FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

Hi Guys,

Hilda is being slowly cured of her rust problem.

We have discovered that the rust situation in the pop-up cowl vent is serious. I am guessing that this is a comman problem. My panel beater has suggested that I cut the one out of my donor wagon to replace it rather than trying to repair all the little chanels and lips that are part of this system. Upon inspection of the other one it seems to be almost as bad. Not talking about the pop-up part but the recess in which it sits.

Does anyone have suggestions for a solution?? Is there a repro replacement? Does anyone have a good donor replacement.

Help!! ???

Emu - Frustrated Hilda retorer

solution ;)
ring mr streetneaty and pay him 75 bucks an hour  :'( :'(and get him to fabricate you one not a cheap option but probablly the longest term fix to hildas problem ??? ???
should  last forever then :-[


kiwi =solution finder for one of emus many many problems  ;D ;D

i wish i was in qld , just for streetneats proffesional skills, the poor old phantomibile needs lotsa body work as well.
                  Rusty

my panel beater also suggested cutting one out of a donor vehicle would be a WAY cheaper option that him repairing the cowl vent surround. I got one from Ken and the panel beater did a really nice job. Certainly no repros around as far as I know.

Jonno

OK,

I hear ya Jonno.

Ken, you got any more  ::)

One other option which has been taken by many before, weld up the vent hole after killing all the rust below.
Not the option I would go for but one which has been done before.

John M

Hey, Streetneat isn't the only qualified panel beater in the country. Check out some of the local restoration specialists and take a look at the work they're doing in the shop. Always good to see what the work looks like before paint. Ask questions, particularly around the specific job and what how they would do it. At the next classic car show, talk to some of the owners and ask them who did the work and are they happy with the result.
If you have a replacement cowl section with rust, it could still be repairable, and having it on a bench and not the car would make it easier to work on.
Another option is to check out your local TAFE. They run evening classes in panelbeating, and once you learn the basics, you can even work on your own car. This is a long term solution, but the skills you learn will be with you for life.
Regards
Alex

G'day all
               The phantomibile has the vent welded and bogged up and it looks shizenhouzen, it has craked all the way along the cowl, the whole cowl is has to be replaced bummer,
                                 Cheers Rusty

Emu
I agree with Alex on this one. I have been toying with the idea of TAFE myself and would like to do courses to cover, Panel Beating, Spray Painting & Welding and maybe a Mechanical course.

They run quite a few of these courses at our local TAFE so I would not have to travel to far.

I must pull my finger out and do something real soon.

PS, Grace's cowl vent looks to be in good nic pity the rest of her is a little rusty.

Cheers Jim

Here's an illustration of what I mean.
:'( :'( :'(

(http://photo.starblvd.net/Emu_FC/2-4-5-1085682620?m=1&pg=1&ro=3&co=4)

 And anotherie.

>:(  >:( >:(

(http://photo.starblvd.net/Emu_FC/2-5-1-1085683029?m=1&pg=1&ro=4&co=0)

the sight of all that rust makes me shiver.  I never want to take the paint of my cowl vent for fear of seeing that. ???

MICK

Emu
Not to good at all. I am sure you could fin a donor in much better condition than that.

If you are on the look out for one ask the guys at the next club run 2nd May. You never know your luck.

Cheers Jim

Hmm, definately not a good look.
The cowl on my FE lounge (the car that's mostly a teabag, but has a great arse :)) is in good shape.
If you are interested give us a hoi, a little something for the effort and postage would do, if you live near Sarge you can "combine and save on postage". As I will be sending an indicator housing up soon.
Just got some of those 1mm cut-off discs that StreetNeat's been talking about, good chance to try them out  ;D

Hey Stinky,

Very nice offer!!

My panel beater is coming today to look at my donor vent. I know it has some rust, but nowhere near as bad as Hilda. If its salvagable we are going to cut that out, if not, I'll be in touch.

Thanks again.

Matt F

Sorry - I dont have another one, but they are not that hard to get.  Yours is one of the worst I have seen. Just keep looking around and you will get a good one.
If no one else can find one I'm sure I can get one from a few wrecks I know of around here.

Ken

Emu
What did the bottom of the pillars and sills look like after sand blasting?
John M

I might be cutting up my spare donor wagon shell on the weekend.......could check out the cowl if you need it?
Cat

John,

The bottom of the pillars and sills were pretty shot. I am going to get into some serious reconstructive surgery. I'll take some shots next time I'm visiting Hilda at the Hospital ;D
I'll post some progress shots of the repairs too under "Hilda's Extreme Makeover" in the real cars section.

Thanks heaps to Ken, Cat, Stinky and Geoff who all offered to assist with cowl vent cut outs. I have cut the one out of my donor car which had a few small probs but much easier to repair than Hilda's. I'm sending it off to my sandblaster to see how it comes up. If its too far gone, I'll be singing out for help again to all you generous folk.

Thanks again.

Emu

ACTUNG!! Emu :o!! I have a donor Cowl that you may be interested in. Come and check it out - its already cut  from the car... Ring me on (07) 3206 0340  if you are interested. Its not anywhere near the poor condition of yours! I will have to check it properly  - but from memory I saved it because of its good condition... any way if it had a few pinholes I would supply it welded up ....
Alex(custom FC) is right Thankfully I'm not the only panel beater in the country capable of doing this sort of work ... other wise I would be hiding even harder... Oh  and some one else commented I was $75/hour... in my dreams... I am advertised as $50/hour but with rust work the bill only ever seems to get up to $20/hour >:(... otherwise the client gets poor very quickly b4 the job is finished...) I have never given a job back unfinished just because the client ran out of money..something I probably should keep quiet about :-X  Cheers streetneat