cowl panel repair panels

[DanTudor57]

I'm on rust remediation duty for the next several weeks. I have some cowl panel holes..

I could spend hours fabricating this piece -- not knowing what lays hidden under that paint... I would rather not. EMS doesn't reproduce it. Does anyone reproduce?

Anyone have a car they are cutting up with good driver and passenger pieces?

This is at the base of the windshield, as the cowl panel begins, butting against the upper font-most part of the door.

[Ray]

Once again, Steve Pierce in 29 Palms is always my first go to. I have actually driven out with a sharpie to mark out what I need. (310)631-0053

[RICH MUISE]

Problem you're going to have there is the multi layering of components. Check DJFORDMANJACK's (Gunther) build thread, I believe he did a similar repair, and it was very impressive.

[djfordmanjack]

That area in general is a very delicate design on all 57s and prone to rust especially on West Coast cars, because of condensed (Pacific salt) water getting trapped during cold nights. Please check my build thread as the whole area might need some repair. Most important make sure that the internal passage is not clogged with debris, rust, mice leftovers, bugs and the like. condensed water comes down from inside the roof, down the A post of the windshield and than forward on the 'dogleg' section and directly under your rust spot and over and down inside the lower A pillars. I opened up most of that dogleg because it needed repair anyways and I sealed everything inside with paint after drilling additional drain holes before closing it up with new outer metal.

What I am saying is, most probably this section might have a weak spot on most surviving donor cars, even Cali cars. because they rust from inside and you can't see it before you have actually cut from donor car. you might up with an already rusted donor piece.

I hope my pics will guide you through the design of this section.

http://57fordsforever.com/smf/index.php?topic=6705.msg57880#msg57880

you will also find more pics on the following pages.

[DanTudor57]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Looks like I've lots of fabrication to do here. The pictures are worth 1000 words in this case!

The cause is exactly as described in the build thread -- water from the roof dips right into this area and boom -- its over.

What gauge metal are you all using for your patches? Last time I did this I had a few salvaged hoods and some door skins sitting around the shop that served as donors. If I recall they seemed a bit thin, but I used what I had available.

[RICH MUISE]

18 gauge is the most commonly used. Possibly something thinner for intricate forming like Gunther did. I'm sure he'll respond with what he used. If I remember correctly, 18 ga is .047

[djfordmanjack]

thick sheetmetal like 18 gauge will be easier to weld itself, but the og 57 metal is much thinner, since most of it is die stamped and it gets stretched a lot in places. it is more difficult to weld 2 pieces that are different in thickness, so I prefer using thinner gauges than 18 for patches.
I think the og '57 sheetmetal was rather 20gauge. I use that equivalent in metric ( 1mm) if the patch needs a lot of hammer forming.
sometimes I also use 22 gauge, because it is easy to bend and shape. but you don't want to do a lot of hammering or even grinding on that. I think it would be good for the patch you need to make, but be sure to cut out all the rot from the cowl area. Then you might be able to reach inside with a Dremel and small grinding stones or even used fibre reinforced cutting wheels and trying to get as much surface rust off inside. I would try cutting the patch as small and close to the shape of the hole and hold it up with little magnets, so it is level with the og metal. then use good penetrating heat with Mig Welder. I would try welding it exactly on or slightly below the upper edge of the cowl piece. that gives additional strentgh and will keep panel from warping. you don't need to weld the lower edge of the patch as it was only factory spot welded there. you can drill a single hole in the patch and make one spot weld.
If more metal needs replaced, just take your time and replace one piece at a time, one after another. I would not cut out large chunks, because it is easy to lose understanding of how and why Ford put that together.

That part of the 57, along with the actual dogleg is really a weak point. After checking out many many 57 projects for sale over the years,
it seems that more than 50% have rust problems there, along with the typically rotten lower frt fender corners and rear quarters of course. It is easy to understand that Ford never thought this cars to be around for more than 10 yrs and it is incredible to see how many have survived and are still going strong.

[cokefirst]

I have a car that may have a good section.  I will check it out on Wed and let you know.  The vehicle is headed to the crusher, if the section is good, I will let you know.  It is in Fontana CA. 

[DanTudor57]

Many thanks.. We're going to start fabricating next week..