Well, the cowl assembly arrived on Monday and was test fitted yesterday (Wednesday). It was no easy task. None of those aftermarket sheet metal parts fit perfectly to an old car. But how lucky we are that they are available now. Ten years ago I would have had to repair the original cancerous cowl! Right now it lies clamped down over the firewall and windshield frame, temporarily bolted down with the 2 engine bay braces, waiting for me to decide how to weld it together; a complete weld, part weld/part bolts, or a combination of 3M 8115 Panel Bond Adhesive, welding and bolts. I wish I could just weld, but my not so great skills, combined with the gasless nature of my welder, are having me think twice about this...
The good thing is that the new cowl did not have to be banged in place, but basically fell pretty much where it is supposed to be. My only worry is about 1/4 inch of offset at the very ends of the cowl (see circle in photo #4). I could cut the extra 1/4 inch on one side, but how do I treat the 1/4-inch void on the other side?
Clamping the lower windshield frame to the cowl required pulling the frame about 1/2 inch forward from where it rested. I think I now need to test fit the windshield glass to see if the frame has been deformed/stretched forward, I hope not...
No comments:
Post a Comment