Steel 1929 cowl band

[Bob Johnson]

The tread about making cowl bands for 1929 cars got me thinking about the one on my 1929 Town Car. Below is a close up picture of a section of the cowl band on the car. I have rubbed down a section and you can see that it is indeed steel and not brass. I gave not looked closely to other 1929 cowl bands and I am wondering if mine is attached the same as the brass ones. Notice in the picture there is a thin piece of metal just below the cowl band. Is this part of the cowl band? Is it part of the metal strip that the cowl band snaps onto? Is mine different because it is steel? Would someone with a 1929 cowl band look at theirs and see if it is similar with the thin metal below the cowl band. A picture would be helpful. Also does anyone have a picture of the cowl after the cowl band has been removed.

I tried removing the cowl band but I could not get it to move at all. I did not use a lot of force because I am not sure how it is attached.

Thanks
Bob

[Aerocraft]

There is a steel "clip" spot welded to the firewall that the band snaps into. Did you try a magnet? Gar Williams

[Aerocraft]

Here is a picture of my August 1929 68A cowl with the band removed. It's band is brass.

Gar Williams

[Bob/Kansas City]

Hmm were there two kinds? The band on my '29 Murray Town Sedan is definitely brass.
For removal instructions see my post to Roadster62 on '28 '29 cowl band removal.

[29FordGuy]

I first thought mine was steel also so I tried to polish it up and .... oops, what is that yellow stuff coming through? Sure enough, it is brass way down inside! Since mine was dented up pretty bad and they are very hard to find in good condition, I chose to fill in the dents and paint over with a "hammered" paint. It looks pretty nice but of course not as good as the original plated one would look, but it was a lot cheaper! Also they are very difficult to remove and very delicate because they are brass.

[Dick Carne]

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I have never heard of a steel '29 cowl band - doesn't mean that Ford never made one, I have just never seen or heard of one. I have two full cowl bands and a piece of a third on another car. Removal of the band is a very delicate process, and I would recommend it as a two-person job. I think it best to use a fairly broad straight screw drive and work the band loose from the bottom of one side, working slowly around to the bottom of the opposite side. It is very very flimsy, so a second pair of hands is beneficial both in steadying the band as it comes loose, but also in providing a slight upward pressure while gently prying up on the band as you work it loose.

Since the bands that I have seen are solid brass, a good plater / metal finisher should not have any serious issues in getting the dents out of a band. The brass, being a soft metal, is fairly easy to work, and it could be that even a novice could achieve some measure of improvement by working the band with a sock filled with sand, and a small hammer and metal shaping tool. The problem will come in the band's rather flimsy character, and will no doubt require a second person to help steady the band while it is being worked. The last band that I had plated ran me close to $100, but I had paid a metal finisher another $50 before that to remove any dents from the band itself before plating.

Re-applying the band works pretty much the same as the removal process, only in reverse. Again, two sets of hands are preferred. The last one we put back on snapped fairly easily into place over the ridge/base attached to the cowl section itself, and did not require any tools or even a rubber hammer to get a good and tight fit. However, it may be prudent to consider starting at the top center when re-installing to ensure that the spacing is balanced - I would not like to think about removing a freshly plated band and running the risk of breaking the plating.

Hope this helps.

Dick