cowl rust problems.
The cowl grill's sole purpose is to provide fresh air to the cabin interior. If you don't want fresh air or need to use your heater/defroster in the winter, then you probably have no other option but to close off the grill. I'm not sure how the air mix doors function in the heater-A/C box, but the blower fan might need to draw fresh air in. Nowadays in our cars, the conditioned air is recirculated inside the cabin with one control position, or it draws fresh air in another control position.
(Someone chime in here if you know how the old system works)
This should serve as a warning to us all... make sure you routinely check the cowl drain holes to clear away any leaves, twigs, pecan shells, dead mice, or other debris. If they get plugged up, water will sit there and eat away at the metal. This also contributes to the wet ankles when taking a corner, because the water gets up over the lip of the fresh air intake.
Jerry
The cowl grill's sole purpose is to provide fresh air to the cabin interior. If you don't want fresh air or need to use your heater/defroster in the winter, then you probably have no other option but to close off the grill. I'm not sure how the air mix doors function in the heater-A/C box, but the blower fan might need to draw fresh air in. Nowadays in our cars, the conditioned air is recirculated inside the cabin with one control position, or it draws fresh air in another control position.
(Someone chime in here if you know how the old system works)
This should serve as a warning to us all... make sure you routinely check the cowl drain holes to clear away any leaves, twigs, pecan shells, dead mice, or other debris. If they get plugged up, water will sit there and eat away at the metal. This also contributes to the wet ankles when taking a corner, because the water gets up over the lip of the fresh air intake.
Jerry