I am getting my 69 ready to go to the body man and I was taking all the chrome,bumpers,etc.off to et it ready,and When I took the chrome peice under the front window off I noticed the screws wasnt holding at all and when I got the the pass side,someone had laid the clear silicone to it,well to mak a long story short the piece of metal below my front window is just about ate plum up I mean bad,do they make that peice or what will I have to do?The cowl is not hurt,I would have never known it till I took that chrome strip off it is also where my wiper arms bolt to,If worse comes to worse I guess I can go to sundells and have them cut one out of a parts car if they will.Please help! :(

I guess it really depends on how bad it is for others to reply...got any pics?

Mine was "pretty bad", as far as I'm concerned, and I was bale to repair mine..probably not the "show way", but repaired. I used the POR-15 Putty and then the POR-15.

There are pics of mine on the "engine / cowl detailing" link below...for comparison..

Hope this helps,

funny thing it just so happens i pulled that lower stainless trim off this afternoon, and it don't look so pretty under there graemlins/angry.gif .unfortunately the paint was done with that and the wiper arms left on, the rest of the trim was completely removed from the car. i thought it would be easier to remove this and clean it up real good before putting the other trim parts back in place,now were talkin' some real tlc needed there and may have to pop the windshield graemlins/sad.gif
john

Thanks for the posts guys,I think you done a heck of a good job on yours jerry.I have is bad though there is nothing to even screw the crome onto min it is completely rusted out almost all the way across,I can get 2 fingers in most of it.I found out the dont reproduce that peice either so I will have to get the whole cowl from a doner car somewhere,hopefully sundells will have one,if not Ill have to goto johns classics in Georgia.I thought my car was in pretty good shape and then that hit me in the face.Oh well It could be worse I guess.I could not have a chevell to find rusted out parts on I guess. :(

I've seen plenty of posts about this area. I know a few here and had to get this piece from a donor car as well.

Good luck.

I found the same thing two years ago while dismantling me 66 for the rebuild. My lower stainless was gone and I could look down and actually see the floorboard! I didn't notice it until I removed the windshield. I had rust in the strip that the glass sits in and extending into the dash almost to the defroster vents. Luckily the repair strips for that exact area were available at Year One, and I actually weld graemlins/thumbsup.gif ed them in myself.

Thanks for the idea,I called year one and goodmark and for 69 they dint make a repair panel or cowl yet.But the good news is I found a good one that was already cut out of a doner car at Auto Obsession,it even has the dash panel and sides with it shipping and all just cost 250.00 I was happy to find it thats for sure I called a couple more places but they didnt have any good ones left.I just dred getting it put in I hope my Paint/body man dont charge an arm and a leg to put it in,but it has to be done.If anyone has any suggestions or hints on installing itor anything let me know. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Just about 4 months ago I helped a friend repair this area on a 68 SS, his was gone on the passenger side. We fabricated a section to fit in there and it was a lot of work. When complete the repair is invisible because of the trim so it came out alright.

I have a 69 SS with the same problem and my only advise is to do it right or you will have water leaks down the road. I bet this will be somewhat expensive to have repaired even with the part you purchased.

Thanks for the advise,and I am affraid it is going to be expensive,my car goes to the painter on the 17th and he hasnt seen it yet,but I am affraid of what he is going to say,I will let you all know what it costs,if I dont have a heart attack when I find out. :(

Crowenate, I saw that cowl panel in the OPG catalog or the Paddock for about $100. I too will have to replace this panel.

Kevin

I called OPG and the one they have is for 67 down,I wish I could have found just the strip under the window,that is all I needed If I had'nt took that chrome strip off id never have known.I just a dred finding out what it is going to cost to install it. :(

I've got a magazine at home called Cars & Parts. Last month's issue, they did replace around this area on a '69SS. The main article was around taking out and replacing the window channel, but they do mention (as you can see in pictures) where they also replace the cowl.

If nothing else, maybe you can get ahold of their shop and ask how many hours that one took?

Thanks for the idea,I am taking the window out tommorow,and cleaning all the sealer off for my body.paint man so maybe it wont seem so bad when he sees it.

I just did that on my 68. The dude that had it before me RTV'd the trim piece over a huge series of holes. :rolleyes: I cut the cowl out of my parts car and replaced the whole thing as a unit. As you know it's the dash top and cowl piece. Not an easy task by any means. The hardest part was cutting the old one out and leaving enough metal to be able to graft the new piece in place. The job came out alright, you can definatly tell major work was done but since it is covered by the trim piece I really don't care. It worked and looks good. Best of luck with your project, I feel your pain.... -J

Just be sure and keep the "original" VIN tag on the current dash intact. Even if you have to cut out an area of dash and graft it into the replacement.

Thanks for the sempathy,I could imagine how hard it is,I thought about doing it myself but I will stick to the engine,tranny,and rearend and leave the body work to somebody else. graemlins/sad.gif

Did you check out the rust buster thread? Looks like they have someone in Tenn. Not sure if they rep the product, or offer the service. But sure would like to know what they charge for something like this.
Terry

Johns Classics?? If you go there, say hi to John and Becky for me. They are great people and very very helpfull.

Originally posted by mkarstm:
Johns Classics?? If you go there, say hi to John and Becky for me. They are great people and very very helpfull. Ditto! I'm very lucky that John's just a short drive from here. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Nate, I checked my catalogs again. Ground Up offers this panel. Check it out, it says "GM all models"

Kevin

Oh,really.Ill check it out right now. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

I just called ground up to order that and he said it went to 67 also and the have them for 68-69 camaro's but on 68-72 chevelles you have to cut them out,oh well thanks for trying.

I'm sorry Nate, in mores way than one :( . I think I found a good donor car though.

Regards, Kevin