I recently purchased a "work in progress" '66 Chevelle. Overall the body is surprisingly solid considering it was sitting in a field for possibly 20 years in lower Alabama.

The largest isssue I'm going to have is the cowl to dash area. The sill that the lower portion of the windshield sat is gone. Rusted away completely from post to post. the only thing keeping the dash from falling off is the support brace bolted underneathe it from the inner firewall.

The guy who started the restoration bought a replacement piece. This thing had been chopped from another 66 and includes half the firewall up to half the windshield posts.

I would rather replace the immediate area and not chop the entire area out to match the replacement. I also would prefer not to chop that section I need from the replacement piece.

Is anyone aware of a replacement piece available that would serve my needs?

BTW Hello to everyone. I expect you'll see me posting quite alot here in the next few years smile.gif

I put that piece in my '66 a while back. You can ge tthe replacement piece from most of the sheet metal suppliers or they can order it for you. It is the lip that the windshield sits in and runs across the entire bottom from post to post.

The problem you may have is that the piece actually spot welds in to the underlying metal and then to the dash itself. You may have to add a piece of metal to build the base for the actual windshield track. It would be entirely covered by the track. Think of it as an full insert once you get the old piece out. I don't have a picture of it, but you can find it in the catalogs or on the web at one of the sites.

Jim Dryer Chevy parts in Stockton, CA should have it as well as OPM or even Year One and especially some of the sponsor links here.

Once you see the piece you will understand it better. If the area was in better shape on your car and you wanted to replace it, you would have to cut out all the spot welds and lift the piece out. The new piece would sit in the remaining groove and be tack welded back to the underlying metal. Drill holes in the replacement track every 3-4 inches and then tack it to the metal under it is the best way I can describe it. Then tack it to the dash itself from top or bottom. Grind, smooth and paint

It's a pain in the rear, but nothing others have not had to do several hundred times. If all the surrounding metal is gone, then you have to replace all that before you can replace the windshield track. Hopefully someone here might have pictures.

Good Luck and Merry Christmas

I put that piece in my '66 a while back. You can ge tthe replacement piece from most of the sheet metal suppliers or they can order it for you. It is the lip that the windshield sits in and runs across the entire bottom from post to post.

The problem you may have is that the piece actually spot welds in to the underlying metal and then to the dash itself. You may have to add a piece of metal to build the base for the actual windshield track. It would be entirely covered by the track. Think of it as an full insert once you get the old piece out. I don't have a picture of it, but you can find it in the catalogs or on the web at one of the sites.

Jim Dryer Chevy parts in Stockton, CA should have it as well as OPM or even Year One and especially some of the sponsor links here.

Once you see the piece you will understand it better. If the area was in better shape on your car and you wanted to replace it, you would have to cut out all the spot welds and lift the piece out. The new piece would sit in the remaining groove and be tack welded back to the underlying metal. Drill holes in the replacement track every 3-4 inches and then tack it to the metal under it is the best way I can describe it. Then tack it to the dash itself from top or bottom. Grind, smooth and paint

It's a pain in the rear, but nothing others have not had to do several hundred times. If all the surrounding metal is gone, then you have to replace all that before you can replace the windshield track. Hopefully someone here might have pictures.

Good Luck and Merry Christmas

Sorry, hit the reply button too many times.

Thanks alot. I think I saw the replacement piece you are referring to at Goodmark or NPD it seemed to cover the entire dash length but was listed as only 2in wide. I didn't think that would cover the extent of my lost metal.

If I can figure out how to add more photos to my home page without them going all whacked I'll include a photo of the damaged section.

Thanks for the advice and I was worried there would not be a 1 piece replacement for the amount of damage I have. Well there is and I have it but like I said I would really rather not chop that much out of my car. I can see fabricating a section to fill in what isn't included in the standard replacment piece.

Thanks again.