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bodyguys opinion on how i should fix this #1346437 12/05/12 04:41 PM 12/05/12 04:41 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 5,948 British Columbia C chrisf OP master
chrisf OP master C Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 5,948 British Columbia	i had my soda blaster out today and thought i would roll my demon out of the shop and see how bad the damage to the top of the cowl is. in 1984 it was parked when he hit a road sign and pushed the hood edge into the cowl. he "fixed" it with the slide hammer. slide hammer holes and pretty wavy in about a 10" area i have a complete 71 firewall so replacing the top of the cowl all isnt a issue but do i need to? want it correct and fixed right but just curious if i am creating more work than i need. vent fins arent damaged. replace the whole thing? patch? i think i am leaning towards the whole cowl. opinions please 7490417-IMG_0232(400x300).jpg (165 downloads)

Re: bodyguys opinion on how i should fix this [Re: chrisf] #1346438 12/05/12 08:22 PM 12/05/12 08:22 PM
Joined: Oct 2011 Posts: 290 Dayton, WA wesgtx440 enthusiast
wesgtx440 enthusiast Joined: Oct 2011 Posts: 290 Dayton, WA	If it were mine, I would replace the whole thing. 68 Charger R/T 440 auto

Re: bodyguys opinion on how i should fix this [Re: chrisf] #1346439 12/05/12 08:31 PM 12/05/12 08:31 PM
Joined: May 2008 Posts: 958 eastern, pa. C cudabitten super stock
cudabitten super stock C Joined: May 2008 Posts: 958 eastern, pa.	Either way, looks like you are going to be welding and grinding. I guess if I were doing it, I would try to get a dolly inside the cowl, and try to hammer everything flat and straight. Then weld up the puller holes. If thats not doable then section it out and weld your donor piece in. I would try those two approaches first, and if I didnt like how it was going, I would use the last resort and replace the whole piece. This is just how I would do it. I think you can definitely section it and make it look good. On the other hand would it be benificial to open the cowl up to get to any other areas that need attention?

Re: bodyguys opinion on how i should fix this [Re: wesgtx440] #1346440 12/05/12 08:33 PM 12/05/12 08:33 PM
Joined: Jan 2006 Posts: 166 MINNESOTA B BRONZEBEE member
BRONZEBEE member B Joined: Jan 2006 Posts: 166 MINNESOTA	Mig welder,grinder and work it slow to keep the heat down.

Re: bodyguys opinion on how i should fix this [Re: BRONZEBEE] #1346441 12/05/12 08:46 PM 12/05/12 08:46 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 7,978 Bethel Ct A AdamR master
AdamR master A Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 7,978 Bethel Ct	You can straighten it out, pull it with a stud welder, hammer dolly work, weld, grind etc. Probably easier to replace it.

Re: bodyguys opinion on how i should fix this [Re: cudabitten] #1346442 12/05/12 09:05 PM 12/05/12 09:05 PM
Joined: Mar 2010 Posts: 1,880 Out in Left Field, NY B bobs66440 top fuel
bobs66440 top fuel B Joined: Mar 2010 Posts: 1,880 Out in Left Field, NY	Quote: Either way, looks like you are going to be welding and grinding. I guess if I were doing it, I would try to get a dolly inside the cowl, and try to hammer everything flat and straight. Then weld up the puller holes. If thats not doable then section it out and weld your donor piece in. I would try those two approaches first, and if I didnt like how it was going, I would use the last resort and replace the whole piece. This is just how I would do it. I think you can definitely section it and make it look good. On the other hand would it be benificial to open the cowl up to get to any other areas that need attention? I would try to work it and weld up the holes. If you start welding in sections, you run the risk of the welded seams coming back to haunt you at a later date. And if too much heat is applied you could end up with worse warpage than you have now. That can definitely be massaged back into shape.

Re: bodyguys opinion on how i should fix this [Re: AdamR] #1346443 12/05/12 09:05 PM 12/05/12 09:05 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 5,948 British Columbia C chrisf OP master
chrisf OP master C Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 5,948 British Columbia	thanks guys. my only issue with replacement is having to plug weld it back in rather than the factory spot welds. i have access to a spot welder but going to have to do a bunch of welding to fill the holes from the donor too. any tricks to make a plug weld look like a spot weld? lol

Re: bodyguys opinion on how i should fix this [Re: chrisf] #1346444 12/05/12 09:47 PM 12/05/12 09:47 PM
Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 936 O OLD318 super stock
OLD318 super stock O Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 936	My If that is the only damage to that cowl... Then I personally would NOT opt to replace it... You can weld those holes shut (slowly, carefully) and repair the area, much quicker than you can replace the whole cowl. I would not section the area out either... Just take your time... Fill 1 hole at a time and grind it smooth... Easy on the heat... Easy on the grinder... Say to yourself over and over.... "There are worse jobs on a mopar..." "There are worse jobs on a mopar... and you'll be fine! Best of luck to you

Re: bodyguys opinion on how i should fix this [Re: OLD318] #1346445 12/06/12 12:20 AM 12/06/12 12:20 AM
Joined: Apr 2005 Posts: 1,528 Southeast PA 5wndwcpe pro stock
5wndwcpe pro stock Joined: Apr 2005 Posts: 1,528 Southeast PA	You might want to look into a shrinking disc as well. When they used the slide hammer, they stretched the surrounding metal. You'll need to shrink the metal in order to work it flat again. Welding the plugs will help, but may not be enough. 1968 GTX hardtop 1968 Sport Satellite Convertible 383/4spd 1933 Plymouth coupe 2002 Ram 2500 oil burner 4x4 2015 Grand Cherokee 2013 Challenger 1957 Chrysler Saratoga Man...I need a bigger freakin' garage.

Re: bodyguys opinion on how i should fix this [Re: chrisf] #1346446 12/06/12 01:14 AM 12/06/12 01:14 AM
Joined: Mar 2007 Posts: 417 Caledon, Ontario smac77 mopar
smac77 mopar Joined: Mar 2007 Posts: 417 Caledon, Ontario	Relpacing the cowl isn't a real difficult job, we do them all the time.. just grind your plug weld smooth- carefully- then use the spot welder to replicate the spots.... I say this becuase most "home" spot welders out there don't have enough power to make a good structural bond on thier own. If you're good with a mig or tig you can make a puddle that looks like a spot... or you can do the old fashioned trick of using a pencil eraser in the wet primer to make a fake spot weld.. works great.. Restoration, Sales and Canadian Distributor For: AMD Sheetmetal Wizzard Direct Fit, Bolt In Aluminum Radiators Legendary Interiors SSBC & Wilwood Brakes Control Freak Suspensions Fine lines Tubing and many more... www.macleanclassics.com

Re: bodyguys opinion on how i should fix this [Re: smac77] #1346447 12/06/12 01:42 AM 12/06/12 01:42 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 42,714 Spokane Washington ScottSmith_Harms Mr Wizzard
ScottSmith_Harms Mr Wizzard Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 42,714 Spokane Washington	LAST resort would be to replace the cowl, that looks totally savable but will definately take some work. I've seen 10 botched home brewed cowl replacements for every one good one and in any case (as a perspective buyer, etc.) I'd ALWAYS like to see the original cowl (and as much of the other original factory installed sheet metal) still in place.

Re: bodyguys opinion on how i should fix this [Re: ScottSmith_Harms] #1346448 12/06/12 09:23 AM 12/06/12 09:23 AM
Joined: May 2008 Posts: 958 eastern, pa. C cudabitten super stock
cudabitten super stock C Joined: May 2008 Posts: 958 eastern, pa.	I was thinking about this post and had to come back to it. The other guys are right about Not sectioning this area. I recently did a similar repair and had issues with warping on thinner metal like this. I'll post a pic to show that repair unfinished. An added tip might be to use a piece of copper under the holes and cut small pieces of sheetmetal to help fill in the hole itself. I have a few pics from when I welded up my hood pin holes last month. The triangular piece of copper I bought from eastwood is soft and can be used to push up against the underside, it has come in handy on my project. You can also use a magnet to help hold the small pieces in place.

Re: bodyguys opinion on how i should fix this [Re: chrisf] #1346449 12/06/12 03:47 PM 12/06/12 03:47 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 9,670 Lima, Peru domingo EL Master
domingo EL Master Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 9,670 Lima, Peru	Quote: i had my soda blaster out today and thought i would roll my demon out of the shop and see how bad the damage to the top of the cowl is. in 1984 it was parked when he hit a road sign and pushed the hood edge into the cowl. he "fixed" it with the slide hammer. slide hammer holes and pretty wavy in about a 10" area i have a complete 71 firewall so replacing the top of the cowl all isnt a issue but do i need to? want it correct and fixed right but just curious if i am creating more work than i need. vent fins arent damaged. replace the whole thing? patch? i think i am leaning towards the whole cowl. opinions please mig weld em shut, try to get it as good as you can and then after you are done, lead it. www.realsteel.com sells the stuff you need to lead it.

Re: bodyguys opinion on how i should fix this [Re: domingo] #1346450 12/06/12 07:42 PM 12/06/12 07:42 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 5,948 British Columbia C chrisf OP master
chrisf OP master C Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 5,948 British Columbia	thanks guys. i am going to try the repair first. i will just take my time and i am sure it will turn out fine. i have a few bodyshops as customers and one of them has a pretty sizeable bill right now with me so i will give them a call if i have any problems. (aka they can fix my screw ups) i have the parts as well so i can replace too. lots of options

Re: bodyguys opinion on how i should fix this [Re: AdamR] #1346451 12/06/12 11:52 PM 12/06/12 11:52 PM
Joined: Nov 2009 Posts: 252 Seattle, WA. E edp enthusiast
edp enthusiast E Joined: Nov 2009 Posts: 252 Seattle, WA.	Quote: You can straighten it out, pull it with a stud welder, hammer dolly work, weld, grind etc. Probably easier to replace it. stud welder, hammer & dolly, shrinking disc, weld holes & grind. done correctly you'll end up with very little filler & not having to replace the cowl piece which I imagine is a lot of work. Good luck.

Re: bodyguys opinion on how i should fix this [Re: edp] #1346452 12/07/12 12:02 AM 12/07/12 12:02 AM
Joined: Mar 2006 Posts: 9,835 MI, usa dvw master
dvw master Joined: Mar 2006 Posts: 9,835 MI, usa	I've replaced and repaired. This particular one was cut off next to the vent. The inner cowl was gone. Fabbed up an inner, repaired the outer and put it back on. I think yours could be repaired with out removal. Doug 7492387-0722122136a.jpg (52 downloads)

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