Windshield Cowl Panel placement

[sterry]

Does anyone out there have an tips, tricks, measurements to properly place the windshield cowl panel on the kick panels??

This is all new sheet metal and I've heard to just line up the pre-drilled holes in the cowl / windshield cowl panel to the rear most fender bold holes in the kick panels to place everything properly. But... if I do that, the windshield cowl panel is not square to the rear edge of the kick panels. In other words, the passenger side of the windshield would be ~3/8" further back, when compared to the A-pillars / door, than the drivers side. Obviously that can't be right... But I don't know which side is right, and which side I need to "fix"...

The only reference point I can think of to try to measure the placement is to place a straight edge on the rear most part of the kick panel, run it up, and see where it contacts the windshield cowl panel (if at all). If I do that on the passenger side, I hit the windshield cowl panel about 3/4 of the way up the ~1" lip the windshield rests back against. On the drivers side, I don't hit it at all... Miss it by about 3/16". I don't know which one to consider correct... Or they both could be wrong...

Anyone have any thoughts or measurements you've used to place these things??

Thanks for any help!!
Scott

 

[jamesroney]

Does anyone out there have an tips, tricks, measurements to properly place the windshield cowl panel on the kick panels??

This is all new sheet metal and I've heard to just line up the pre-drilled holes in the cowl / windshield cowl panel to the rear most fender bold holes in the kick panels to place everything properly. But... if I do that, the windshield cowl panel is not square to the rear edge of the kick panels. In other words, the passenger side of the windshield would be ~3/8" further back, when compared to the A-pillars / door, than the drivers side. Obviously that can't be right... But I don't know which side is right, and which side I need to "fix"...

The only reference point I can think of to try to measure the placement is to place a straight edge on the rear most part of the kick panel, run it up, and see where it contacts the windshield cowl panel (if at all). If I do that on the passenger side, I hit the windshield cowl panel about 3/4 of the way up the ~1" lip the windshield rests back against. On the drivers side, I don't hit it at all... Miss it by about 3/16". I don't know which one to consider correct... Or they both could be wrong...

Anyone have any thoughts or measurements you've used to place these things??

Thanks for any help!!
Scott

I am convinced that this is one of the tricks that the good builders know...and the bad builders ignore. Every youtube video, and tech article seems to conveniently leave out this super important detail.

I just did the install of my kick panel and cowl. And the people who say to just "line up the two bolt holes for the fenders" are dead wrong. At least on mine, there was a trick. You are 100% right, and they are made wrong. (I'm 1/4 inch out on your 3/8 dimension.) The Problem is that the distance from kick panel pinch weld to windshield hinge pin is constrained by the cut out for the vent on the passenger side. So you can't move the passenger side much. I cheated it as much as I could. But it's not right.

At the end of the day, I had to screw mine together, and then build the entire front clip, and then locate the door posts BASED ON THE HOOD!!! So I put it all together, and set the door pillars based on the fenders, based on the grill, aligned to the hood. If I had a jig, I would have been my own hero.

Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. I'm moving on to quarters today...I'll post some pics.

 

[Rustytruck]

Ford didn't know how to do it right either they welded my drivers side a 1/4" too far forward so the door seal didn't have a change in hell of sealing. you have to do the whole cowl with the door and window frame in place once you get a door hung properly door is locked in place by the rear door post and its height to the bed rail. once the door is in you can get the cowl lined up and the windshield located properly. watch the gap between the doors window frame and the windshield edge on the back of the drain gutter they ahould be at the same angle and paraell with about 1/8" gap.

 

[Jamie Chriss]

Great photos! This is the only area on my entire build that caused me the biggest headache. I was told Mark Atherton is the metal whisperer, he pre-bends the cowl before installation. I heard the new metal cowls are not bent right, and down the line the entire installation goes off course.

 

[Madgyver]

The best and only way that I will do this is to fit all the front panels on for alignment. This is the hood, front fenders and grill. mock up of the doors gaps helps too along with the angle of the windshield frame.
Remember that you don't want to cut the hood if it is 1/4" too long.

 

[sterry]

Thank you guys so much for the input. @jamesroney Those pictures are awesome and exactly what I needed to see!! And you are exactly right on the passenger side being limited in what you do... Not much wiggle room there... At all really... You guys are confirming what I was thinking... Build the whole thing with self tappers and clamps to get all the lines right, then go back and weld... Was kind of hoping that wasn't the answer, but in the back of my head... I kind of knew it was... Thank you again. MUCH appreciated.