Welding in the cowl area 67 Mustang Coupe

[jterr]

Need some direction, as been told two different ways to do this.

On the lower cowl where the round vents go through, I'm repairing just the ends as the middle section is usable.

Question is should the repair be a butt weld or overlap the two pieces and just tack weld them together?

Also how to address the area where the wipermount fits(no holes)??

[OCHOHILL]

If you overlap and tack them it will leak. You could overlap them and weld solid the inside such that water does not come between the joint. It is best to butt weld them, grind it down fairly smooth and paint it.

[Moxycat]

Considering the location of these pieces, Butt weld.

[merfsiu]

A butt weld is going to be hard to do. You'll easily blow through the old metal but you need to be hot enough to weld the new metal. IMO a lap the two pieces and use plug welds. Seal the metal with apoxy sealer and then use a lot of seam sealer to assure no water can get through.

[LynnBob 65 Mustang]

I would just do the whole thing, much easier to do, finish, and it will be stronger in the long run. When doing mine I ran into more problems trying to save the bottom then it was worth, I just replaced the whole thing.
Lynn

[billywatson1205]

I butt welded mine, but for the amount of work, I would just replace the whole thing. Heck I would use the upper and lower assembly prewelded if I was doing it again.

Bill

[merfsiu]

Originally Posted by billywatson1205

I butt welded mine, but for the amount of work, I would just replace the whole thing. Heck I would use the upper and lower assembly prewelded if I was doing it again.

Bill

I agree.

[Klutch]

I agree you'd be better off installing a whole new cowl rather than trying to patch it.

But if you're dead set on patching it, I'd recommend butt welding. Yeah, it's a bit tough. But I butt welded my floor pans in and that's more involved than a cowl patch. Just be sure to cut carefully so everything lines up with a very small gap.

IMO, overlapping floor pans and other sheet metal is for shops trying to save the customer money. Overlapping is simply faster. I can't see any other benefit. So, if you're not charging yourself by the hour, I can't see why you would overlap.

[Harleydave]

Butt weld.

[jterr]

Thanks for the replys. The reason for the patch is $$$$$, I'm only on SS now that I don't have a job anymore; but still want to work on my Mustang.
I think I will just get some scrap sheet and practice the butt weld to avoid the blow throughs.

Should have started a poll

[billywatson1205]

Practice on some metal. I laid mine in place and cut the new and old together in order to get a perfect gap. I had some blow thru and eventually bought a 12 inch piece of copper tubing and flattened it. I used some magnets to hold it under the gap so I could butt weld with minimal blow thru using the copper as a heat sink.

Bill

[ToneMT]

I butt welded mine - had the nightmare of the rust and just wanted to get it done cleanly

[palerider]

Never got good at butt welding. But practice makes perfect I guess. Plug welding and seam sealer should be just as good. No one will never see it.

[billywatson1205]

Originally Posted by palerider

Never got good at butt welding. But practice makes perfect I guess. Plug welding and seam sealer should be just as good. No one will never see it.

Yeah, but water will eventually find it's way inside. Seam sealer eventually drives up. I would not even consider a lap in this area because of it's intended usage, which is to collect and divert water.

Bill

[billywatson1205]

I wrote these installation instructions for this part, in fact, for CJponyparts.com

Mustang Lower Cowl Repair Panel (1967-1968) Installation Instructions

Bill