1928 cowl panel

[4banger]

Is the front side cowl panel removable on a 1928 tudor with the gas tank removed and the body on the frame ?

[wrndln]

I am not sure what you are asking. The cowl and lower part of the firewall are spot welded and riveted together. It is a real job to separate the two cowl panels from the subrail extensions and firewall. It is realtuvely easy to remove the whole cowl/firewall assembly from the body on a 28/29 if the gas tank is already removed. I have done it several times. There are 6 or so bolts attaching the cowl to the A pillar on both sides and a single rivet attaching the subrail extensions to the subrails on each side. Once the bolts and the 2 rivets (drilled out) are removed, the cowl assembly will come off. Maybe I didn't understand what you were asking, but I hope this helps.
Rusty Nelson

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Nope, gonna be tough to get to the bottom where it is attached to the sub-rail extension.

.

[4banger]

thanks for the help guys. I have a little rot on the pass side cowl that needs to be repaired. I have had the car since 1977 and it hasn't gotten any worse. I need a winter project. I assume the bolt that needs to be removed on the sill is the body mount Removing the firewall cowl ass'y doesn't bother the doors or the windshield housing or does it John

[wrndln]

4banger,
If the cowl only is rusted out, you can install a hommade patch panel. I have done that several times. I just take a pnuematic air cut off tool (3" disc type) and cut the rusted area out and then cut the same sized piece from a piece of 16 gauge metal, shaping it a little and welding it in place using magnets or clamps to align the old metal with the new patch. With a grinder you can dress down the welds and using a little bit of plastic filler, make the cowl like it did when new. It is much easier than trying to replace the whole thing. I have so pictures I took when I was doing the first one if you want to see them.
Rusty Nelson

[glenn in camino]

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Everything is removable with the right tools.

[4banger]

Rusty,
I plan on repairing the panel not replacing it. I need to detach the cowl from the pillar to replace the lacing. I plan on taking the parts to the body shop for repairing and painting. leave the car in my shop. 4banger

[wrndln]

4banger,
What I previously posted is what you have to do to remove the cowl from the body, assuming the gas tank is removed. I assume you know how to do that. Removing the gas tank is not a big job, but a lot of bolts and nuts to remove that may be rusted together. Sometimes is it a surprise when you look under the subrail extensions once the cowl assembly is removed. Trapped moisture between the subrail extensions, body pads and the frame can cause some serious rust issues. Hopefully your car's subrails are not too bad.
Rusty Nelson

[dean from bozeman]

Is the front side cowl panel removable on a 1928 tudor with the gas tank removed and the body on the frame ?

4 Banger, I believe that if you want to leave the body on the frame that the least you would need to do is to loosen all body to frame bolts and raise up the front of the body a couple inches (an inch at least).

There are several rivets that you will need to drill out and then center punch out. I forget the size of the last drill bit but use a 1/4" and then go a bit larger until it is loose and can be taken out. Do not use too large of a drill bit.

The cowl section (without the gas tank) can then slide off of the subframe of the body. It will be a section that includes the firewall and both cowl sides. You will then be able to do the body work.

Dean

[cdlamb]

Do you have to replace the rivets with more rivets on reassembly or would some flat head bolts work okay. Building a daily driver not a show car.

[100IH]

I think that the whole body would have to be off to replace the rivets the right way. The cowl and A pillar have everything to do with hood alignment AND door alignment.

[wrndln]

You wouldn't need to remove the whole body, just the cowl after the gas tank was removed. There are the body (cowl) bolts to the frame that would need to be removed and the cowl to A pillar line of bolts. There is also one rivet on each side that secures the subrail extensions to the main subrails. Once all the bolts and the 2 rivets are removed, the cowl can be removed. I have done this on 3 model A's to more easily weld in patches and perform body work. Once the cowl is removed you can replace the cowl. However, I have never needed to remove the actual cowl panels, I just cut out the rusted area and butt weld in patches where the rust was in the original cowl panels. It is much easier than trying to replace the cowl panels with questionable repro parts and with minimal filler and the cowl panels look like new.
Rusty Nelson