My 66 Dart has the very bad rust in the cowl area especially around the holes for the vent and heater box. The drivers side is completely gone. I tried making a patch panel and fiberglassing it in but it still leaks. Any ideas short of cutting open the cowl area? I also thought of welding in a panel over the opening at the base of the window since the car has no heater. Would this cause rainwater from the windshield to go directly under the hood? Any help would be deeply appreciated....

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1966 Dart GT
4 spd. OD conversion
8 3/4 - 3.55 SG (Sold)

62 Lancer GT
B Body 8 3/4

Ive asked about this on multiple sites and the only way is to cut out the cowl and weld in new stuff. My 65 was rusted bad also so I sealed it all up even though it rarely rains in california, and removed all the rust.
The fresh air vents rust out and this causes the cowl to rust too...i had water leaking in the car when it would rain...

Did you cut and weld?

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1966 Dart GT
4 spd. OD conversion
8 3/4 - 3.55 SG (Sold)

62 Lancer GT
B Body 8 3/4

not yet, used metal filler where i could after I got rid of the rust...dont have the tools to cut out the cowl area
There is a post somewhere around here where someone cut theirs out and took pictures

http://www.agar.homestead.com/71bc5.jpg

I personally want to cover the cowl since I have no heater also...it just lets in fresh air and if it rains where you are, the water runs down the hood lines/where there is a gasket when you open the hood at the back of the hood

Where did you get the picture?

_________________
1966 Dart GT
4 spd. OD conversion
8 3/4 - 3.55 SG (Sold)

62 Lancer GT
B Body 8 3/4

MOPARTS.COM where other members talked of the same problem

The way I attacked the problem was to get under the dash, take my time, and seal up the cowl totally with rust convertor/inhibitor so it will stop
Then I opened up the plugs under the hood, cleaned out all the rain gunk/leaves, and found a small rust hole near where the water exits the body so i drilled that out too
Voila...its all clean..yet wish i had welding experience to fix it further

I attached a pic where i outlined where someone should cut to access the vent holes...its simple and under the hood

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f198/ ... CN0441.jpg

If you cut the square part out that i outlined, you would have access to the vent hole and could weld, fix, whatever you desire...i dont mind water going under the hood instead of under my feet

It doesnt rain here much, and i dont know how to weld or i would do the job myself