So I took out the carpet to my 67 289 convertible to replace it and noticed some rot under the gas and brake pedal areas, also where your feel lay on the passenger side as well. I have heard of the nagging Mustang cowl issue that can cause rot in t he firewall/floor area. From underneath, the floors look clean, I did not notice this until I took the carpet out. Anyone have experience with this and know what can be done and how big of a bees nest this might be? I am taking it to a body shop tomorrow with the carpet out to have them take a look...any info to help me so he doesn't take me to the cleaners would be useful!! Again ,the back pans seem fine and it really appears as though it is from the cowls...but may go up to firewall but not sure.

Thanks!

Mark A

 

Does it look anything like this?



[IMG]local://upfiles/29155/0CAAF6897CF745829461C708C105D692.jpg[/IMG]

 

Do you have any pin holes in the floor where you can see through it? If not, just get some POR 15 and seam seal. Clean the area with a wire brush, vacuum it good, then apply the POR 15 and seam seal. Then hit it with a few coats of paint. Your next job will be to get the cowl fixed, but that is another topic.

 

Not really, there is no holes, just chips and when you hit the floor from the inside lightly with a hammer, you hear rust falling into the underneath floorpan. It appears as though its coming from the cowl/firewall area. If I hit that part of the floor any harder, it might go thru.

 

Almost every early Mustang has this problem. Cowl leaks, moisture gets into the carpet and rots the floor pans. I had the same thing on my '65 - never see it until you pull up the carpet. Laying in new floorpans in early Mustangs is common as changing tire size. I had full pans laid in on both sides during restoration - and I added the cowl repair kit (plastic inserts rtv'd in that stops the leak at the cowl unless your cowl is totally gone). Here's mine before and after replacement.

[IMG]local://upfiles/3913/2C11E57F8EA941D482B1B23862B51CD5.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/3913/D8BC5241414C480AA526EF265F289B5B.jpg[/IMG]

 

WOW! yours came out great, congrats on the nice work. I appreciate your setting my mind at ease with the fact that it is real common and undetectible unless the carpet is pulled. I literally just walked in from a local classic car body shop and he told me the same thing, but not as well said as you did. Looks like my back pans and mid are fine, but I need the part that "Ramps up" toward the firewall, mainly on passenger side. I just hope the firewall is okay, but he felt under there and thought it was solid. Thank you again for the info on how common it is and your pics look similar to mine.

 

If the floor pan issue is caused by the cowl leak, what are the chances the cowls are gone too? Do I NEED to fix those if they're rusted or rotted? Is there any way to tell without ripping the body panels off?

 

on my 67' when i removed the heater box it was pretty easy to look up at the cowl panel and to check everything out.

 

For a temporary fix, you can get a cowl cover, then the water won't come in. But, you won't be able to get fresh air or air to go through the heater. It's a nasty and time consuming job, but if you want air, you have to do it. There's a how-to in the FAQ section.

 

Thanks, I did see that in the FAQ section and it does look nasty. No doubt about that. I think it might be one of those things I'd rather not know the answer to. The paint job on my car is pretty nice and I don't wan't to sink that kind of $$$ into body work. Floor pans- okay, I guess I have to get those done. I never PLAN on letting the car see rain anyways and I'd probably use the handwash rather than a hose anyways, so I hope to not let the cowls get wet. I understand that rust and rot will spread anyways, but I just don;t see myself ever doing that cowl replacement job.