Cowl area cleanout, are these fasteners the original correct ones FINISHED!!

[pinballlarry1]

Working on the '81 C10, removed the cowl between the hood and windshield. Pretty simple, even taking off the wiper arms went well.

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Found 3 wasp nests inside up under the space by the windshield. I get several in the door hinge area every year.

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Cleaned out the usual dirt, debris, leaves and cracked seam sealant.

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Not any rusted area, pleasantly surprised.

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Question about the 5 fasteners that go between the cowl sheet metal and the holes under the windshield. I can not find a clear picture or diagram on the usual internet sites yet. Mine has the 3 nylon "cones" that push fit into the cowl and just poke into a hole under the windshield, I think these are original. I would like to replace them if anyone can direct me to a vendor. Mine are brittle.

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Additional info in the next post

 

[pinballlarry1]

The two end fasteners on the cowl are just a sheet metal screw secured with a flat piece that pokes into a plastic piece pushed into the hole. This looks nonstandard to me.

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The two wiper arms are replacements installed by the previous owner, but they are in great condition. I cleaned and repainted them flat black:

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All other parts appear to be in good condition and I will clean and paint them:

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Not sure why someone put this large piece of rubber down beside the passenger side hood hinge:

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I have the two hood hinge seal assemblies and will clean up those areas on the next warm day we get.
Any insight and infor is appreciated!

 

[pinballlarry1]

Wow, didn't expect these cowl retainer posts to be extinct. Two hours of internet searching and none to be found, just other people like me who want 3 new ones.

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Someone in the injection plastic molding industry should reproduce them. At 3 needed per truck, they should sell hundreds per year. These are GM P/n 15598769, superseded by 14039971 and 15598769, all numbers discontinued before 2012. Guess I will have to try and reuse mine.
The two "L" shaped metal brackets that help hold down the plastic screen are still available, P/N 14027555:

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[saltdog]

Yeah- I need them too...I ran image search this AM and found nothing. You might be able to substitute these or something similar with a little heat to shape them https://www.clipsandfasteners.com/GM-Door-Trim-Panel-Retainer-p/a13946.htm

 

[saltdog]

Getting closer! https://newboyzsquarebodyrescue.com/products/81-91-rear-cowl-panel-metal-pin-and-u-clip-retainer

 

[pinballlarry1]

Interesting used parts available on that site. Thinking about that set of 5 pieces cowl retainers from newer year trucks. Not sure if the newer design is much better for $33 shipped.

 

[Doppleganger]

I raid every one of those clips I find at the yards.....lucky to salvage 2 each time as they're just as dried out and brittle.

 

[pinballlarry1]

Progress continues.
Not perfect, not professional, not even the correct color, but better than before:

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Rain forecast for the next 4 days, time to work in the garage.

 

[romcjr]

You might also try AUVECO . They specialize in automotive fasteners .

 

[pinballlarry1]

Email sent to AUVECO, awaiting a response. Finally had a warm (60 degree) sunny day today so I spent time working inside the cowl area. Removed the hinges but left the spring arms on to position the hood out of the way:

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Not expecting rain overnight, but I still covered things with a tarp and plastic lids.
Sprayed Permatex undercoating inside the air plenum, careful not to hit the wiper linkage ball joints:

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Very thick and gooey, it runs downhill for several minutes as it sets up, filling the seams and cracks. I put on two light coats, very happy with the results. I felt pretty smart since I remembered to put catch pans under the body where the goo would run out, and it did.
These pictures are taken looking down through the rectangular openings where the hinges sit. Hinges are secured to the body by two 3/8"-16 screws 3/4" long. Will replace them with stainless steel since they were starting to corrode and I had to put more force into the ratchet handle than I liked.
Drivers side, straight down, left is forward. I will have to work on the foot air vent from the inside of the cab:

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Passengers side looking straight down and a bit forward, heater fan opening is protected by a shield:

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Passenger side looking straight down and a bit rearward:

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Again, happy to see no rust. But someone has been in here before, fastener heads have wrench marks and body paint is scratched and missing from some spots. Oh well, tomorrow is supposed to be very nice, and I have painted the hinges and will try to begin reassembly of all the parts.

 

[pinballlarry1]

Spent 3 hours working today and got it finished, no real problems, just small parts and lots of patience:

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The rubber hinge seal assemblies I purchased from LMC (made it Taiwan). My truck appears to have never had these installed, the cowl area screw holes showed no signs of previous screws being installed. I had to trim out about 1/4" at the rear to get the base holes to align properly, it is just simple sheet metal snipping:

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Fit is very good, contours match the sheet metal exactly. Each side secures with the two hinge 3/8" base bolts and I used two #12 by 1" sheet metal screws for the other holes. Also went around the edges with black weatherstripping adhesive:

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Both sides are identical in fit, just LH and RH mirror images. Everything lines up well except for the driver's side fender which appears to sit a little lower, I think it was replaced in years gone by. I can live with it:

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For the 5 alignment retainers from the cowl to windshield area, I reused my 3 nylon posts, just had to put a very tiny zip tie around the shank to secure it inside the cowl. Worked fine. For the 2 end posts that were incorrect sheet metal screws, I installed stainless steel #8 by 1" machine screws with flat washers and a thin nylock nut. I did not tighten the nylock nut fully, but left it just firm enough to allow the assembly to move around and mate with the plastic insert in the body sheet metal. I had the wife help with the alignment and we needed all of the slack to assemble the cowl. The thickness of the nut adds probably 1/8" more than the previous screw but it is exaggerated in this closeup:

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All in all, I am happy with the results, but I really don't want to do it again. On to the new twin loud horns.