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1/13/24 Over the last week, I’ve been working on replacing the drivers side outer cowl which includes repairing a minor rusted thru section of the inner to outer cowl and a small repair on the rocker panel. The damaged was small enough that replacing the entire inner to outer cowl was not necessary. This avoided the dreaded aftermarket patch panel fitment woes I’ve read about too many times, in this forum.

Additionally there was damage to the outer cowl just above the fender which caused a 1/4” gap where the back flange of the fender meets the cowl. The damage was just above the inner to outer cowl which was not affected. Access to this area, even with the lower outer cowl removed, was limited. I ended up removing the remainder of the spot welds to free the panel from the inner to outer cowl. This enabled me to put a flat bar behind the panel to bump it out. Once the panel was straightened, I welded it back.

I fit the outer cowl panel insuring I had the same measurements the I had before I cut out the old rusty lower cowl, then applied rust converter and then Rustolium rusty metal paint.

I reinstalled the door in order to make sure the gap to the cowl was good. The panel needed to be pulled out on the bottom so it be flush with the door. This left a 1/8” gap at the flange which I was able to close with a bit of massaging with a hammer. After confirming the gap , I installed a few of tacks. I immediately noticed that the gap at the bottom grew. Cutting the tacks I repositioned the panel. Learning from my mistake, after making the first tack on the butt seam, I applied a second tack on the bottom so it wouldn’t pull. Once the gap was good, I removed the door and finished welding the panel in.

The bolt holes in the new cowl panel did not line up with the existing inner to outer cowl, so I added some weld up the outer cowl and filed the holes to match. Overall I’m pleased with the outcome.

Our truck once was fitted with a spotlight so the hole they drilled in the pillar needs to be patched. I started to grind it down to clean metal and discovered it was on the solder joint. I don’t want to mess with this joint, so I probably use JB weld to make this repair at a later date.