1968 cowl drain configuration

[John B.]

I have found some areas of rust damage on the driver side lower windshield frame area of the 68 I am restoring that i plan to address. During the process of uncovering the rust, I noticed that the area between the lower outer windshield bonding strip (the piece that rivets to the birdcage and bonds to the upper surround/clip) and the birdcage frame lower outer corner was filled with a hard material similar to panel adhesive. I removed the material on the drivers side and left the material in place on the passenger side as can be seen in the photos. The AIM shows a piece of weatherstrip (3938145-6) in what I think is that area, however if I am reading the revision record correctly, that part was added 10-16-67. Since my car was built on 10-19-67, I doubt that the weatherstrip was originally on the car. Since the car had been "restored" sometime in the late 80's, the wiper door removed and a long style hood fitted, my assumption is that this area was filled at that time. I was able to pull some soft seam sealing type material from that area after I removed the hard material. My question is should the area be filled with bonding adhesive or seam sealer or left open to allow water to drain down the trough formed in the birdcage lower outer frame corner, past the hinge support, and out by the bottom of the door/fender/ rocker panel?

Thanks in advance for any help.

John Brough


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