After much debate over the subject of "what to do about that leaky cowl" After scratching and sanding and cutting and chiseling etc...I discovered the extent of my cowl rot was too much to just simply "patch" without doing the proper cowl separation and repair. The fact of the matter is I just dont have the time, money, and patience to do this fix. I talked to my body man today and monday he is going to take my car and shave the cowl for me. I know lots of you guys have wondered what it looks like. Its really hard to find any pics online of it. I finally saw a properly shaved cowl on Overhaulin, when they fixed up that guys 67 fastback, and it looked great. Anyway, if any of you have any questions or comments, please feel free, im at work and its a slow day. Thanks!
Shaving my cowl
- Thread starter robbz28
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Az Pete
10 Year Member
Not only is the cowl a vital air flow unit for the passenger compartment, but it is vital to the structure of the car. When enough of that boxed in area rots away, the structural integrity of the car is greatly reduced. I would bet the cost of shaving it the proper way vs replacing the cowl are not that much different.....but I could be wrong.
300 bucks to shave it....i have thorougly cut out all the rot and am more than confident in the fact that the rust won't be a problem, not until 10-15 years down the road when the car needs a refreshing anyways. I don't need the air flow, I have a new vintage air a/c and it pulls the air from the cabin like new units do. I understand that it is structural unit, but there is plenty of meat left in the cowl to retain structural soundess, besides i installed 2 new torque boxes and frame ties, so it kind of makes it a non issue anyways.
Az Pete
10 Year Member
It sounds like you are convinced to shave and not properly replace it. Your choice for sure. Any time metal is cut out or rusted out, it effects the integrity of the cowls strength. Adding other parts for strength to the lower car will not provide the upper body strength that you would need in any accident. This will be a "look what the PO did" some time down the road for sure.
I will say that the shaved cowl looks good only in some colors....some colors make it look like an odd, big flat spot......IMHO.
I will say that the shaved cowl looks good only in some colors....some colors make it look like an odd, big flat spot......IMHO.
Well, its going to be black, and it will fit with the rest of the "restomod" look that I have going with the car, the big wheels, fiberglass hood, lowered stance, shaved emblems, etc... And its not rusted out from hole to hole, the passenger side hole was actually in perfect shape, but there was what i can best guess a birds nest in the drivers side. After cutting the rotten metal out it ended up being about 2 inches larger in diameter than the factory hole. I just dont have the 2000 bucks that body shops want to charge for the proper fix. All you retired guys that are doing this in your spare time can afford it, im 29 and have a 1 month old, so I have to do this as i can afford to. I appreciate the constructive criticism, but I am going to do this anyway. Has anyone heard of someones car falling apart because of a rusty cowl? I doubt it...
Az Pete
10 Year Member
Not saying one has fallen apart....just making sure you or anyone else who might stumble upon this post seeking info has the right info to make an educated decision.
Is there any way you can replace the cut out sheet metal from under the dash or is that all together. Even a temporary thing there would help.
I have not seen one done in black. Most I have seen were lighter colors. Will be interesting to see the finished product.
Is there any way you can replace the cut out sheet metal from under the dash or is that all together. Even a temporary thing there would help.
I have not seen one done in black. Most I have seen were lighter colors. Will be interesting to see the finished product.
I am definately going to fill the spot under the dash, it wont be pretty by no means, but i have a substantial piece of sheet metal I was just going to rivet it into place (rivet because I have already wired the underside and put the new a/c in, dont want to risk melting anything with sparks, also with the cowl shaved i dont need to worry about water leaking inside it anyway) I wish i had the money to do it properly, I would, I think this is just the best idea for my situation...I will get some pics when it gets fixed.
I will try to get some, but if you can just imagine, after i got through cutting the rust from underneath the dash (to where there was no more swiss cheese metal) it pretty much took all the metal where the mounting studs were for the fresh air vent, so the hole is about that big now, every other part of the cowl looks fine, even the passenger side, there were no pin holes or leaks around it, it was surprisingly good.The body man is going to cut the louvers out of the cowl before he shaves it and give everything underneath a good cleaning and shoot some primer down there on the trouble spot as well.
Yeah, like i have mentioned, it all comes down to money, i do want to fix it properly, but just don't have the funds. Its just a little coupe, if i was doing a fastback or a GT i would find the money, but thats what i love about base model cars, you can get creative with them and not really damage any value the car has.
I would spray one coat of something on top of the primer. Moisture goes right through primer, even with a healthy coat of primer, that will eventually rust from condensation and humidity in the air. Even one coat of rattle-can enamel will protect that area since it won't see the sun or regular rain.
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