Doing a good job there mack. I think the cowling insulation is just noise reduction but I may be wrong. I'm sure there's no less than 100 different materials you could use to accomplish replacing it.....then there's always the option not replacing it too!
I would love to tear one down and build from the ground up like that. You'll be the resident expert when done. We're going to start asssociating you with hall of famers like Skools, Ferm and Spare.