Is there an easy way to clean the leaves etc. out of the cowl ('67) without taking everything apart? I'm just trying to do a clean-up and engine restore at this point, but after sitting for so long, there is all sorts of junk in there! I hope to get the car to my garage this weekend. (It's still in the barn where it has sat since 1990)

 

https://mustangforums.com/forum/classic-mustangs-tech/478835-here-s-how-i-cleaned-out-my-cowl.html

 

The only problem with the approach shown in the attachment, is that most of us in the east have leaves, pine needles and other crap embedded in the cowl. There is a drain as shown in the link on both sides, but they become blocked with this debrise, water builds up, and given there is little to no protection from the factory, the cowl rusts out, water drips through to the carpet and then the floors rust out.

Try blasting compressed air through the drains on both sides (unfortunately, you have to remove the fenders) to loosen up the crap. You can then pick out the big chunks with a wire or coat hanger. Then using a high nozzle on the end of a hose, spray down through the cowl vent towards the drains on both sides (you will quickly find out if your cowl is rusted). You may need to repeat a couple of times. Get a stiff bottle brush, soak it in laquer thinner and run it up through the drains on both sides until it comes out clean. POR15 or Eastwood rust encapsulator can now be used to finish it off. Eastwood sells applicators that will allow you to get into the cowl. Always topcoat both of these products. Periodically clean out the drains to avoid future problems.

If you have leaks, that is the subject of another post!

 

That's just it. I have oak leaves, cat hair, and what looks like schredded seat material (the cats went crazy!) in the cowl. It looks like I'll be taking the fender off to do a good job. I might just try a hose from up top and compressed air to flush as well as I can for now. Did I mention the barn has no front door? It's dry, but open.

 

Removing the cowl might be less work than working through it. If you don't want to attach one of those horrible acrylic cowl covers, you can always attach black screening material to the underside of the cowl. It will totally work and you won't "see" it. Use a spray adhesive. Maintaining it is as easy as a sweep with the duster or a shot from an air canister, but less work than cleaning leaves.

CP

 

I did the compress air thing, but I also took a vacuum with the point nozzle attachment and stuc it in the drain hole in one side and blew compressed are in the other, then reversed. Worked pretty good at sucking the leaves and other junk accumulated in the cowl. If you have a lot of leaves, padding and other assorted stuff in the cowl, get that out before rinsing with water. Otherwise, IMO, when that junk gets all wet it will be more difficult to get out.

Good luck.

 

I love having a 69, removable cowl cover

 

That's right, rub it in.

 

Good point about vac/air before water hose. That could be a mess with all that wet stuff. Thanks for all the tips. Fingers crossed there are no leaks!

 

We had to replace the upper and lower cowl as they were rusted out badly. Never gonna happen again! Just picked up 2 pieces of stainless, cut to fit and will be epoxying them over the cowl vents. No more crap getting in there again. Mind you I'm installing a Vintage Air system so the vents are no longer needed.