Still recovering from some outpatient surgery, so I'm limited in what I can do (besides online shopping), but still trying to advance the cause. In that light, I may have made a significant parts discovery. As you all may recall, I was starting the surgery of the inner-to-outer cowl part. I had a good strategy and had actually begun the work prior to my surgery. However, that hadn't stopped me from still looking. Almost every site had what looked like the exact same part. It was somewhat discouraging. Then I found one that looked different on Chev's of the 40's website. It was expensive, but I took the leap of faith and ordered it. It finally came yesterday and I did an initial, slap it in fitting and was really happy! This morning, I did a for real fitting and it's a no-brainer: I'm going with the new part! Some of the pluses of the new part: one piece stamped part, upward angle where it meets the firewall was stamped in, holes for attaching the fender were stamped in and matched the holes stamped in the outer cowl, grooves to fit against the inner cowl extra wide to allow for proper fitment and heavy gauge metal used in stamping. The cons of the new part are: extra wide grooves mean extra seam sealer, not an exact fit on the curve that meets the underside of the inner cowl and the angle that meets the firewall is a little short. To me, the pros outweigh the cons. One other thing, due to the current economic environment, both the cost of the part and especially the shipping of the part were outrageous! Like I said, current environment. Hopefully that changes soon! I'm attaching pics to show the various spots that are of interest for fitment. I'm thinking about adding enough metal to the top to bridge the gap where the part meets the firewall and seam sealer for everywhere else. Let me know what you all think!
