Welding in Patch Panels on a Cowl
 

I just bought a welder and took an intro to welding class at the local tech school. I want to weld the patch panels into my roadster, however, the cowl is slightly curved and the patch panels are very straight.

How does one "bend" the metal so that it will be the proper curve on the cowl? :confused::confused::confused:

http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/...psqffpfg0e.jpg

http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/...psqawjgucl.jpg

Re: Welding in Patch Panels on a Cowl
 

It is good that you know the metal must have the correct shape before you try to weld it in place.

It is a compound curve.

You need guess where to stretch the metal with some hammer on dolly work.

They may not have taught you this, but you must understand the each weld is a shrink point. You must level the metal at the weld (I am assuming you are MIG welding) and do some hammer on dolly work to level the metal.

Keep in mind you need to do some small welds across the face, jumping around. Then grind and hammer. Keep that up till you have it fit.

With a bit of practice it is not hard to get a panel that just needs a few coats of a filling primer to be level.

Re: Welding in Patch Panels on a Cowl
 

It looks like the ones you have are not die stamped there just flat you could use a shrinker on the bottom lip that would maybe help a little.
here is our dies you can see the curve in them.

Re: Welding in Patch Panels on a Cowl
 

Uhhh, how much are yours? ;):confused::D

Re: Welding in Patch Panels on a Cowl
 

Very nice 'stuff' there Bill.

Re: Welding in Patch Panels on a Cowl
 

Nice to see someone making them right. It also looks like your panels have the right rolled bead that tapers away at the bottom instead of being straight up and down. Nice details.
John Poole

P.S. Please send me your contact info. JP

Re: Welding in Patch Panels on a Cowl
 

In the vast majority of rusty lower cowls the front area is normally quite OK . I leave that part intact and cut up vertically just behind this area . At the very back vertical return this is normally OK as well . When the front portion of the patch panel is removed it is far more flexible and it is easy to mold it to the compound curve of the cowl . If you make some spaced cuts in the bottom edge you can then bend the patch panel slightly to make the correct fore and aft curve . As your patch panel looks like the dead flat type and not die stamped this is the ideal fix , Just MIG the cuts shut when done . The pic I posted is of a homemade patch panel on my AA truck ,never got around to do dolly work and filler as other projects put it on the back burner . I have used a "flat" panel on my USA pickup in Sunny Chandler Az and used this system and it turned out fine . Also you know your cowl band will fit a treat !!!. The top picture is the homemade panel after the welding was completed ,it still had to be dollied and filled but you can see better where the welds are ,I put primer on it to protect it so I could get around to it another day . The second pic has the same welds on my AZ pickup ready for topcoat .

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/...cpu/Panel2.jpg

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/...ccpu/Panel.jpg

John in overcast cool Suffolk County England.

Re: Welding in Patch Panels on a Cowl
 

Model A fan, The fit up of the new panel with the cowl is critical for a good job. Make (or buy) the new patch panel first, then cut the cowl to fit. Use a small air grinder with a cutoff wheel. I start with a piece of wire (.030) to gap the pieces to allow for some pull. But I'll come to that later, Scribe the outline of the patch on the cowl and cut a hole slightly smaller. then open the hole. with the small grinder to get your fit. It bears saying again, Fit up is critical for a good job! When the pieces fit well, tack them together (1 second Blasts with the MIG ) For my job, go to my album under "My A", in there, you'll see how I did it with the three PPs I had to put in my cowl and got a pretty decent job.
Terry

Re: Welding in Patch Panels on a Cowl
 

Thanks Terry for your sharing your experiences concerning the most important and intricate steps of detailed information for obtaining perfect metal patch panel fit.

Re: Welding in Patch Panels on a Cowl
 

I would buy Bill Stipes patch panels and sell the others on ebay or at a swap meet.

I've never used an English wheel but can an English wheel be used to fix the flat panels?

Re: Welding in Patch Panels on a Cowl
 

I have used the flat panels when they were the only ones available. I used my schrinking/stretching machine to produce the correct curve.

Re: Welding in Patch Panels on a Cowl
 

I agree with Tom. Either do as he says buying new or see if you can find some good used ones. Suggestion would be talk to Bert's in Denver about used ones.

From my experience, which is maybe not that good, I did the same as you-took a number of welding classes, purchased welders and "tried" to weld up my panels. Well I gave up and bought some good use ones for my huckster.

The welding I did do on my hood, I found that brazing was best because it was lower heat and kept the metal from buckling. Anyway just some ideas from a limited experienced guy.

Re: Welding in Patch Panels on a Cowl
 

I bought Bill Stipe's years ago and had Mark Welch install them in my '30 Pickup. Mark who was the very best metal guy I've met (did Bill Edstrom's National Best of Show 400-A) told me those panels were the best repro panels he'd ever worked with. If something this good is available, why in the world would you use/do anything else?

Re: Welding in Patch Panels on a Cowl
 

Back in 1958 the lower cowl panels were rusted out and I went to the local junk yard and got a couple front doors for $5.00 and cut out pieces to get the curve and then formed the front and rear edges to match the old panel and brazed them in.

Re: Welding in Patch Panels on a Cowl
 

To learn more try these.
https://smartflix.com/store/video/15...ing-With-Steel

www.allmetalshaping.com

Re: Welding in Patch Panels on a Cowl
 

I would suggest not cutting the cowl to fit the patch. As a general rule in patch panels you cut out what needs to be cut from your bad panel and cut your replacement panel to fit. Leave as much factory material there as you can and then it may be easier to form the patch to fit. There are very few manufacturers out there that make really good panels. Sometimes you have to work with what you have or can get your hands on.

Re: Welding in Patch Panels on a Cowl
 

I used cowl panels that were curved, but also had a flange on the weld edge. Maybe this type will leave a seam inside the cowl, but it will be hidden by the kick panels anyway. As an extremely amateur welder, I think this type is easier to weld in, and easier to fill,to blend it in. This was the first cowl I tried to repair, and I think they came out very well-the repair is invisible to me. I can't remember what vendor I got the panels from,though.

Re: Welding in Patch Panels on a Cowl
 

this I agree with, just because the patch pannel is 6" high doesnt mean you have to use all of it.:p

i would scrounge around and practice on scrap modern fenders/hoods. body shops are a great source for banged up parts; if you tell them you want to practice they may give you a crumpled fender to practice with. may give you some pointers also!

Re: Welding in Patch Panels on a Cowl
 

I'm 16 years old and TIG welded panels in my late 31 pickup cab. They were the ones made by Bill Stipe. VERY NICE QUALITY!!!! You need the curve for a perfect fit. Well worth the $50. Attached are before and after photos.

Re: Welding in Patch Panels on a Cowl
 

surprisingly no one has mentioned weld-thru primer......