[JJorgensen52]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Glad you had a safe trip. Looks like a good score!

Thanks! Positive thoughts always help

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When I woke up for church this morning it was 28 degrees and there was ice in my driveway ??? I thought it was springtime....

Anyways, I didn't get as much done in the shop as I would like due to the cold, but progress made just the same:

I took more photos of my process, this time.

Flange section, simple 90 degree bend in the brake, and then notched to allow me to introduce curvature


Bent to mimic the old metal (there's about three dozen rounds of fitting and comparing in this stage)


Notches welded up, pre-cleanup


Notches ground, checking my profile fit


A little hard to tell, but I've filed the horizontal edge down to match the contour of the cowl and drilled for spot welds:


And clamped in place:


The upper lip will get ground down to a smooth contour after I weld it in place; that way, I have more meat at the ends and less risk of burn through on this thin metal. The flange on the dash (which I fitted up earlier in the week) has now been filed down to match the contour of the original metal.

On this side, I'm going to do a second 90 degree bent section and bring the repair out onto the flat part of the cowl, so that I can blend the joint better.

On a totally different note, my Dad and I were talking about antennas the other day, and we were talking about an on-the-glass marine style (about 3/8" wide element, would run the full width of the rear window along the gasket at the bottom), and he mentioned power antennas. Well, says I, I've got one on the Oldsmobile carcass out back, let's see if it will fit:


It would actually work out pretty well, with good access through the former heater intake panel. It looks like a B-body antenna has the right angled fitting for the shape of the cowl, here. Though I'm not sure it would clear the hood?? Food for thought