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Thread: 55 56 cowl end covers

  1. #1
    Registered Member
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    Aug 2013

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    55 56 cowl end covers

    Here Is a tip for those who own relatively rust free cars.



    This is the drivers side cowl end cover. It has a drain hole at the bottom that gets clogged up and then holds water.



    This car is very solid and didn't have that problem, but it is a common problem with most 55 and 56 cars like this one.



    The point that I want to make is that even though there doesn't seem to be a problem in this area, it is still a good idea to remove both covers during a restoration. In the case of the clean turq 56 conv, there was some rust on the inside floor pan that would make you suspect the water was coming from this area, but it just makes sense to clean and paint everything under those covers anyway because this is where you get your fresh air.

    This is what was found after removing that cover.



    It's not that uncommon since the air intake grill is open on top for anything to fall into and get caught on the gutter, or the drain hole at the bottom.



    And that blockage causes rust out.



    Which can leak on the drivers floor pan.



    The factory only put a light coat of primer inside the fresh air passage which you can see on this car, so it should be mandatory to remove the covers and clean and paint this area even if there is no rust through. This gutter was removed, cleaned, painted, and glued on with panel bond adhesive which will seal it for rust protection.



    I talked to a guy who had a 56 Nomad that he had blasted and painted the whole car, and he was complaining about how dusty the fresh air was-----can you guess what he failed to do?

    Another thought in this same area is that if a 55 or 56 car is dipped for derusting, it could remove some weatherstrip from under the cowl top panel which would require a lot of work to replace. That weatherstrip can be seen here with the side panel removed. It is shown here at the top rear corner of the side panel area.



    It goes all the way across the cowl and it can also be seen through the wind shield wiper holes.




  2. #2
    Registered Member Belair-o's Avatar
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    Jun 2013

    Member #:1723
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    Franktown, CO
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    Lee,
    Thanks so much for this latest excellent and well illustrated and documented post. Appreciate you sharing your hard won knowledge.
    Thanks, Doug

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