Anyone ever install one of these? Looking for advise

wowzer911 · 03-24-2007, 08:59 AM

unclebilly · unclebilly's Garage

Have you cut out the old one yet?

Tim K · 03-24-2007, 06:11 PM

I've cut into the area below the windshield before, and let me say, this area becomes very flimsy when disconnected at the sides. I'd suggest maybe taking some measurements from the trunk floor at various locations (if you haven't already cut it out). When it's done, the transition between the cowl and the top of the hood will show how well this went back in. It would be a good idea to mount the hood prior to doing too much welding. If possible, I'd leave the hood on and use it to check alignment along the way. I would also hang the fenders to ensure that the "height" along the sides are correct, as these areas should also be flush at the mating surfaces.

This area was pre-stressed (on mine at least), and after just removing this little corner, the area dropped about 1/4". Here you can see the area being supported to maintain alignment.

After:

Closer to the windshield frame, I would think that alignment would become easier as the mating flanges are well defined.

Hope this helps.

Tim K

wowzer911 · 03-24-2007, 09:15 PM

Thanks, I have not cut out any of the existing yet. Just trying to find out what some of the pitfalls are.

wowzer911 · 03-30-2007, 03:34 AM

.

Kemo · 03-30-2007, 07:56 AM

wowzer911,

i would think that you wouldnt have to use the entire piece. Of course, I dont know how much rust you have.

you have any pics? you could localize each area of rust, mark and cut from the donor peice and just tack in what you need.

wowzer911 · 03-30-2007, 09:02 AM

Well, I have not disassembled anything yet, but on the car, the sill (at wiper locations) is dented up and I wanted to replace with this new one. And my windsheild leaks at the bottom corner of the drivers side. The seal seems to have popped out at this location only, and I suspect that the seal retainer lip has rusted. So at a minimum, I am planning on installing the sill portion entirely. It looks to be much more complicated to install the entire piece. Looks like it mates up at the rain gutter. Also, I'm not sure what I'm getting into at the inner dash area. I'm assuming the sill is attached (welded) to the underdash? I had thought it would be easier to install the sill piece as a whole, rather than cutting it up into little pieces and weld them in. Maybe I'm wrong?

Tim K · 03-30-2007, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by wowzer911
...I'm not sure what I'm getting into at the inner dash area. I'm assuming the sill is attached (welded) to the underdash?

That's correct.

Quote:

Originally posted by wowzer911
I had thought it would be easier to install the sill piece as a whole, rather than cutting it up into little pieces and weld them in. Maybe I'm wrong?

I had to replace both lower corners of the windshield frame (and construct a piece of the dash at the mating flange), plus a couple of other small repairs (in my previous post).

I had a complete panel to replace this area, but I elected to tackle these problem areas one at a time. When I thought about trying to recreate the gap between the hood and the cowl, and if not everything went back 'just so', the decision became easier. I'm not saying it can't be done. I'm not even saying that it would be more difficult than multiple smaller repairs. I just didn't think it was worth finding out.

Tim K