[HO455]

Now for the sort of controversial part of the repairs. As posted earlier I have some rust on the cowl where the inlet adapter seal sits. (Photo #1) Obviously the optimal repair would be to replace the rusted metal with new metal. For me at this time that is out of the question. The time to pull the front sheet metal exceeds the amount of time I currently have available. And there would be the dreaded project creep.

My solution is to grind out all the rust I can, (Photo #2) then lay some fiberglass resin and mat over the area followed by sanding (Photo #3). Then I put a light coat of resin over the area to seal the frayed ends of the mat that was exposed by the sanding. Then some paint. ( Those two photos didn't turn out to be usable. Whoops! Edit inwas able to lighten up one of them enough to post.) The crusty looking stuff inside the cowl is Fluid Film I liberally sprayed to slow any further rust.

Many folks will claim that this won't last a year and the rust will be back. Which is possible but I have had good luck in the past doing it this way. Back in 1984 I recreated the rusted rear quarter panels on my GTO. Back then there weren't any reproduction panels and frankly didn't have the skills or tools to do that kind of job. But I did have access to free fiberglass pipe repair kits that had passed their expiration date. With time and a grinder I dove into the project and 6 months later I had rust free quarters. Those quarters are still on the car today. One side has a crack but that was from towing a loaded car trailer with L60/15 tires through a bad driveway transition. DHOO! The other side is still nice and solid.

30 plus years in the tug boat world has taught me every job has a time and resource limit that has to be met. I am confident the rust has been stopped and will be fine until the time when the front clip can come off and the whole area can get renovated.

I hope everyone is okay with this repair and the logic behind it.

Thanks again to everyone who visits.