Rusty Cowl Vent

Brian Browning · 02-13-2001, 04:44 PM

I was reading in one of the magazines the other day where several people stated that fixing a cowl leak (from rust) was the hardest thing they've done to their Mustang.
Well, I've got one. Has anyone farmed this out to a body shop? I'm afraid its more than I'm willing to tackle. Any idea what I should expect to pay? I've got one of those covers that will get me by until I get the pennies saved up (I hope).

Rev · 02-13-2001, 07:11 PM

I think doing this in the absolute correct way is extremely expensive. How correct (concourse) do you really want it? There are repair kits out there that go in from the bottom that don't require the removal of the whole front of the car. Check with local Mustang restoring places. Every major metropolitan area has one. Find them through your local Mustang club.

Rev

Rev

------------------
'66 Coupe, 306, 300 HP, C-4, 13.97 e.t., 100.3 mph
1/4 mi.

Black-Sunshine · 02-13-2001, 07:50 PM

American Classics in Orange County California installed the kit in my car for $84 plus parts. It works perfectly. Its a plastic like mold that (bolts, screws or molds) to the bottom of the cowl. They also offer a $29 plastic cover that sits on the loovers above the cowl to keep it dry. I use mine to prevent water from sitting and rusting its also good if you park under trees a lot. Doesn't look to bad either.

Stefan · 02-13-2001, 09:44 PM

I went full guns on mine. I paid around $2300 and had the vents and all my floorboards taken care of at once. Many people have done the cheap fix and it has worked for them completely. It depends on what you feel comfortable doing. I didn't want to have the problem resurface so I did the full job. To do it right entails cutting all the little spot welds along the seam and removing the front glass. Kind of a big job. My 66 isn't pretty on the outside yet because all of my money has been spent on the drivetrain and rust problems. It is a daily driver so I wanted to get all the crap taken care of to keep the car from tearing itself apart. I also have the plastic cowl cover from NPD just to play it safe.
Basic point here(after my long-winded story

)is you pay for what you get. If you have a reputable body guy, get the full job done and worry no more.

floorboards
cowl fix 1
cowl fix 2

------------------
66 Tahoe Turquoise Coupe
Laser Red 96GT Ragtop
Both are slow but easy on the eyes!

[This message has been edited by Stefan (edited 02-13-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Stefan (edited 02-13-2001).]

Brian Browning · 02-14-2001, 08:35 AM

Thanks for the replys guys. Especially the pictures. I've been having a hard time picturing what it looks like under there from the parts catalogs, magazines and haynes manual. I've seen the repair kits and I'm not too concerned about a correct restoration. My numbers don't match anyway so I'm going more the restomod route. But, the pictures in the kits didn't look like they covered a lot of area. Do they do a good job of covering the area that's prone to rust? I'm assuming that the rust is going to continue to eat since I wouldn't be able to get in there and stop it. Bottom line, I've got one of those vent covers already, my paint job is in pretty good shape and I plan to drive the car quite a bit. Maybe my best shot is to install the repair kit and go for the full on when the paint job goes south.

Stefan · 02-14-2001, 09:36 AM

If you haven't already, you might want to pull up your carpet by the firewall and check out your floorboards. If they are starting to go it still might be in your best interest to do a full fix. On the other hand if its not too bad you can probably get away with the temp. repair. You just don't want to let it get bad enough to where it starts costing you money on other repairs. Mine is a daily driver so rust makes me paranoid.
Good luck!

------------------
66 Tahoe Turquoise Coupe
Laser Red 96GT Ragtop
Both are slow but easy on the eyes!

Brian Browning · 02-14-2001, 09:47 AM

Santa brought me new carpet, so I just had it out. There was some rust on the floorboards. I think I was able to fix it pretty well with POR and epoxy.

Jaydee · 02-14-2001, 11:28 AM

A friend of mine spent around $3,100 for a full cowl replacment and some otherwise minor floor work on his 66 coupe. There is lots of labor involved in doing this job and the going rates at body shops around here are not cheap.

------------------
1965 K code coupe - numbers matching - restoration ongoing. 1987 LX notch, stock heads and intake, 3.55's and typical bolt on's 13.89@100.25

Brian Browning · 02-20-2001, 02:29 PM

Hey everybody,
I picked up a magazine yesterday, I think it was Mustang Monthly, something like that. They had a really good feature on cowel vent repair/ replacement. I see where your 2300 and 3100 bucks went now. They said there were approximately 200 spot welds that had to be drilled out and then rewelded after the repair. Pretty scary numbers.

Stefan · 02-20-2001, 02:51 PM

I'm glad you picked up the magazine. I was going to see if you wanted me to scan the article in but now you have it. Keep in mind my repair included all new floorpans. It's still an expensive fix but if you find someone you trust i'm sure you can strike a deal with them.

------------------
66 Tahoe Turquoise Coupe
Laser Red 96GT Ragtop
Both are slow but easy on the eyes!

02-13-2001, 04:44 PM	#1
Brian Browning Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Hattiesburg, MS, USA Posts: 86	Rusty Cowl Vent I was reading in one of the magazines the other day where several people stated that fixing a cowl leak (from rust) was the hardest thing they've done to their Mustang. Well, I've got one. Has anyone farmed this out to a body shop? I'm afraid its more than I'm willing to tackle. Any idea what I should expect to pay? I've got one of those covers that will get me by until I get the pennies saved up (I hope).

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02-13-2001, 07:11 PM	#2
Rev Registered Member Join Date: Nov 1998 Location: Houston, Tx. Posts: 3,887	I think doing this in the absolute correct way is extremely expensive. How correct (concourse) do you really want it? There are repair kits out there that go in from the bottom that don't require the removal of the whole front of the car. Check with local Mustang restoring places. Every major metropolitan area has one. Find them through your local Mustang club. Rev Rev ------------------ '66 Coupe, 306, 300 HP, C-4, 13.97 e.t., 100.3 mph 1/4 mi.

02-13-2001, 07:50 PM	#3
Black-Sunshine Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Laguna Niguel Ca Posts: 46	American Classics in Orange County California installed the kit in my car for $84 plus parts. It works perfectly. Its a plastic like mold that (bolts, screws or molds) to the bottom of the cowl. They also offer a $29 plastic cover that sits on the loovers above the cowl to keep it dry. I use mine to prevent water from sitting and rusting its also good if you park under trees a lot. Doesn't look to bad either.

02-13-2001, 09:44 PM	#4
Stefan Registered Member Join Date: Dec 1998 Location: Manhattan, KS 66502 Posts: 599	I went full guns on mine. I paid around $2300 and had the vents and all my floorboards taken care of at once. Many people have done the cheap fix and it has worked for them completely. It depends on what you feel comfortable doing. I didn't want to have the problem resurface so I did the full job. To do it right entails cutting all the little spot welds along the seam and removing the front glass. Kind of a big job. My 66 isn't pretty on the outside yet because all of my money has been spent on the drivetrain and rust problems. It is a daily driver so I wanted to get all the crap taken care of to keep the car from tearing itself apart. I also have the plastic cowl cover from NPD just to play it safe. Basic point here(after my long-winded story )is you pay for what you get. If you have a reputable body guy, get the full job done and worry no more. floorboards cowl fix 1 cowl fix 2 ------------------ 66 Tahoe Turquoise Coupe Laser Red 96GT Ragtop Both are slow but easy on the eyes! [This message has been edited by Stefan (edited 02-13-2001).] [This message has been edited by Stefan (edited 02-13-2001).]

02-14-2001, 08:35 AM	#5
Brian Browning Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Hattiesburg, MS, USA Posts: 86	Thanks for the replys guys. Especially the pictures. I've been having a hard time picturing what it looks like under there from the parts catalogs, magazines and haynes manual. I've seen the repair kits and I'm not too concerned about a correct restoration. My numbers don't match anyway so I'm going more the restomod route. But, the pictures in the kits didn't look like they covered a lot of area. Do they do a good job of covering the area that's prone to rust? I'm assuming that the rust is going to continue to eat since I wouldn't be able to get in there and stop it. Bottom line, I've got one of those vent covers already, my paint job is in pretty good shape and I plan to drive the car quite a bit. Maybe my best shot is to install the repair kit and go for the full on when the paint job goes south.

02-14-2001, 09:36 AM	#6
Stefan Registered Member Join Date: Dec 1998 Location: Manhattan, KS 66502 Posts: 599	If you haven't already, you might want to pull up your carpet by the firewall and check out your floorboards. If they are starting to go it still might be in your best interest to do a full fix. On the other hand if its not too bad you can probably get away with the temp. repair. You just don't want to let it get bad enough to where it starts costing you money on other repairs. Mine is a daily driver so rust makes me paranoid. Good luck! ------------------ 66 Tahoe Turquoise Coupe Laser Red 96GT Ragtop Both are slow but easy on the eyes!

02-14-2001, 09:47 AM	#7
Brian Browning Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Hattiesburg, MS, USA Posts: 86	Santa brought me new carpet, so I just had it out. There was some rust on the floorboards. I think I was able to fix it pretty well with POR and epoxy.

02-14-2001, 11:28 AM	#8
Jaydee Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Conn. Posts: 220	A friend of mine spent around $3,100 for a full cowl replacment and some otherwise minor floor work on his 66 coupe. There is lots of labor involved in doing this job and the going rates at body shops around here are not cheap. ------------------ 1965 K code coupe - numbers matching - restoration ongoing. 1987 LX notch, stock heads and intake, 3.55's and typical bolt on's 13.89@100.25

02-20-2001, 02:29 PM	#9
Brian Browning Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Hattiesburg, MS, USA Posts: 86	Hey everybody, I picked up a magazine yesterday, I think it was Mustang Monthly, something like that. They had a really good feature on cowel vent repair/ replacement. I see where your 2300 and 3100 bucks went now. They said there were approximately 200 spot welds that had to be drilled out and then rewelded after the repair. Pretty scary numbers.

02-20-2001, 02:51 PM	#10
Stefan Registered Member Join Date: Dec 1998 Location: Manhattan, KS 66502 Posts: 599	I'm glad you picked up the magazine. I was going to see if you wanted me to scan the article in but now you have it. Keep in mind my repair included all new floorpans. It's still an expensive fix but if you find someone you trust i'm sure you can strike a deal with them. ------------------ 66 Tahoe Turquoise Coupe Laser Red 96GT Ragtop Both are slow but easy on the eyes!