? I've used it on the last five cowl repairs and two floor repairs and it works great. There is a great explanation of how this stuff works on wwwjamestowndistributors.com , their phone is 800-497-0010 if you have any questions. I wish you success in your project. Cometized
X2. It will ELIMINATE surface rust. Wet the area and let it sit for 20-30 minutes. Wet it again, wire brush it, clean it and the metal will look like new. Repeat if necessary. Treated areas will stay clear of visible rust for weeks.
Thanks guys. I used rustoleum on the cowl. A test spot survived the paint remover. Aside from a tiny bit of surface rust the replacement cowl is in great shape, just where the spot welds were.
Thanks for the info guys. If my week will get out of my way and let me get in gear I'll have some partially assembled pics soon.
