Novice-Owner-Marc

Wow, looks good. Threads like this are really so cool!! I learn something new when I look at these project long threads. Thanks for sharing and keep up the great work!

Adrenolin

Drilling out spot welds... you really should have only drilled out the upper and not down through the lower. the lower section should have no (or very few) holes drilled through. The reason is so when you replace the upper you can weld down through the upper to the lower section. The way it is now you have nothing to weld to either way. I suppose you could use a welding block but that will get old really fast with that many spots to do.

If you didn't have to cut/patch I'd agree with reusing the parts. At this point though I'd suggest ordering a complete new replacement for both upper and lower (or a single 1 piece section). Remove the lower and replace everything with brand new metal. This will save you time and a lot of work.

Some people swear by spotweld bits and others hate them. I personally didn't like the few that I bought and instead used a drill bit drilling only down through the upper cowl section. Where its not entirely drilled out you can usually snap it free with an air chisel or hammer/chisel.

hightower2011

Yeah, I'm regretting it now, but I'm thinking about replacing the lower and upper with a new replacement.

Thanks
And yes I'm using a rotisserie so that should help if I replace the upper.

Thanks!

Like you suggested, I'm thinking about replacing the entire lower now. The cost to replace both ends of the lower cowl is about $105. The cost for an entire lower cowl is $175. So if I get an new lower cowl, I'll have a new surface to weld on and solve the rust problems. You guys think this would be a good idea?

Adrenolin

First.. don't try and turn the car on a rotisserie without an installed cowl! The cowl is a structural section and attempting to rotate a car without the cowl would not be good.

Yeah I think you'd be smart to replace at least the lower section with a new one. Really look at the upper and make sure its not twisted or too badly damaged from the removal. If its OK then go ahead and reuse it.

Good luck and thumbs up! Many people would really shy away from this job. I've seen a few stangs crushed due to rotted out cowls and bad floors.

hightower2011

Oh yeah I wasn't gonna put it on the rotisserie without at least a new/repaired lower cowl.
I think what's keeping me from replacing the upper and lower is the cost of both.

Adrenolin

When you order the new lower you'll assemble the upper and lower first then weld to the car. Make sure you paint inside the cowl before you weld them together :-)

Thats understandable and iirc the upper is over 200 bucks so if you can reuse it great. Many get twisted up often which is why so many people replace both. In my case the upper was rusted also.

NoReins

He'll be fine putting it on rotisserie how you have it right now (lower still on). If you really want to eliminate a lot of work just buy the whole thing already welded together. I was tempted to go this route except my upper cowl is in too good of shape.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1967-...Q5fAccessories

Kinda expensive but the amount of work it eliminates might be worth it.

5'Oclocksomewhere

I wouldn't worry about putting the car on a rotisserie as long as the lower cowl is in place.

Make sure you guys are using the best spotweld cutters you can get. I have heard people say how bad they hate spotweld cutters or that they don't work and come to find they are using Harbor Freight tools. Spend the extra $10 and get one that is going to not only cut better but last 10x a cheapie.

Adrenolin

I'll agree that cheap tools are usually just that.. cheap and typically result in more time or work. However I did use a few different types of quality spotweld cutters and still disliked them. I had no issues taking my time and using a good quality drill bit. Yes.. cheap drill bits would work but you'll have to use 20 of them lol.

hightower2011

Update:





I got the lower cowl off. Much easier than the upper since I had drilled all the way through.

I still am having trouble deciding between getting the lower cowl assembly alone, or getting the upper and lower together. It's about a $200 difference, and I'm leaning towards just the lower cowl.


Also, what I left for last was these darn strut rods. Almost 10 applications of rust loosener had little affect. I couldn't loosen it at all with hand tools. Good thing I've got those air tools, when situations like these come up, they're literally a life saver!


1/2" impact wrench got that one off.
Next one, not so much:




As you can see from the pics, the driver side strut rod brace is trashed. It's obvious that it's been used as a jack point. The passenger side is in much better shape. Why is this a problem? It's preventing me from getting my impact wrench deep enough. The impact wrench just fit deep enough on the passenger side to remove the bolt, but because of the strut rod brace being bent, it cannot get deep enough on the driver side. What should I do? Obviously it's not easy to bend back. I was considering cutting the bent portion out. Suggestions please, I'm stumped!!!