Firewall/Cowl Finish
 

Is the black paint on the cowl ahead of the windshield a different gloss than the firewall itself? Looking over my friend's 78 survivor it appears that the cowl upper surface is way shinier than the firewall itself.

In many cars, the upper cowl (horizontal surface) was painted the interior color which is necessary since the forward part of the dash is exposed metal. If the car you are referring to has a black interior, then this would explain the different gloss since a different paint would have been used.

For reference:
 

My survivor '78 Espirt has the dash color to the front half of cowl, then the black is over sprayed on the front half and then body color over sprayed on the corners.

The firewall looks like it was rust primer color then thinly sprayed a chassis black where some of the black is flaked away and the primer showing through on mine.