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Quick questions on cowl removal

Before stuff gets welded.. I know the inner needs to be prepped, coated, seam sealer, etc to keep it from rusting in the future. Do you just sand it down some and spray a couple coats of some epoxy primer, then paint?

I'm still undecided if I should body fill in the vent for a nice smooth look (like the one in GPRs thread) or keep the vents normal. :confu I like both looks so hard to decide!
 
The cowls were for fresh air intake, and if you had AC, it would suck in fresh air on the passenger side(not sure about the 66). I'll tell you this, when I park my '67 outside, leaves just find their happy little way right through that grill into the cowl! If I had know way back when, I would have removed the grills making a solid piece! As for your first question, surely someone will answer that part. Logically, what you said sounds like a good idea! I have always been under the impression no matter how well you prep it, then weld it, then there's bare metal from the welding, so it's bound to start the rusting process again! So, how would one seal the inside after the install? :shrug

"Kats66Pny" said:
Before stuff gets welded.. I know the inner needs to be prepped, coated, seam sealer, etc to keep it from rusting in the future. Do you just sand it down some and spray a couple coats of some epoxy primer, then paint?

I'm still undecided if I should body fill in the vent for a nice smooth look (like the one in GPRs thread) or keep the vents normal. :confu I like both looks so hard to decide!
Click to expand...
 
I don't have AC or heat and I always have windows open because I like the breeze. That's how I get fresh air in a car if I want it. If I decided to go in and put AC and heat in the future, some of the aftermarket systems are recirculating systems so they don't use the cowl vent at all. They just recycle the air from the inside of the car. AC will probably be added eventually because Texas summers are torture!
 
Do you ever find yourself needing to use the defroster? Just another one of the many things to consider until you install a modern system if you are going to delete the cowl vents.
 
Defroster... in Texas? HA! So what.. a couple weeks out of the year where it would be needed, but those kind of days are for the daily drivers - Lexus or Sebring. :thu
 
"Kats66Pny" said:
Defroster... in Texas? HA! So what.. a couple weeks out of the year where it would be needed, but those kind of days are for the daily drivers - Lexus or Sebring. :thu
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Right on
 
The fresh air vents are a help if there is not real good insulation at the fire wall. They can provide cooler air around the foot area, pushing the engine heat out. I always liked the vents open when cruising with the windows down. Of course, I also cruise with the windows down and the A/C on in slow moving things like parades of backed up traffic.... None of the after market units close off the drivers side fresh air vent from my research. The passenger side is closed in two out of three major units and I did not care for that third unit.....

As for the leaves when parked, I have always used a simple piece of magnetic sign material cut to the size of all the vents combined. Sticks inside the trunk/fender when not in use. This also keeps most of the water out. I have even topped 80 mph with it in place with no movement.

If I ever do another car, I will place a screen on the bottom side of the upper cowl panel and cut down on the size of the items that can enter that area. Painted to match the inside of the cowl and it would not be very noticeable.
 
"Kats66Pny" said:
Defroster... in Texas? HA! So what.. a couple weeks out of the year where it would be needed, but those kind of days are for the daily drivers - Lexus or Sebring. :thu
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Listen, I live in the Midwest and only drive my "toys" in nice weather. Typically that means late summer into fall when it isn't raining. I'll tell you what, though, I do use my defroster/heater occasionally for a couple reasons. One, I end up staying out late and as the night air cools I use the heater. The other being a front blows in unexpectedly and I end up driving in the rain. Then you need your defroster to see, most times. Don't be so quick to think you wouldn't like to have a working system once and a while.
 
"AzPete" said:
If I ever do another car, I will place a screen on the bottom side of the upper cowl panel and cut down on the size of the items that can enter that area. Painted to match the inside of the cowl and it would not be very noticeable.
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While I like the idea, I can see a screen set-up like that creating a new area of concern for rust if there isn't some very good design and implementation. Your solution of a stable, temporary cover is so much simpler and worry free.
 
The reason I asked Kat, was because I too was planning deleting the the cowl grill and leave the heater out. I started doing some research and asking around and decided that as much as I really was wanting to get rid of it I with my luck would end up needing the defrost function one day.

Another good thing about having the heater system in place is that sometime when the engine starts to run a little hot for whatever reason you can always turn on the heater to help bring the temp down a bit.

Again, as always, its your car and you will always decide what's best for you.

Good luck with whatever route you decide.
 
Listen, I live in the Midwest and only drive my "toys" in nice weather. Typically that means late summer into fall when it isn't raining. I'll tell you what, though, I do use my defroster/heater occasionally for a couple reasons. One, I end up staying out late and as the night air cools I use the heater. The other being a front blows in unexpectedly and I end up driving in the rain. Then you need your defroster to see, most times. Don't be so quick to think you wouldn't like to have a working system once and a while.
Click to expand...

Nice weather here is like late February to December. I rarely use the stuff in the daily drivers so I don't see why I would in the mustang. :shrug I smoke so I always drive with windows down. Even if it's 100+ outside, or 30 outside. lol
 
The defroster works just as the heater does without the cowl vents. You do not need fresh air for the defroster... It might work a bit better with some cooler air flow thru the heater......but non the less, it will work.
 
Gert never had a heater. PO had a square piece diamond plate screwed to the firewall to cover the hole. The buttons are still on the dash for it, but the cables in the back were just there... not hooked to anything.
 
If you seal the vents on the top, you could technically still get a miniscule amount of fresh air in through the two drain holes on either side of the cowl...

With the top sealed and the driver side duct open, the heater will then draw the majority of air from the cabin, esentially creating a recirculating heating system.

Personally, I wouldn't seal the cowl unless the car was equipped with A/C... Those vents provide a good amount of air and help to make summer driving a little more comfortable. Even with the windows open, you don't get a lot of air recirculating by your feet... I think it is fairly important to some air flow down there to keep driving long distances in warm weather comfortable...
 
No worries there. I don't plan on driving long distances in her. At most, maybe 2hrs down to Spring Texas for Nifties 50tees once in a while, but that's it.
 
Ok I'm sitting here staring at a spot weld cutter trying to figure out how in the heck this thing works. Stupid I know.. but I've never touched or even seen a spot weld cutter until now. I have one from HF, the cheap one. To me, the pointed tip on the one I have looks too long for it to actually work. It has some spring to it, but I don't see how it's suppose to reach the metal weld. Am I suppose to drill a little hole for the tip to fit in? If I do that... well that makes no sense because I was told not to go through all the metal, only one layer.
 
Stupid question.... but is the cutting bit threaded on? The way you're explaining it I'm wondering if you just got the arbor without cutters...

With that type of cutter you normally use a hammer and center punch to dimple the center of the spot weld. Then set the spring loaded tip into the punched dimple and start cutting slowly... once the top layer is cut, you usually start to see a little rust dust escaping from the cut. If you use oil like some do with that cutter, then you won't see the dust. After a few you will develop a sense for when you've cut that top layer.

I know a lot of folks like that particular cutter, but I prefer to use the drill bit style since it cuts a cleaner hole, eaiser to guage depth, and virtually unbreakable.

IMO... The toothed cutter you have is better for cases where you remove the part, and want to have a perfect reference for putting the same part back on...
 
I have this one.

image_3222.jpg
 
ok that's the one I thought... all of the above post applies. The spring loaded pin should retact plenty to allow the cutter to work. I think the spotwelds in the windshield area has three layers of steel... That may be a good area to start since the base is a little more robust. A cordless drill run at low speed works pretty good, and be sure to keep the cutter square to spot your cutting so that the bit doesn't walk on you and break teeth.
 
That's the best spot weld cutter in my book! You can start a pilot hole with a regular drill after punching the metal first; the pilot hole only needs to be deep and big enough to keep the spring-loaded center in place.
 
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