65 Upper Cowl sealant?

65 Belvedere. I removed my upper cowl to repair some rust on the lower cowl. All along the seam between the upper and lower cowls (except the windshield seam) there was a black sealant. It had a dry, spongy consistency but you can tell it was applied like a sealant at the factory because it wasn't die-cut, etc. It's not a seam sealer like you have on the floor seams either. Anyone have a clue what it is and what it is for? I assume it was for rust protection of the seam, but would it be for anti-vibration also? Is it neccesary to replace it with something similar when putting the upper cowl back on?

Cowl sealant

Hope this helps you out Big,

Link---> http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/search/Adhesives+%26+Seam+Sealers/N2356/C0171.oap

I've been wondering the same thing about the cowl sealer. I will be watching this thread closely.

I had to replace my cowl, I used weld threw primer before welding them together then seam sealed it from the inside going threw the fresh air ducts. You proably thinking "how" I started off with a sawed off paint brush and some brush on seam sealer but eventually ended up using latex gloves and my fingers. Believe it or not I have big hands and was able to get almost all of the seam sealed only missing the center where it's highest and least needed. I'll get up in there with some kind of spray on sealer with a nozzle to get that.

Thanks for the input so far. I'm not sure I described this correctly because I don't think this is an area for a normal seam sealer material. I've attached a picture of the underside of the upper cowl that I removed. I have circled the area where there is clean metal, where I removed the sealant material that I'm talking about. This material was between the spot welds where the upper cowl rests on the lower cowl/firewall area, so it must have been applied before the spot welding process at the factory. I assume this was used to seal out water - to prevent it from working it's way into the space between the upper and lower cowls.
Any suggestions on what material this is? In order to withstand the high temps of welding, it would have to be a high temp material that does not burn.
It would also need to flow freely so it would compress and allow the two surfaces to come together for welding.

That's what I thought you were referring to and how I said I did it is what I did. When I tore mine off it looked like a foam sealer between the seam, the best I could come up with was just seam sealing the inside and outside and use weld threw primer on the mating surfaces. If you figure out a better way I'm all ears, good luck.