1967 Aftermarket Replacement Cowl

[Ryans67]

Quick question, which really doesn't matter since I have already ordered the part, but....

Has anyone ordered the complete cowl that is both the upper and lower? I basically assumed it was just a package deal with the upper and lower separate, and needing to be welded together before installation. But now that I keep looking at it.... Is it already welded into one piece? The part will arrive tomorrow, but I am curious. If it is one piece, I guess I wasted money buying paint for inside the cowl... Should I worry about painting inside the cowl if its already welded?

Thanks.

 

[BarnStang]

ALready welded together. All one piece.

 

[2+2GT]

I comes pre-painted with, IIRC, black epoxy primer, which is more than Ford did. Ford flash-galvanized the upper part, to avoid problems with the vent slots, but the bottom half, where it could rust out, was left bare.

I have seen this piece installed, and the results were quite good.

 

[Ryans67]

It was just delivered. It looks sweet. Everything is black, so it should be fine. Definately glad I bought the complete one instead of just patching the bottom. My only complaint would be the made in taiwan sticker on the bottom... Now to just finish taking out the old one and get it put it.

 

[ARPM]

I haven't seen a 67 cowl but we ordered the one for a 65-66 from NPD and has a black primer on it that is crap. It must be totally removed before anything is to be done to it. It's not protected by any means on the inside, so if that primer is the only thing separating you from rust... you are in bad luck if you leave it. Fitting is partially ok cuz some trimming must be done on the sides and the curve around the windshield must be worked a bit. Our was sprayed on the inside with seam sealer after PPG DP40 was applied. That was a challenge cuz it was done thru the side holes, grill openings and the vent's holes. One more thing on a 65 the wipers have a chrome ring that threads to the arms, on driver side we had to use a round file on the inside wiper hole and elongate the wiper arm holes a tiny bit cuz the wiper arm didn't aligned correctly from the inside out. This will not happen on a 66 because the rings are not used. I wished that the unit had been shipped in 2 pcs so the inside was easier to prepare and the actual fitting would have been a snap.

 

[2+2GT]

One more thing on a 65 the wipers have a chrome ring that threads to the arms, on driver side we had to use a round file on the inside wiper hole and elongate the wiper arm holes a tiny bit cuz the wiper arm didn't aligned correctly from the inside out. This will not happen on a 66 because the rings are not used. I wished that the unit had been shipped in 2 pcs so the inside was easier to prepare and the actual fitting would have been a snap.

It probably won't happen on a 66 anyway, because it lacks the "eyebrow" on the upper part of the holes of the late 65-66 cowl. I've contacted them to suggest they make that version, but so far no luck.

 

[ARPM]

It probably won't happen on a 66 anyway, because it lacks the "eyebrow" on the upper part of the holes of the late 65-66 cowl. I've contacted them to suggest they make that version, but so far no luck.

NPD sells the uuper and lower parts for a 67 as individual pcs now. So it's a better choice buying 2 pcs, just in case. I wouldn't like to do a cowl job and then repeat it a few years on the road because some one forgot to do a correct preparation.

 

[2+2GT]

Unless they have offered it that way for a couple years, they are late to the game.

Dunno about correct preparation. Ford left the lower half bare metal on the inside, where the rainwater would go, and it wasn't a common problem until at least the mid-70's. Nobody around here is leaving old Mustangs out in the rain any more.

 

[ARPM]

Unless they have offered it that way for a couple years, they are late to the game.

Dunno about correct preparation. Ford left the lower half bare metal on the inside, where the rainwater would go, and it wasn't a common problem until at least the mid-70's. Nobody around here is leaving old Mustangs out in the rain any more.

Here is kind of a Rain Forest, 10 out of the 12 months we have rain and lots of it. I haven't seen a car show that doesn't rain either at the show or on the way to it. So driving your stang to any one it's a sure splash. The humidity factor is very high and to make everything worst the whole island is 100 x 33 miles and the salt it's present everywhere in the air.

Preparation means doing close to Ford's process or better. All original cowls were galvanized coated (Dip Process) at the inside in the top part but were masked outside to make the surface bare for painting purposes. Back in 1968 there were a lots of complains of surface rust in the cowl area on mustangs, cougars, falcons and comets. I know this personally because at that time I was working at the largest Ford Dealer in the Island. Ford's solution was to drill a couple of holes in the cowl at engine side and pump Naval Jelly thru this holes and the 2 side plugs available at the side and then spray a liquefied amount of "Fendix" thru them and install rubber plugs on the new holes. In 1973 I was working as a Quality Control Eng at a Ford Bearing manufacturing plant here and I remember seen an "ECR" (Engineering Change Request) to make changes in the cowl panel coating from "Galvanized" to "Galvalum" in various Ford Models. I don't know if that was followed by and "ECO" (Engineering Change Order) or not. At that time all Ford's received on the Island were versions build for South America and Issues were reported from those regions. Later on 1974 we started receiving all vehicles from USA.

Now, there is good news on the 64-66 reproduction cowl from Mustangs Unlimited. I just came back from my body shop guy with photos of a "Just Arrived" version that is 2 pcs. This one has a Scott Drake Part num on it and the packing box has Blue stamped letters at the bottom that says "Mustang Cowl Panel Grille Assembly 64-66" not the generic carton box of the other one (See photos below) It has the same crappy primer and weights 43.8 pounds. That’s 7 pounds less that the Old Taiwan version. Looks like an improvement over the other one. Tomorrow it will be test fitted to a 66 vert and I will report on the findings.

 

[2+2GT]

It'll fit, but it's not right for a 66. Look at the wiper holes in the top.

 

[Ryans67]

Did they tape over all of the dynacorn info? lol.

 

[ARPM]

Did they tape over all of the dynacorn info? lol.

It looks like they did!

Actually masking in the 60's and early 70's was done using melted bars of a green wax that had a melting point of about 250-275 degrees and brushing it to the area to be masked. Since the galvanizing solution was keep at 155 degrees warm the wax didn't melt during the process. After that the bulk of wax was removed using a pressure steam and the residues left behind were removed by an Electrowash solution in a Ultrasonic tank (similar to the small dental ultrasonic cleaners but very large).The waxing process was also used in cadium plating,Pink gold plating of emblems and rhodium plating (For jewerly)