How 'bout some pictures?  We could give a better answer if we could see what it looks like.  Also, if your export brace does not have the wide web where it bolts to the lip, send a picture of it, too.
Enjoy

It's not that the flange itself isn't straight, it's the flange surface that looks like crap. Cutting and welding a new piece would be a lot easier if the cowl cover was still removed, I think now I've just gotta find a way to smooth that surface out really nice for paint with something that will last...  

How about a 1/8 inch thick plate welded at the brace mount area. Use body filler outboard on each side.
Howard

Last edited by hmartin025 (7/07/2014 7:22 PM)

From what I see I would use "all-metal"by USC its a body filler with a metal powder compound to straighten the sheetmetal which is alot harder than bondo...can also be drilled and tapped almost no shrinkage at all....jj 

Last edited by jerseyjoe (7/07/2014 7:41 PM)

Jieve wrote:

Thanks for the responses everyone.  True, that area was originally filled with seam sealer.  Would painted over modern urethane or 2k self-leveling seam sealer hold up under compression there, you think?

No, nothing is going to hold up under the export brace.  The seam sealer will squish out over time at best, but that is how mine and all from the factory were done.  The stuff can't really go anywhere, but who cares if it gets squished when under a part you cannot see through?

Actually its a great idea...IMO,no welding,no sealer, no filler necessary....jj 

They don't look to deep why not fill with weld in the low areas and then grind smooth or leave it alone

MustangSteve wrote:

Why bother since it is hidden by the export brace?  Metal to metal is the only way to bolt somethign and have it stay.

I really want this restoration to come across like it was done by someone who knew what they were doing and be a high quality job, not look like it was done by an amateur (even though it was, this is the first car I've ever restored like this and the car I'm still learning on, I plan to do many more in the future).  I couldn't live with myself spending upwards of $6k on paint and take off the export brace at some point to work on the engine, and see the surface looking like that. Also, the patch piece I made would be metal to metal, and the rest around the sides can be filled with filler/seam sealer to match the surface height. If the mounting surface weren't raised and I can't use filler on that mounting surface, the sides would be difficult to blend otherwise. Maybe I've been watching too many episodes of Overhaulin', but I want it looking/done right, even if I never see it. 

True74yamaha wrote:

They don't look to deep why not fill with weld in the low areas and then grind smooth or leave it alone

This was my original plan, it just seemed like a lot of work welding those up then grinding everything down flush with the surface. I've done this a number of times trying to fix some of the not so pretty weld jobs I did 14 years ago when I first started this car (and welding). After thinking about it for a long time, it seemed like a patch was the better way to go, this is how I have always seen and read about pros doing it.

KeithP wrote:

I put a reinforcement plate somewhere in that area sandwitched in between the export brace.  I thought that's what Shelby did.

Cool I like that idea, maybe I'll look into adding a piece of angle underneath like the one in the link. 

 

I came across some other posts on other forums after googling the scott drake part where people were discussing issues that they had with the export brace and that area of the cowl. There was talk of elongated cowl flange bolt holes and distortion due to the thinness of the metal at that point, when using a heavy duty export brace.  I would still use my idea on the top of the flange and that should stiffen the bearing surface a bit and make it look a lot nicer, but I don't think it's going to prevent flexing TOO significantly under load while driving, at least the way that I'm welding it in. The weak point would still be in the thin part of the flange at the side ends of my piece, at least the way I'm envisioning the brace functioning. To really prevent flexing of that flange, it seems you'd need a perpendicularly welded piece of thicker steel to resist the bending (underneath the flange near the firewall for aesthetic reasons). I'll have to think about it and see what I can come up with and decide if it's worth it.