Dodged a bullet on cowl rust (so far)

So far it looks like I have a pretty solid cowl on my 71. I pulled the windshield and the dash tonight and aside from a fair amount of surface rust I found no holes. I couldn't even produce one by trying to stab through with a screw driver. I may still cut out the spot welds and pull the cowl to clean it up and make sure all is well.

 

that's good news...

i would put a couple of coats of rust bullit on there and let it ride...



...Frank...:Handshake

 

I have a quart of POR15 that is dying to be used. I tried to follow the link to rust bullit but it didn't work, I'll google it. I had not heard of it before joining this forum.

 

the link wouldn't work for me either...

 

www.rustbullet.com

 

Rust Bullet is pretty much the same as POR 15. I use the Rust Bullet Black Shell and it works very well. One thing they both have in common is DON'T GET IT ON YOUR SKIN

 

Cowl Leak Test :

If you really want to be SURE ... Pour some water ( about 2 gallons will do) directly into the cowl vent .. then watch UNDER the dash when you do this .. If there is a leak you'll know it .. Put some towels under there first to absorb any moisture that may get through .. By the way , I've updated the info on sealing the cowls on my website if anyone is interested. cameoclub Wish you well.. Cometized

 

i wouldn't call that rust free, either. grind down the whole area with a wire wheel, there might be pinholes just about everywhere.

if your cowls look like that from below, i'd walk the extra mile and drill up the cowl panel completely. then you can prep the whole area properly!

 

Rust free is definately not a word I would use to describe it that's for sure.I was planning on pulling the cowl just for the sake of cleaning it. I figue all the water that got to the floors came from somewhere.

 

If your going to use POR 15, make sure you follow the directions, and use the Marine Clean & Metal Ready, it makes a huge difference in the finished product.
Like it's been said, don't get it on you, it'll stay for months!!

 

Looks good.

 

That's a mod I have been kicking around. It's a subtle change thatsome people notice but others don't. I like the web site, plenty of good info there.

 

Pulled the passenger side fender of cringing the whole way expecting to see a mess at the cowl. I was pleasantly surprised, looking in the drain hole it is clean, no pine needles, leaves, dirt or muck. Looking in with a flashlight I see white overspray and very light surface rust.

That got me curious about the other side so I looked up through the vent hole with flashlight and mirror in hand. It too had minimal surface rust and a lack of crap built up in there. Considering our dry climate and the fact that it will be garaged I'm not doing any more that cleaning the underside and applying POR 15.

 

They need to make something that you can pour into the cowl like water but thicker and it clogs the holes and dries like paint. Problem solved. I guess i'm dreaming ,eh.

 

Why couldn't you do that with POR-15 or something like it? Remove the fenders, plug the drain holes, pour in enough "stuff" to achieve a decent level of coverage, then unplug the drains, let out the overflow and let it dry good...