Have you cleaned out your cowl lately?

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MADMarc

MADMarc

Just a d00d
Joined
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Davis, CA
Blegh! And this is on a southern california car - I don't even want to think about what it'd be like elsewhere.

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Figured I ought to clean it out while I'm resealing the heater box and sure am glad I did. Pulled all the fiberglass insulation from under the dash, got the wiper seals all renewed and am going to toss some RAAMmat on the firewall and under the dash before everything goes back in. Whew...sure is looking better already. You guys recommend I spray some rustoleum or something before slapping the deadener on there? Only some very minor surface rust that I can brush off with my hand and will clean everything down w/degreaser. I'm definitely going to test for leaks before the stuff goes up there, too.
 
Cleaned my cowl with the air boxes and inner fenders off, so I could remove the rust. Sprayed Rust Destroyer from the inside holes and the engine cowl holes. I plan to do better w/ a foam brush thru the engine holes. I am consider the ideas posted about making cowl covers from magnetic sign material since otherwise leaves love to slide thru the long slots. Nobody ever opens the manual vent doors anyway since that blows leaves and dead rodents all over your clothes.
 
lol @ blowing dead rodents everywhere. I wish the cowl was removable like on chevys. Deng! I just said that :p
 
MADMarc said:
lol @ blowing dead rodents everywhere. I wish the cowl was removable like on chevys. Deng! I just said that :p
Click to expand...

It's a pain to clean them. Mine had white granuals in it left over from the blasting before it got repainted. Even after cleaning I was getting that stuff coming out in summer when you would open the vents. Been thinking maybe the best way to get what's left out is drive a road with 65mph speed limit in summer and open the vents and windows. Then clean the car out. :)
 
Years ago my cousin (who was seven, I was 29) and I were in my '68 Coronet 500 wagon, blasting down I-5 at about 70 MPH. Only had been in possession of the car a few weeks and it was just warm enough to let him open the vent on the passenger side. "BA-Whummmmp!" a huge blast of pine needles, 'helicopter' seed pods, and crap just blasted him...lesson learned.
 
Yooper - now that is one way to do it right. Straighten out the little grill also.

My Demon sat under a pine tree also. between the sand blasting I did and the crud a lot came out when I blew it with the shop air.
 
Driving down the road at around 70mph girlfriend thought it was a good idea to investigate the little door under the dash. She pulled it open and it fell off the hinges. Last time she investigated anything in the car.
 
First pic is my duster . second and third are the garage kept scamp I took the cowl off of to use on the Duster.
 

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What a coincidence.. Earlier today the Toyota service advisor brought the cabin air filter from wifes RAV to the cussers lounge to show me how nasty it is ( only 2 years ). I joked that my 67 Plymouth needs a new one too.
But seriously folks... Even if 2 were required, wouldn't it be great to gain access through the filter service doors ? The cleaner cabin air would be a bonus.
 
Use a leaf blower and wet vac.
Blow and suck, blow and suck.
It gets the loose stuff out eventually.
Also use those small holes in the firewall if you have a 70 car with smog stuff mounted there with shop air blown in under high pressure.
I like Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer hosed in there.
 
I made a vacuum helper for my shop vac with 1" PVC pipe (1 piece about 12" long and 2 pieces about 2 to 4" long) and two 90 degree elbows. Don't glue the pieces together, so you can manually adjust the angles. Attach the PVC to your the shop vac hose with duct tape and then vacuum from the underside of the dash. This will allow you to get all the junk near the openings into the vent ducts. The setup will look almost like a candy cane, that you stick the short end up the vent and into the cowl space. Worked great in about one hour total. Best part was no more "face full of dirt" when I open the vents now!
 
I was able to use the flex in the shop vac to wrap around the cowl opening. As soon as I stopped hearing it going through the hose I would fiddle around feeling for dirt and crap, then do it again...and again...and agaaaain. Think I go most of it, just a little tight on the outermost sides where it pinches closest to the firewall and fender.
 
Best way to get it all is to peel it off. I plan on welding some wire screen under my vents so I never have another problem with things falling in there.
 
I think that might be he smog option they were referring to previously. Not sure... But maybe.
 
I'm putting magnetic sign material over my cowl vents when I park. Cleaning the plenum is a chore! Probably a good thing the folks who designed them are dead.

ATB

BC
 
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