I am going to be do a cowl repair on my 66 SJ coupe in the next week or so. I expect to cut out spot welds and remove the upper cowl to access the hat area. Once that's done I'll install patch panels or maybe I can just replace the hats. If I need only replace the hats, I'll free the hat section from the new cowl patch panels I've purchased. Then either weld them in place or maybe use an appropriate adhesive.
When it comes time to replace the upper cowl I expect that I should seal the joint between the upper and lower cowls. I have been looking at weld thru sealant that is meant to be used between panels that are spot welded together. I have two concerns. First I'm not really spot welding the cowls together as is done at the factory. It's more like plug welding at all those locations where I have cut out the factory spot welds. I'm not sure if the sealant will withstand that kind of heat over the time it takes to plug weld each spot. Second some of these weld thru sealants are designed to expand under heat such as the body would experience when the paint is baked. I don't know if I could heat the joint to 200 to 250 degrees without damaging the existing paint.
With all this said. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to seal the joint between the upper and lower cowl or any comment on any other aspect of what I am proposing.
Thanks
