67 Chevelle Cowl Hood Scoop Grafted Onto 65 Beaumont Hood

[SAFASTRO]

Hey guys, as some of you know, nobody makes a 65 Chevelle steel cowl hood. I have a 65 Beaumont (Canadian Chevelle), and I know forsure nobody makes one for those either.

I purchased a 67 Chevelle cowl hood today that I found on Kijiji, and am going to graft the cowl from the 67 onto the 65. Can I get a bit of advice from some of you body shop gurus? I've been told to do this many different ways.

- butt weld
- lap weld
- step the panel like a lap weld but use body panel adhesive
- cut out 67 cowl 1 " around the perimeter for less warpage
- cut out the 67 cowl out to match 1" away from the 65 body lines
- after weld, epoxy primer first, then use duraglass filler to smooth it over
- apply duraglass directly to the metal

Anyone on here do this before? What would be the best wat to do this so I don't have any ghosting after paint?

Any, and all help would be greatly appreciated!!

[mikey]

I personally would butt weld it I have seen the panel adhesive crack on the seam. The trick to welding is small tack welds jump around when you do them also. Before you start joining the individual tacks together to make a continuous seam grind down your welds. It takes more heat to weld the thicker tacks than the thin sheetmetal so by grinding you're able to keep the warpage down. Take your time don't rush it you'll only create a bigger mess to fix later.take your time with the grinding also and keep from heating up the hood. PATIENCE PATIENCE is the key anymore questions just pm me

[SAFASTRO]

Thanks Mikey! I like your tip about grinding the spot welds before joining them. I'll definitely keep that one in mind.

Any other suggestions anyone?

[jlcustomz]

Buttwelding , done slowly & carefully would be the best route. I like SMC all-metal filler for a first filler coat over any welded areas, especially if the work is a little rough. The fiberglass resin/aluminum powder mix helps to seal out moisture & add strength. Then fine tune the bodywork with an easier to work filler such as evercoat rage extreme.

Lap welds are a good place for moisture to collect & even with welding ,a lap joint can cause ghost shadowing, especially during temperature changes.

Lap joints properly done with adhesive such as 3-m 8115 should NEVER crack, but the adhesive expands & contracts at a different rate than metal, which can make a shadow in the work. The upsides of properly done adhesives are no warpage from heat & no backside rust when spread properly over both sanded bonding areas. The trick to being able to use panel adhesive without seeing shadows is to only use it on areas where the mating surfaces you see intersect on an angle & the bonding flange is bent back on an angle. In other words, not 2 overlapping layers of metal that you try to smooth over the 2.

My steel lower body extensions are a good example of what I mean by an intersecting angle, which helps to hide any movement.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif (http://s1094.photobucket.com/user/jlcustomz1/media/DSC00672.jpg.html)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif (http://s1094.photobucket.com/user/jlcustomz1/media/SUCP-WEB-1306-16_zps48e4c685.jpg.html)
Butt welding & intersecting angles with flanges & automix adhesive are both best choices when done correctly. For your project, your skillset may dictate which one is best for you.
I would probably lightly spot butt weld with mig, grind, then tig weld as 1st choice, but wouldn't hesitate to bend up a proper flange for adhesives.
Fiberglass fillers are meant for direct to metal. Good polyester fillers, such as most evercoat, provide some corrosion protection directly on metal. Polyester fillers can be applied on top of cured epoxy, best to cure for a week. As far as which method is best , depends, & is debatable. If repair is less than perfect, I prefer all metal filler directly on the metal.
Hope this helps more than it confuses you.