Where direction/route should the front cowl water drain on a '65 Barracuda?

[dibbons]

I have had water puddling on the passenger side (front) floor from the beginning of my Formula S purchase. Today I am going to begin removing the glass (windshield/big rear window) in prep for some body work. I would like to located the leak beforehand.

I put some blue dye in some water and poured a little inside the front cowl vent area, but the water seems to be oozing from the very corners where I see it dripping behind the front wheel wells and in front of the door hinges. So far, I have not seen any water on the floorboard.

 

[grimreaper]

Did you check your winshield wiper pivot seals? A pretty common area for leaks that end up on the floor.

 

[Lee Robinson]

The drains are on both sides of the lower cowl. They could be plugged from debris. The windshield could leak,
the heater core could leak. The W/W pivot gaskets could leak. There could be rust thru in lower cowl. Gasket
on fresh air box could leak. I would remove fenders as well. With them off, drain clogging will be revealed. There
could also be rust thru where the upper and lower cowls come together under the rear fender attachment area.
Detective work required.

 

[Mopar Tim]

The drains are on both sides of the lower cowl. They could be plugged from debris. The windshield could leak,
the heater core could leak. The W/W pivot gaskets could leak. There could be rust thru in lower cowl. Gasket
on fresh air box could leak. I would remove fenders as well. With them off, drain clogging will be revealed. There
could also be rust thru where the upper and lower cowls come together under the rear fender attachment area.
Detective work required.

So you are saying, these cars leak?

 

[dibbons]

It seems the water drained inside when I poured the dye/water mix over the windshield rubber seal at the top (along the roof line) on the passenger side. (see first foto)

We pulled the windshield out, and the sheet metal edges around where the windshield sits is not very rusty (except in a couple of very tiny areas). I will say this, the locking strip that should be installed in the center channel of the rubber windshield gasket was missing.

Now I have to decide if we want to cut the cowl area open and refinish it inside of there or not, before we move on to the more conventional refinishing (interior, exterior, chassis). (On my 1971 BBody, I was able to get almost complete coverage inside the cowl area with tiny paint brushes and a few moves made as if a were a circus contortionist)

 

[Lee Robinson]

With the windshield out, flood the cowl area with water and see if there are more leaks. Remove the fresh air
boxes and anything else that is reasonable to remove and look underneath with a light while someone pours
water from the top. If there are no more leaks it was the windshield gasket.