Cars have several different systems, brake, steering, exhaust, etc, and you might call fresh air a system, or fresh air routing system. But how much time does that system get during a restoration when there are no obvious problems, such as rust, keep in mind it is the so-called fresh air that you are going to breath.

A lot of cars from the 50s and 60s have a fresh air grill in front of the windshield, such as the 55/56 chevy. I'll sell this car eventually as an easy project car, but I removed the cowl side covers to check for trash and rust.





Not sure how fresh the air is going to be after traveling this route.



Mustangs have the same system and I knew there was a problem because of the rust above the master cylinder.



After removing the right front fender for the first time in its life, there was this ugly mess hiding there. The right side drain hole is totally blocked.



This car was repainted once, its original red had more orange in it. Its a GT, with pony interior, remote mirror, AC, PS, and parking brake warning light. Other than the cowl, it doesn't have much rust, so its worth the effort.







The sealer is way past its life expectancy



The cowl top and bottom are reproduced, but I prefer to use original metal when ever possible.



























All the welds were done on the bench, and it was easier to weld from the back side.



This is the back side of the weld



Close to 200 spot welds to remove the top, and around 100 for the bottom























There are three cracks running from this hole, drilled a small hole at the end of each crack.





That was a lot of work, but the two panels lay flat, and the spot weld holes line up, so I know the fenders and hood will fit just as they did before. And thats much better than reproduction parts.

Great job on something most of us never consider! Got to ask you, with that many spot welds to drill out, what type of drill bit do you use? the "hole saw" type, or the carbide? Or is there something better (I hope!!!!)

Wow! Nice metal work.

Thanks guys.
I like using the Blair cutters, partly because of the three sizes 1/4", 5/16",and 3/8". Are you having trouble with the cutter walking away from the spot? I know I did, so I started drilling a 1/8" hole in the center of the spot. This pictures shows all three sizes, and two spots that were very close together.

Hey Chevman!
Awesome work glad to see you working again!!!

I truly hope to see more I learn so much from your stuff!

Thanks Dennis, I've been working on various projects, just slow. I don't post much
because it just takes so much time.
BTW, Separating spot welds after drilling, while trying to save the panel, quite
often involves chiseling the last bit loose, but only toward the center of the spot.
The weld is harder than the metal, so to chisel away from the center will tear the
metal, so I chisel one side of the spot weld, then the other side.

Finding a blade thin enough was not a problem, over the years I've used
different brands of putty knives, some last longer than others, but they are all
short lived. Then I found one from a trusted brand. Titan has been a favorite razor
scraper for a long time, and they have heavy duty razor blades as well.
[url]https://www.autotoolworld.com/Titan-17008-Scraper-22Pc-Set_p_218439.html?msclkid=ce9296ab26aa1e236e03f70405c61da6&utm_source=bing&utm_medium
=cpc&utm_campaign=Bing%20Shopping&utm_term=4584894775943782&utm_content
=Ad%20group%20%231[/url]

Then I noticed they have a heavy duty scraper much thicker than the typical putty knife,
but quite a bit thinner than the chisel made for this purpose.
[url]https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Titan-Tools-11500-Multi-Purpose-
Ridge-Scraper-1-25-Inch-St-Steel,65618.html[/url]

I have wanted to get the "STECK" panel knives for this purpose.

I found a very old Hardened Butcher Kitchen knife has worked well for me for years lol I am serious. Its looking a little worse for wear these days and have been looking for another why I been looking at trying the Steck brand.
I also Made a good one from a piece of an Old Leaf spring.
Finding really thin Spring leaves can be a little challenging But they last a long time.

These also look interesting:
https://www.grainger.com/product/35EM72 ... lsrc=aw.ds