Hi all, I recently took my windsheild out (leaks) and was going to replace the cowl/windsheild area as I had seen a good write up on a 66 on 65GS.com Well first 65 the cowl and dash panel are one piece (66 is spot selded in place) so I am a little shy about cutting the dash from one side to the other as I am not the greatest welder. Has anyone here done this and is there any pointer? I am half tempted to sand and patch the few holes and forget about it till the body comes off again (long story short is it went on a Gran Sport frame and drivetrain and it is a summer driver, until funds get to the point to do it all the way) Also what type of body filler should I use to fill the pitts left by the rust, Bondo or ALLmetal? Or is there a better filler that will not promote more rust in the future? Thanks, Jim
My 67 was just spot welded onto both the dash metal and the support on the cowl, so I can't help you there. You might consider some of the two part epoxy putty. That stuff hardens hella hard and sands off pretty easy. It is water based so you just keep your hands wet, mold it together and then press it into the holes and smooth with a wet thumb or finger. Next day grab your 2" pad on a die grinder and smooth things out. Then coat the whole thing in epoxy primer or some moisture barrier paint, like zero rust, por15, yadda yadda. The epoxy primer seems to be the overall winner in a question I posed earlier. I even found a spray can of epoxy primer for about $23. So once you are done welding and grinding, pop the seal on the rattle can, shake to mix it up well and you have 5-7 hours of good two part epoxy primer in a rattle can before it hardens to a mass of garbage. Or you can break out your propane torch and try body lead. Or????
Let me know if you decide to replace it. Dealer Service Bulletin has a simplified procedure to make the change. Everything always looks easy in a book, done by someone else.
I have a 65 skylark 2 door no post and this part was just recently replaced. I have attached a couple of pics of before and after. Mine was pretty rusted so the option of a minor repair wasnt really an option. It was cut in a few places then ground flush with the dash. The dash was then smoothed out (holes filled, rust repair). The new piece was then spot welded in.
bschopflin, So did you cut it all out or merely spot weld the replacement to the dash as pictures are not that clear as mine the dash and the cowl are one piece, I wish it was spot welded in place as this is what I was thinking was involved before I took the windshield out Hey Steve if you have a copy or can scan a copy of the service procedure it would be greatly appreciated Thanks all for the info Jim
Jim, Found out mine is actually for the 68-72 A-body. This has the piece spot welded in place. I can still send it if you choose. It's 10 pages, send me your private e-mail or fax.
The replacement was just spot welded to the dash after the old piece had been cut out. Before the new piece was installed the dash was repaired.
Still a little confused, as on my car the Dash and the Cowl Panel is one piece so I assume all 65's are this way with that in mind, did you cut out the rot on your dash and the cowl piece and then only spot the replacement panel to the Dash in a few locations or did you cut off the cowl panel and then butt weld the replacement all along the edge where the dash and new cowl panel meet if you did only spot weld it did it mess the alignment of the windsheild any? I know the panel gets spot welded to the firewall/wiper area so maybe this is what I am missunderstanding Thanks again, Jim
The windshield channel is fully welded onto the dash, but the other part of the windshield channel is just attached to the cowl / firewall area with sealant. First step was to cut the windshield channel out. This was done with a cutoff wheel and grinder. The next step was to pull the channel out. you will have to clean up the sealant /glue. The dash had a couple of spots that needed repair but nothing a little weld build up couldn't fix. The new windshield channel was then spot welded back to the dash.
