1968 Don't Take Short Cuts

[gazrox]

At the last minute we decided to open up the vent cowl area, just to be sure that we didn't have any rust issues, and knowing that this was a problem area for our beloved mustangs. I had poured water in the vent and stuck my hand up through the vents from the interior and everything checked out OK.

But....., even after the top cowl section was removed, sandblasting the bottom section revealed the true story - pinhole rust issues that if left unchecked, would have been a sad story in a few years.

What is amazing is that Ford galvanized the interior of the top cowl section, but left the bottom cowl section unprotected. The other surprise was that a low spot on the drivers side cannot drain completely - a design flaw?

Our fix will be to repair the rusty areas with patches, re-install and epoxy prime. We are then going to give it a few coats of single stage exterior colour. A feed wire will be left in place from one vent hole to the other so that once the top cowl section is in place, we can drag a sheet through the vent section and we won't have overspray issues when the exterior is painted. The sheet can then be pulled back through the vent holes.

Moral of the story? Don't take shortcuts on a restoration - everything has to be checked!!

 

[Ruppstang]

Good advice! Usely not a question of if but when it will leak. We did a similar repair on the HCS. Never want to have to deal with leaks again.

 

[747Driver]

To my sorrow (and self honestly), you just ended a debate I've been having with myself over the CS I just bought that's been sitting outside for about 25 years...that has a cowl vent box filled with about 6 inches of pine needles in it! For two months now, I've been trying to convince myself that I won't have to peel that cowl open.

Josh

 

[nfrntau]

Josh,
Don't fret .... yet.
My car when I received it had the same issue. That stuff was years old and decayed. Fortunately for me there was no rust underneath and no cowl replacements were necessary.
How did I get it out of there you ask, I used a shop vac and one (a bunch) of the hefty malt straws from Sonic. Taped the two together and was able to suck and break up the detritus that was housed in the cowl area. Yes, it took a LOOONG time and a bunch of straws but it worked. I then was able to flush it out with fresh water.
If you have holes better to find out early.

Hope this helps
Cheers

 

[franklinair]

The last time I had to get into the cowl area to check it out: With both front fenders removed I used a die grinder and cut off the ends of the cowls. This allowed access to remove all debris and then I inserted an inspection mirror through the cutouts to inspect the metal & chimneys. After cleaning, inspecting & painting inside the cowl (through these access cutouts) I MIG'd the metal back on, smoothed it over, and painted the disturbed area with body color. Luckily for me there was no metal repair needed inside the cowl, and it was now clean, treated & painted for future protection.

Neil