Quick update: the inside the wall work is done and it's time to put the outer cowl onto the passenger side! Exciting times! Attached is a pic of the inside of the inner cowl, plus hinge reinforcements. Before I seal things up, I do think that I'll spray some bed liner inside to cut down on noise. If I do, I'll be sure to take a pic. For what it's worth, welding the nut in place for the topmost bolt on the upper hinge was no easy task! Virtually no room to sneak the weld wire through. I did it, but it isn't pretty. Thankfully, it'll be hidden inside the wall...!
Great progress! It looks like you are doing a much better job than I am on getting the inner cowl panel replacment in place. I needed to replace one hinge weld nut on the driver's side bottom that wasn't easy to get to but the upper would have been a lot worse.
Update time: Did a for real fitting of both the outer cowl and the inner-to-outer cowl pieces. The outer cowl fits like a dream! The inner-to-outer cowl not so much. It's really not that it doesn't fit right, it's more that it's not made to the right shape. I'm including some pics to show what I mean. The first shows that the bottom curved part does not fit against the bottom of the inner cowl. It's short by over an inch. Right now, I've got the inner-to-outer aligned with the bottom of the outer cowl, which is also aligned with the bottom of the hinge pillar. Those curves fit nicely together. However, by doing that alignment, the upper curved part does not reach the bottom of the inner cowl. Additionally, the bump outs to go over the inner cowl strength lines (hard to come up with the right words, sorry) do not align at all. Not only do they not align, they are at a crazy angle, pointing downwards. Finally, the top of the inner-to-outer cowl part is too wide at the top and was built square, while the opening it needs to fit in is triangular. Whew!
The second pic shows the triangular gap at the top of the inner-to-outer cowl. The third pic shows the remnants of the original piece and how it was shaped correctly. The final pic shows the fitment of the outer cowl.
My first question: has someone found an inner-to-outer cowl piece that is made close to correctly? I'd settle for the top part to be shaped to fit the triangular opening and then fix the bottom! That would be the easiest solution for me.
Second question: In what ways have you operated on your inner-to-outer cowl pieces to make them fit (pics would be super helpful!)?
General suggestions: Anything that might help, please!
In the meantime, I'm going to root around online and see if anything looks promising.
Been there done that. Sliced and diced the inner-to-outer to match up with the rest of the pieces. Cut some slots and move the material around to fit, adding more material in the gaps produced. What you're seeing is typical. I only have a couple pictures that really shows the work I did to make it fit in the area you're having issues with. You can see where I sliced back along the corners and bent the metal into shape. Mine was actually too tall, so I didn't have to add material there, but did on the lower end to make it match the curvature of the inner cowl panel better and make the notches on the inner side match with the reinforcing beads on the inner cowl. At best, the available inner to outer cowl pieces are a source of raw material to make one that fits.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
WICruiser: Thanks! Achipmunk: Sorry for the teeth gritting! I am glad that a smile came around, too! Kevin: Thank you for the pics! Those are exactly the same areas that don't fit on mine. Looks like I'm in for some slicing and dicing. I still wouldn't classify myself as a good welder, but I'll give it a go...!
It's funny to me. Looking back to a year ago when I started this phase of the project, I really had nothing to lose. I'm including a pic that was taken the day the truck was delivered to my house, back in 2007. When I started the sheet metal work last year, this is how the passenger side still looked. My progress blows my mind. Is it perfect? NO! Is it functional? I think so! Now that I'm closing in on completing the passenger side, I do have something to lose and that does play on my aggressiveness, but not my willingness to tackle a task. One of the lessons for me is that everything can be fixed. All you lose is time and a little money on the parts. So...onto cutting up that inner-to-outer cowl !
As always, comments and suggestions are welcome! I know people look at the posts, but most do not comment. That's ok, but it is encouraging to me to hear from you all. Differing opinions are ok and if offered with respect can lead to healthy discussion. I enjoy a good "point-counterpoint" discussion!"
I think we all have had the experience of "what did I get myself into" when working on these trucks. I know in my case I was hoping for a lot less panel replacement than I am finding necessary and as you are finding, and others have reported the replacement panels are often more a source of raw material than a good fitting replacement panel. I am probably not even doing as much as I should in some areas trying to balance between building a new truck from pieces and parts and having a patched up "rust bucket" as my wife refers to my truck. As you said, once you have invested a lot of time and sweat equity into a project it is hard to back track or not coninue down the path you started on.
Keep up the good work and continue to keep us posted on your progress.
Mike, I think our trucks were twins as far as what needed to be replaced because of rust. The saving grace on cutting up that inner-to-outer cowl piece is that you don't have to make pretty welds there, just ones that will hold.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
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!
Those look like they'll save a bunch of time and frustration. They aren't that much more expensive than the welded together ones I bought (and fought).
To paraphrase what Wayne said: ALL repro parts need to be massaged some.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Quick update on the inner-to-outer cowl piece. I made an extension out of a single piece of metal, bent and cut to match the end of the replacement piece. I got it welded on and then finessed the actual alignment of the sides. The result is in the second pic. The first pic is where I started, before adding the extension. All in all, I think it will work. The third pic shows the extension protruding beyond the outer cowl. That was by design. Once everything is welded in place, I'll go back and grind off any excess. The last pic shows the fitment of the inner-to-outer cowl against the inner cowl. I finessed that, too. Now it has a much better fit. I'll take both parts off of the truck to prep them for welding. Getting close to wrapping up the passenger side front sheet metal! As always, comments and/or suggestions are welcome. Enjoy!
A quick update: looks like I'm just about ready to start welding the outer cowl, inner-to-outer cowl and inner cowl pieces in their final places. I've drilled all of the holes for the plug welds and used the weld through primer on all of the hidden weld locations. I also used an under coating on inside areas that will not be welded. The undercoating is visible in the two pics that show the inner and outer cowl pieces. You'll note that the undercoating does not go 100% of the way to the weld area, but close. My thought here is that the seam sealer will fill that space. My goal was to use the undercoating to help dampen road noise. I've tapped on the coated and uncoated areas and frankly, it is underwhelming. No bother, though, as the undercoating is rubberized and should help keep corrosion at bay. Live, experiment and learn. You'll also note that I'm using the hood hinges and the fender bolt holes to help ensure alignment of the cowl pieces. I'm hopeful that by doing so, I'll keep the factory orientation and relationship between the parts. Hanging that door will be something else, once this is completed! So, if anyone sees something amiss, speak now...'cause the welding will start in the morning! As always, comments and suggestions are welcome!
You don't want to run into what I did. I made the passenger side opening a bit too small and needed to grind off the edges of the door to make it fit. I had even measured the door and the opening, but didn't measure twice, I guess.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
I'm not sure that I can hang the door right now. I haven't rolled the edge of the outer cowl over the hinge pillar yet, so it is sticking out into the space that the door will occupy. I was going to wait until after I had welded it in place, so that it (the outer cowl) didn't accidentally move. I totally get your point, though! Finding out if I've made a mistake now, instead of after finishing the welding is certainly preferable. How did you handle rolling the edge? Where in the process did you do that? (Thinking out loud: maybe make a few tack welds on the hinge pillar, roll the edge then hang the door, then weld if the door fits properly?)
If you can't hang the door, at least measure 2 or 3 times at critical points. The other thing to watch out for it matching the curvature of the lower cowl. My driver's door fits OK, but the front lower edge is proud of the cab and the rear lower edge is below the cab, so something got tweaked there as well.
Tacking the cowl and rolling the edge (assuming it interferes with the door - it may not) would work. If you need to adjust, you can always unroll the edge and redo it.
I just hammered the cowl edge over the hinge pillar.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Thanks! I think that's the approach that I'll take. I'll make a minimal number of tack welds, hammer the outer cowl edge over the hinge pillar and test fit the door! I'll let you know how it goes! As an aside, I did test fit the door before I disassembled the original outer cowl from the cab. There wasn't a lot of extra space in the door gaps at either the front or rear of the door. Hopefully, I didn't make a mistake in fitting the parts to my truck!
Got some garage time and set about hanging the door to check fitment of the inner cowl in relation to the door. First day's attempt at hanging the door was a bust. For whatever reason, I just couldn't align the holes in the door with the holes in the hinges. Even after using the notch on the upper hinge as a guide with the corresponding bolt already installed! Knowing when to take a break is key for me. If I try to push through my fatigue and frustration, I will make mistakes. So I walked away for the afternoon. Came back this morning and nailed it on the first try. On to panel alignment. After adjusting the door several times, I got what I thought was pretty good, but not quite exact, alignment. The door gap at the bottom by the lock pillar needs a tiny tweak, but for today's purposes, it was good enough! A quick adjustment of the inner cowl/inner-to-outer cowl assembly and I think I'm pretty darn close! But not welding close. What I noticed are that the new panel does not quite follow the contour of the door (the rounded shape) and also that there is a mismatch underneath between the door and panel. I think both issues can be resolved with a strip of sheet metal acting as a shim. I plan to cut a narrow piece of sheet metal and run it the length of the hinge pillar to raise the new inner cowl panel to match the door. I'll run this strip all the way to the end of the hinge pillar where it meets the rocker panel. I'll do it as a dry fit first, to make sure it actually solves the problems. So, no welding today or tomorrow or the next day, for that matter. I'm taking a few days off from the truck to take a break and think about something else. Not too long, but I do need a short break. Summer has arrived in Virginia and brought with it the heat and humidity. The morning sun shines directly into my garage and combined with the humidity makes truck work pretty miserable. So, a little break from the sheet metal. Maybe I'll prime the oil system and try to fire up the 235 that I plan to put into the truck. I haven't run it in about 4 years.... Anyway, I'm attaching several pics to show door gaps. Let me know what you think. Also, if there is a pic that I missed that you think may be helpful to see, let me know.
Kevin: Thank You for the suggestion to hang the door now! It saved me a headache down the road!!
Be careful you don't shim the cowl panel out too far. The door should be proud of the cowl by just a bit so it doesn't rub when opening.
Glad you're making good progress on the doors. It looks like your doors are fitting better than mine. I should have followed my own advice. You're learning by others' mistakes (mine). I got my driver's door tuned up yesterday. It's not perfect, but it'll work.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
My how time flies! A lot has happened personally, since I last wrote. Not much has happened on the truck, though. My break from the summer heat got extended just a bit. No matter, I'm back at it now. When I left you, I had just fitted the outer cowl and inner-to-outer cowl pieces to the truck. Over the summer I did make a shim, as I had mentioned. I test fit it and did not like how it all looked. So, I went back to the original fitment. The bottom of the door will be proud of the cowl, but I simply don't care. I saw something, not sure where, that basically said to get it on the road and don't worry about perfect. Well, mine was never going to be perfect, but I'm taking that advice to heart. I'll still try to do my best, but I won't obsess of minor details. So where am I? The outer cowl and inner-to-outer cowls are back on the truck and the tack welding has begun. Frankly, I'm thrilled with how it looks! I've still got to tack the inner-to-outer cowl to the inner cowl. Once that is done, I can finish all of the welds, dress them and apply a coat of primer to prevent any rusting while I move on to the driver side. My plan is to do the driver side next, then do both cab corners at the same time. The rationale for that is that the bed will have to be removed to get at the corners properly, so I'll do that last.
Because of my "break", this thread was deleted from the active group. Hopefully, it will show up again on the active page. I know many people read it, although few comment. That's ok, I guess. Honestly, I was on the fence about reviving it. I thought about it and went ahead with the revival, for the same reason that I made the thread in the first place: to help someone else, like me. Either by providing ideas on what to do or what not to do. Either way, if it helps someone trying to figure things out, then it was worthwhile.
Pro tip on shop safety: Clean out whatever clothing you might store in the garage before putting it on! I've always stored my work shoes in the garage, because i don't want any debris coming into the house. It bit me last summer...literally. Turns out that I was bitten by an insect twice (did not actually see the insect). The bites very closely resembled brown recluse spider bites and required a significant amount of medical attention plus months of recovery. In the process, the bites nuked my immune system! These bites, whatever they came from, were no kidding serious bites. So even if I hadn't wanted to take a break, I was going to get a break! I mention all of this to remind everyone to be careful when putting on grubby clothes that you keep in the garage or shop.
So, I'm back! I hope you all enjoy reading about my progress.
Appreciate the shop safety note and glad to hear you have managed a full recovery!
Don't forget to keep those pictures coming. Since you have been gone for a while, there have been some upgrades which now allow "10" pictures in each of your posts, with much larger sized files allowed.
Looking forward to seeing your project progress!
~ Dan 1951 Chevy 3 window 3100 Follow this story in the DITY Gallery "My Grandpa Carl's Truck and How it Became Mine" 1966 Chevelle (Wife's Hot Rod) | 2013 Chevy Silverado (Current daily driver) US Army MSG Retired (1977-1998) | Com Fac Maint Lead Tech Retired (1998-2021)
Welcome back Mike! I for one follow your progress, although my truck is a 59' the repairs you are making are much the same.... I learned about insects in boots and clothing while in the Middle East, Camel spiders are nasty.
~ Craig 1958 Viking 4400 "The Book of Thor" Read the story in the DITY 1960 Chevrolet C10 "A Family Heirloom" Follow the story in the DITY Gallery '59 Apache 31, 327 V8 (0.030 over), Muncie M20 4 Speed, GM 10 Bolt Rear... long term project (30 years and counting)
Come Bleed or Blister, something has got to give!!! | Living life in the SLOW lane
Mike, Glad you're back in good health. I did have a pair of old shoes sitting in my garage that I had used, but I tossed them in my last round of garage cleanup. Fortunately I don't think we have any real venomous spiders up here (no snakes either.) So that wasn't a bit worry. They were full of metal dust though, and were grey instead of their original brown.
Looking forward to your continued progress.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Welcome back, glad that you recovered and are making progress on your project again. Those inner, inner to outer, and outer cowl parts can be a challenge as any of us that have tackled that area know well.
Been hacking away at my welding punch list since my last post. The heavy lifting is done. The outer cowl, inner-to-outer cowl and inner cowl are now permanently installed! Connections made per the welding instructions in the FAM plus replicating the factory welds that were on my truck. The welds were dressed and shot with some primer to keep them from rusting, while I finished up the installation. Mostly, that finish work is using some body filler to cover the seam between the outer cowl and top cowl. I decided not to use lead, for safety reasons, as my grandkids are frequently at my house and I don't want them exposed to the lead, if possible. I'm attaching three pics. The first is of the original parts that I cut out of the truck. They are laid out on the driveway in general proximity to each other, as they would be in the truck. The second is of the outer cowl. The third is of the inner cowl. Once the body filler work is done, I'll give both the inner and outer cowl a good coat of primer and a coat of paint. Then, it'll be time to tackle the driver's side.... Kinda like deja vu all over again (thanks Yogi Berra)!
A quick update. Still plugging along on passenger side sheet metal. I ended up having to make a patch that covered a part of the firewall and toeboard. It now covers one of the factory holes for the fresh air heater tubes. The factory sheet metal that has that opening is preserved in the cab, so that a future owner can open it up if desired. I'm sticking with my recirculating heater, so it isn't needed. The factory sheet metal also preserves the holes for the screws that attach the filler panels. This metal wasn't good enough for structural purposes, so the patch that I made covers that area and more. You can see in the pic that I used quite a few plug welds, plus edge welds to hold it all together. I'm sure it will be cringe inducing for some, but that's ok. It appears to be solid and does what I needed. I've included several pics. The first is a 3/4 profile showing all of the cowl pieces that I replaced. I used the FAM for locating the plug welds for all of the parts. The inner-to-outer cowl piece was very difficult to weld into place, as many of those weld locations were right up against the inner edge. It required a longer than normal stick out to reach the inner cowl metal and was hard to manage. In retrospect, it would have been easier to weld it from inside the cab. We'll see how I handle it on the driver side. The second pic shows the outer cowl and the body filler work, so far. It's really close, but not quite there. The final pic shows looking down the cowl. If you look closely, you can see a small flat spot in the body filler area. That was a low spot that was revealed with some sanding today. It's currently with another thin coat of filler that is curing. I'll look at it tomorrow. Hopefully, that's the last of it.
Here's where I'm at. Single coat of primer across the outer cowl, including the wrap around part in front and the body filler seam. I intentionally allowed overspray on the upper cowl, mimicking the primer spray job the PO did. So there, the cats out of the bag...this truck will be ratty, not pretty. Doesn't mean I half [censored]Ed it, quite the contrary. The filler edges that remain visible are all under the hood, so I worked them as best I could. The edges that are on the visible part of the cowl are very small, but not entirely gone. That's the best that I could do. So, almost ready to start on the driver's side.
That actually looks pretty darn good. If you were to put a couple more coats of primer on the filler edges and blocked it, you could probably get a real nice color coat on it. I know that's not what you're looking for, but still. Good job.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Quick update, time to move on.... I've attached two pics. The first is of the passenger side outer cowl. I took Kevin's advice and hit it with another coat of filler primer and did some sanding. The edges got better, but are still not perfect. They work for me, though. After priming and sanding, again, I used Krylon Matt Glacier Gray paint on all of the outer surfaces that were repaired. Eventually, I'll paint the interior parts that were repaired, but not until after finishing the driver's side work. Speaking of which, I spent my first time on the driver's side, doing some sanding to find the spot weld dimples on the rocker panel. My game plan for the driver's side is the same one that I used on the passenger side. I'll start with the rocker panel. Once that is mocked up, I'll cut out the floor rot and fit the replacement floor pan in place. I plan to hold those parts in place with sheet metal screws. Once I'm happy with the fit, I'll start welding them in place. From there, I'll move onto the inner cowl. Once that is in place, I'll make whatever repairs are necessary to the hinge pockets. From there, it'll be time for the inner-to-outer cowl and outer cowl fitment/welding process. During this process, I'll have to deal with the pedals, too. Sounds so easy when I write it down! It does feel like progress, though. Being essentially done with the passenger side and starting on the driver's side feels good. Thanks for reading about my adventures, so far. I'll keep writing about them and posting pics. We'll see what cringeworthy moments I can come up with...! As always, positive comments and suggestions are always welcome.
Time for a journal update. I've been busy working, but the progress has been slow! The park brake brackets, pedal and linkage were very difficult to get out intact. Eventually, I did get it all out. Also, I cut out the spot welds on the rocker panel. That, too, was more difficult on the driver side than the passenger side. There were several "hidden" spot welds behind the cab corner. The only way for me to access them was to cut out part of the cab corner. This area already needed to be replaced, so it isn't extra work, just not when I planned to do it. To fit the new rocker panel into place, I also had to remove the floor pan and under floor support. I cut the floor out in sections and I still have one section left to cut out. That is where the under floor support is welded to the transmission access area. I'll do that the next time I'm in the garage. Lastly, I removed the rear cab support and rebuilt it the same way I did the other one. I had a rebuild kit, that I installed on the reusable pieces, after grinding the rust off and repainting. It was really nice to see the cab sitting level! It has never done that while I've owned the truck. I've attached several pics. The first is a "here's where we are starting" pic. It shows the floor pan and the park brake pedal area. The second shows the rocker panel in its first dry fit. The last shows most of the metal that I cut out.
Update time: First fitting continued. To date, I've fit the rocker panel, floorpan, underfloor brace and park brake pedal assembly (w/brackets). In the pics below you can see most of it. I've started holding things in place with sheet metal screws, while I adjust each piece to get a good fit. This isn't the permanent screw down for welding, as I've still got a small amount of rust to cut out and make the final trimming of the new floor. Plus, I need to make a small patch to repair the seat riser where it meets the floor and weld that in place before finalizing. All in all, though, I couldn't be happier with how its turning out. I hope to have everything that I mentioned above finalized by next week and maybe even start welding it all in place. The cold weather "working on my truck" season is rapidly getting away from me. Got to keep moving! It does seem like my goal of getting the driver side completed before the summer season arrives is a long shot....
It doesn’t matter how slowly you progress, as long as you don’t stop moving.-Confucius (I think!)
1970 Chevrolet C10 Grandpa's -- My first truck -- In progress to shiny Follow the build in the Project Journal 1950 Chevrolet 1-Ton Dually "Ole Red Girl" In the Stovebolt Gallery More pictures here 1951 GMC 9430 1 ton dually--Shiny! | 1972 Chevrolet C20- Rusty- the puzzle box lid for the C10 | 1962 AMC Rambler American- my wife's Parts trucks- 1951 GMC 9300 | 1951-GMC 9430 | 1951- Chevrolet 1300
Update time: Been hard at it since last time. Working on final fitment of the driver side floor, then welding in place. There are a ton of places where welding occurs! I'm just about done with all of it and will soon be moving on to the inner cowl. I'm including a pic of the new floor and the test fit of the transmission cover. The cover needed some hammer and dolly work to fit the profile of the toeboard. It looks like I may actually get this done.... Is it still unconventional? Yes. However, I am learning through the process and refining what I do and my welds are marginally better. While working on the toeboard, I sat on the passenger side floor. It took my full 180 lbs without blinking. So I feel good about that. My lingering question is about longevity of those welds. Will they hold up to the vibrations when I'm operating the truck. Time will tell!
Looking good, the inner cowl, inner to outer cowl, and the oter cowl were a real challenge for me.
Agree that it's looking good. Also those parts are a challenge for nearly everyone. Expect a bit of a struggle with them.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Yeah, those parts on the passenger side were a bit fiddly. The biggest challenge for me was getting to all of the places that needed welding. Some of them are waay up there, under the dash! I'm just not that flexible! Finding the one piece, stamped inner-to-outer cowl piece was a Godsend! It fit so much better than the welded up version! Now, for the driver side, I waited to buy the new inner-to-outer cowl piece until recently. Big Mistake! I bought my first one from Chev's of the 40's. Now, they've changed vendors and are supplying the welded up version instead of the single piece version. I ended up finding a single piece version from Raybuck. It looks similar to the first version I used on the passenger side, except the finish is different! That makes me think other things may be different. Once again, time will tell! Below is a compare and contrast between welded up and single piece. You be the judge!
