Anything between cowl panels?

[Vinnie]

Hey folks,

I'm drilling out spotwelds to seperate part of the upper cowl panel. Upper and lower seem a be liking eachother a lot and are not letting go easily. Probably a few welds I missed but I'm still curious; in the factory, did they put any sealer of primer or glue in between the panels before welding?

Cheers,

Vincent.

 

[Bentworker]

Not that I know of.  
 

Try a panel separation knife / chisel.

 

[Kilgon]

They can be a pita. Are you using a spot weld cutter or drill bit?   Try to find the center of the spot weld by feel instead of looks.  Some of them take a couple of cuts next to each other to get loose.  I found in some areas there are welds right next to each other.

  

 

[Vinnie]

OK, probably nothing in between then, that's good to know.

I'm using a spot weld cutter now (did previous work with spot weld drill bit) and that goes pretty well. I don't want to have to bend the edges of the top panel coz I have to put it back so I'm going to have to be careful.

I shall proceed with caution then

Thanks guys!

 

[knn]

Hey @Vinnie, please post picture of the work in progress.  I have to repair my cowl hat and could use some inspiration.  

Thanks!

 

[Vinnie]

@knn You can see progress here: https://7173mustangs.com/forums/topic/32693-slowest-resto-ever-project-amsterfoose-current-subject-cowl/

Go near the bottom of page 6.

 

[71ProjectJunk]

An air hammer with a chisel for spot welds does quick work of them. I just had to remove a front floor pan on my 1971, and If I had just used a spot weld cutter it would have taken me forever. The air hammer with the chisel cut through the weld spots in seconds. 

 

[Vicus]

Vinnie

according to the Jim Osborn Assembly Manual, there is a layer of sealant between the upper and lower part of the cowl, exact at the same location where the weld spots are.

Cheers Frank

 

[Vinnie]

An air hammer with a chisel for spot welds does quick work of them. I just had to remove a front floor pan on my 1971, and If I had just used a spot weld cutter it would have taken me forever. The air hammer with the chisel cut through the weld spots in seconds. 

I never used one but it makes me think you end up with completely f-ed up sheet metal?

 

[Vinnie]

Vinnie

according to the Jim Osborn Assembly Manual, there is a layer of sealant between the upper and lower part of the cowl, exact at the same location where the weld spots are.

Cheers Frank

Oh, great :-/ I'm going to have to get some extra tools...

 

[Vicus]

A = sealant 

1 = cowl top panel

3 = body / fire wall

 

[Vinnie]

A = sealant 

1 = cowl top panel

3 = body / fire wall

View attachment 54841

I see. I'm leaving the lower cowl section though. So there is nothing between the 2 cowl parts afterall, pfew

 

[tony-muscle]

Not that I know of.  
 

Try a panel separation knife / chisel.

View attachment 54800

The panel chisel is your best friend after using the spot weld cutter tool.

 

[73MustangCoupe]

For the upper panel that is not going to be saved, I take a grinding wheel and grind that panel very thin.  Then the panel separating knife can tear it off (like foil) with only light tapping with a hammer.  

 

[midlife]

Let us know if you find Simon Cowl. :biggrin:

 

[71ProjectJunk]

I never used one but it makes me think you end up with completely f-ed up sheet metal?

The sheet metal that you are wanting to remove will end up looking like the top of a can of sardines when you crack it open, it will roll up into a ball as you push the air hammer through it if it is thin and not held up by something, but usually what you are removing will not be reused. The part of the sheet metal that you are not removing should be for the most part unaffected by the air hammer. Do not use an air hammer if you are looking to reuse the sheet metal that you are removing, but if you are changing the cowl panel, an air hammer will take it out so fast it will make your head spin, it just blows through the spot welds in seconds, then lifts the sheet metal till you get to the next spot weld, and then it is blown out in seconds and you go onto the next. This is not a precision tool, but when you are just removing sheet metal that will go into the trash, it goes super fast.

 

[Vinnie]

Yea, but I ~am~ keeping the top panel and need to put it back after I repair the lower panel...

I'll find a way, I usually do