I stole this pic from mav1970 (thank you!) and I'm wondering if I do cut away the grills will I have adequate access to the hats in order to weld them up? I don't want to replace the hats, just want to weld them flat. Also, will I have to remove the dash in order to do this? This is an AC car by the way. My main concern is being able to reach all around with the welder, I'm worried if I cut away the grill there might not be enough room to maneuver around the areas I need to weld.
can't see the pic... you know from my thread how i repaired the cowls. i wouldn't think that you have enough room if you just cut the grills. but if you have an ac car, doesn't if have only one vent in the first place (pass side)?
I'm actually not sure about that, gonna have to reach up there and see which side hat is on. I need to still do a leak test and see whether it's cowel or windshield. Can't imagine it being just windshield because water just pours in on the passenger side.
if its the windshield you can see it at the gasket usually. the cowel comes in under the dash and poors on the floor. how often does it rain in san diego?
doesn't rain that much down here but when it does it's for days. I'm not too worried really, I'll just open the drains on the floor and let the water pour out.
AC cars only have one hat/vent on the passenger side. You wont have adequate room to repair the hat through the grill area. If you remove the dash and the heater/AC box you can repair it from inside the car. Mo? Didnt you say you had a bad windshield install?? That would be the first thing to check if you have water leakage into the car.Good luck!
be carefull welding anywhere near dash, if the insulation under the dash catches fire its all over man, been there done that, but still drove the ugly beast daily for 6 months!!!!!
you know I'm pretty sure it's the windshield but I'm kinda just preparing for in case I have to do the repair.
I think that's the 1/2 a$$ed way to do it. If your going to goto that trouble, why not just drill out the rest of the welds, remove the whole top, and do it properly.
Like Dave said. I would figure it would be easier to drill out all the spot welds and remove the entire cowl than cut the end off. Then you don't have to do the bodywork to make visible seams look nice. Just re-spot weld the cowl back on. All those welds get covered up in the end.
Looks like more work than just removing the whole cover. I'd rather drill out the rest of the spot welds than have to do the butt joints in the exposed area. IMO, its better to have the exposed part of the cover unmolested.
That's right! just like Mavaholic did Check his thread out: http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=36382 Here's one of his picts.
Taking the whole top could be a chore for some. It is the best way I agree, but IF I was to cut it, I would cut it more around the center along a vent line.
