Cowl/Firewall rust patching

[lahatte]

I am restoring a 1971 cuda, and it has many pinholes in the lower cowl (upper part of firewall panel). This lower cowl area needs to be solid to keep water out of the interior of the car. I would prefer not to have to change this panel if I can avoid it.

I think I can cover most of the small holes with a body filler (but suggestions are welcomed). The worst part is where this lower cowl panel turns down from flat (it becomes the firewall) meets the upper cowl panel. There are some holes rusted at the intersection on the lower cowl.

I have cut some of the metal out and had planned to weld in new pieces. But now I'm thinking it might be better, and easier, to patch with some kind of glue in patch.

I have no experience with gluing panels, so any advice is appreciated.

See this for a picture of the upper cowl and lower cowl/firewall assembly.
http://www.autometaldirect.com/UserD...rge/100498.jpg

Thanks.
Clay

[SamG]

Problem is, anything you do other than replacing the rusty metal with new metal is only a temporary fix...

As painful as it sounds, best fix would be to open it up and replace that metal with new stuff. The availability of that nice replacement piece is definitely a luxury.

SamG

[lahatte]

I forgot to mention, the panel has been sand blasted, so the metal is clean. The blasting is what made a lot of the little holes appear. Many of the holes are about 1/8" diameter.

Thanks.
Clay

[Eddie]

You can make your own patch panels and glue or weld them in. I had to do that on the Hot Rod Lincoln; parts of the window channel were gone when I removed the windshield. The windshield had cracked in these places.

The repair has held for 2 years so far with no cracks or leaks. I cut all the rust out.

If I could have gotten my hands on a new replacement cowl like you showed us, I would have been all over it.